BYU Football: Grading the Cougars Game vs. San Jose State

Well, it was a win.

And for one half, it looked like a dominant one.

But ultra-conservative, predictable play-calling in the second half led to what ended up being a nervous, unimpressive and lackluster win against a poor San Jose State program.

And it marked yet another game in which the Cougars only showed up for a half, and the same-ol' problems continue to linger, including turnovers, lazy execution and poor red-zone performance.

Now, we hand out the grades.

Quarterbacks: C

It was the same ole story with a new actor. One brilliant half of football couples with one poor stanza.

The offense was energized, dynamic and fast-paced in the first half, and the result was 23 points on the scoreboard.

But the play-calling in the second half got familiarly conservative and predictable, and the result was a win that was way more unnerving than it could and should have been.

Riley Nelson finished with 219 yards in the air and 65 on the ground, but threw two awful interceptions and fumbled in the red zone.

Running Backs: A

This group managed to avoid fumbles and racked up over 224 yards on over five yards per carry.

The surprise of the night was Michael Alisa, who ended up shouldering the bulk of the carries with 16 of 91 yards.

The performance was all the more impressive considering how predictable the play calling was in the second half, when SJSU knew nearly every play would be on the ground.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: B-

This group made some good plays and had some catches, and it didn’t get a ton of chances to shine, especially in the second half.

But there’s still a lack of separation by Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman that’s concerning, and McKay Jacobson continues to run poor routes and drop balls.

Offensive Line: B

A solid performance, but there were a few too many times Riley Nelson was rushed out of the pocket.

In the run game, the holes, especially in the first half, were downright gaping. However, it got tougher in the second half when San Jose State simply stacked the box, knowing BYU was calling a very predictable offense in play-not-to-lose mode.

Front Seven: B

It’s hard to find fault in a team that gave up just 2.7 yards per carry on 70 yards rushing and 16 points, but this was San Jose State.

The pass rush wasn’t stellar, but the tackling was much better than last week and there weren’t a lot of big plays given up by the D-line and linebackers.

Jordn Pendleton’s impact was obvious after return from an ankle injury.

Defensive Backs: C

This group is scary. After getting beat on many occasions against Utah State, the defensive backfield gave up first downs on third and long yet again.

The Spartan’s best receiver, Ryan Otten, was continually finding seams in the zone, picking up over 100 yards through the air while wide receiver Noel Grigsby torched backs for 11 catches.

This unit plays way too soft and nearly gave up huge plays where SJSU receivers happened to fortunately drop balls.

Special Teams: A

The punt game was flawless, literally, as Riley Stephenson didn’t have to make a single kick. And Justin Sorenson was two-for-two after his shank last week.

Cody Hoffman continues to be a spark in the kick return game, netting over 24 yards per return.

Coaching: C

The first half offensive play-calling was excellent, continuing from the second half of the Utah game.

But Brandon Doman’s predictable run calling in the second half was downright criminal, and led to offensive sputtering which gave San Jose State a chance to close the gap.

There remains, as well, an inability to punch the ball into the end-zone, with curious play-calls and obvious confusion on the field hampering the O.