BYU Football Progress Report: Cincinnati Edition
Nov 24, 2025, 2:39 PM
CINCINNATI – No. 11 BYU took down Cincinnati 26-14 in its final road test of the season Saturday night.
BYU Football Progress Report: Cincinnati Edition
BYU closed out what many have called the program’s toughest six-game stretch in school history with a double-digit win at Cincinnati. Dominant play in the trenches made the difference.
Offense: B+
LJ Martin played his best game as a BYU Cougar.
Just a few weeks removed from suffering a shoulder injury that sidelined him against Iowa State, Martin was a force.
He ran for a career-high 222 yards on 32 carries and a pair of scores, while also leading the team in receiving with 44 yards on three catches.
Martin’s 222 rushing yards mark the eighth-most in a single game in BYU history and the most since Tyler Allgeier ran for 266 against Bronco Mendenhall’s Virginia Cavaliers in 2021.
Martin led the country in forced missed tackles with 12. If he continues to run like he did Saturday, BYU will be tough to beat.
Bear Bachmeier also turned in another solid game. His passing numbers weren’t anything to write home about, but they didn’t need to be when Martin ran for more than 200 yards.
Bachmeier completed 60% of his passes and didn’t throw an interception. He added 46 rushing yards and scored the first touchdown of the game.
Chase Roberts went down in the first half with a hamstring injury and didn’t return. BYU will need him back by Dec. 7 to give the Cougars their best chance against Texas Tech, should they reach the Big 12 Championship.
The injury comes at a disappointing time. With BYU’s seniors being celebrated this Saturday, Roberts is a player you’d like to see on the field. But with a possible Big 12 title game and College Football Playoff appearance in sight, it may be in the team’s best interest to give him another week to recover.
After Saturday’s turnover-free performance, BYU extended its streak to 18 straight wins when finishing on the plus side of the turnover margin. The Cougars are tied for 12th nationally in turnover margin at plus-eight.
BYU was also perfect in the red zone, going 4-for-4 with two touchdowns and two field goals. That proved to be a difference maker, as Cincinnati went just 1-for-3 in a two-touchdown loss.
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Aaron Roderick hasn’t received enough credit for how this year’s offense has performed.
It’s easy to undersell how big a hole BYU was in after losing Jake Retzlaff in the summer.
Roderick made the bold decision to start a true freshman at quarterback over two others with FBS starting experience.
In Week two, starting wide receiver Jojo Phillips went down with a broken collarbone that required surgery. He returned in Week 9, but his absence was significant.
In Week three, backup running back Sione Moa suffered an injury that has sidelined him since, though he continues to appear on the injury report and has not been declared out for the year.
Roderick has navigated the injuries and other setbacks masterfully. The slower build early in the season helped, but at no point has it felt like the BYU offense was holding the team back. And now, with one week left in the regular season, the Cougars sit atop the Big 12 standings and are fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Roderick and the rest of the offensive staff deserve a lot of credit for that.
Defense: B+
The BYU defense was stout again Saturday. The Cougars held Cincinnati to 14 points, matching the Bearcats’ fewest in a game this season. BYU ranks No. 14 nationally in scoring defense at 17.45 points per game, which is also second in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech at 12.27.
Coming into the game, Cincinnati had been averaging just under 200 rushing yards per contest and welcomed back a starting running back who had missed the previous two games. BYU’s defensive line continued its strong play from the past month and completely shut down the Bearcats’ ground attack. Cincinnati was held to a season-low 87 rushing yards and failed to reach the 100-yard mark for the first time this season.
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby had a solid night throwing the ball, but tossed an interception to Tanner Wall and was sacked for just the fourth time this year when Therrian Alexander III came free on a perfectly timed cornerback blitz late in the game.
Defensive linemen Tausili Akana and Nusi Taumoepeau each recorded four quarterback pressures, with Taumoepeau producing his four on just seven pass-rush snaps. The future is very bright for both players.
The BYU defense nearly had a scoop-and-score, but a live ball was ruled down. Tavion Beasley forced a fumble after a short completion, and Isaiah Glasker scooped it up and headed the other way before officials blew the play dead. After review, it was ruled that the runner’s knee had not touched the ground, and BYU was awarded possession. The Cougars, however, failed to capitalize on the drive and eventually punted.
Cincinnati’s offense was up against it all night. Even as the Bearcats seized momentum at times and put BYU on its heels, the Cougars’ defense held firm and made them work for everything. They’re playing exactly how you’d want at this point in the season.
Special Teams: A-
It was a quiet night for BYU’s special teams unit—but sometimes that’s exactly what you want.
Will Ferrin connected on field goals from 31 and 32 yards out, extending his streak to five in a row and eight of his last nine attempts.
Sam Vander Haar returned to punting duties, averaging 39 yards on four punts and pinning Cincinnati inside its 20-yard line twice.
The only mistake came on a 57-yard punt return in the second quarter, which set up the Bearcats at BYU’s 33-yard line and led to their first touchdown of the game.
Overall, it was still a solid night for BYU’s special teams.
Overall: B+
BYU won this game at the line of scrimmage. When you out-rush a team 265 yards to 87, chances are you’re going to win.
The Cougars also played the cleaner game, committing fewer penalties and winning the turnover margin by two.
The game wasn’t as complete as last week’s performance against a solid TCU team that beat No. 23 Houston on Saturday, but it was still enough for a double-digit win over a seven-win squad.
Heading into the six-game stretch BYU just completed, there was much talk about it being the most difficult in program history. All six opponents were bowl eligible, four games were on the road, and two teams were ranked in the top 15. The stretch also included two Big Noon Kickoff appearances and a game highlighted by ESPN’s College GameDay. BYU went 5-1 in that span and has now positioned itself for a potential Big 12 Championship rematch against Texas Tech.
To reach Arlington, the Cougars need to beat UCF on Saturday in the regular-season finale—or see Arizona upset Arizona State in the Territorial Cup on Friday.
Nate Slack is an Executive Producer for Cougar Sports Saturday (Noon–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
