TEAM NOTES
Attendance: 57,612
The alumni flag was carried by former BYU running back and Doak Walker Award winner Luke Staley (1999-01). The team flag was carried by junior tight end Bryan Sampson, and junior defensive back Chris Badger carried the special teams flag.
BYU All-American linebacker Rob Morris and Doak Walker Award winner Luke Staley were honored at halftime for being inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame. Joining Morris and Staley as inductees in the 2015 Hall of Fame class are Nina Puikkonen Mortensen (women’s volleyball), John Hedengren (cross country and track) and Willard Hirschi (former Track and Field coach).
Game captains against Cincinnati were senior defensive end Bronson Kaufusi, senior wide receiver Mitch Mathews and freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum.
BYU improves to 3-0 against the American Athletic Conference this year.
FOURTH QUARTERS
After facing a 24-17 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, BYU scored 21 points for a plus-50 margin in the final period. BYU has overcome 14-point deficits in two consecutive weeks. Before last week against ECU, BYU had never done it under Bronco Mendenhall.
With 21 fourth-quarter points, BYU has scored 20 or more in three 4th quarters this season.
The Cougars have either trailed or been tied in the fourth quarter in all of their wins this season.
SACKS
BYU set a season high with its five sacks in the first half, finishing with eight on the night. The sack total tied the No. 2 single-game mark in school history. The last time was against Kansas State in the 1997 Cotton Bowl. Entering the Friday’s game, Cincinnati had given up only six sacks all season.
Friday’s game brings BYU’s sack total through seven games to 24, which is the most through seven games under Bronco Mendenhall.
TACKLES FOR LOSS
BYU’s defense recorded at least 12 tackles for a loss for the first time since a 2010 victory over Wyoming with a final tally of 13. The Cougars have notched at least seven tackles for a loss in six out of seven games.
TOTAL YARDS
BYU held Cincinnati to 341 yards of total offense for a season low for the Bearcats. The previous low was against Miami with 446 total yards. After giving up 205 yards (158 pass, 47 rush) in the first quarter, the defense held the Bearcats to 136 (61 pass, 75 rush). Entering the game, Cincinnati was averaging 586.8 yards of total offense.
YARDS PER CARRY
BYU averaged 6.8 yards per carry (197 on 29 carries) for the highest average on the ground this season. The previous season high was at Nebraska with 5.1 yards per carry.
TOTAL OFFENSE
The Cougar offense had 19 total yards with 10 passing after the first quarter. They finished with 430 total yards and 242 through the air.
BYU PLAYER NOTES
He completed 19 of 32 passes for 252 yards, one interception and two touchdowns with a long of 53.
–1st half: 5 of 15 for 80 yards and one interception
–2nd half: 14 of 17 for 172 yards and two touchdowns
He notched his first career sacks with 1.5 in the game and helped force the first punt of the game for the Bearcats.
His two sacks in the first half moved him into No. 3 in career sacks at BYU since 2000, when official NCAA defensive statistics began. He ended the game with three for his fourth multi-sack game of his career. He had a forced fumble and also had his second block in as many games on Cincinnati’s 58-yard field goal attempt at the beginning of the second quarter.
Had his second multi-touchdown game of his career, rushing 88 yards on 20 attempts with two scores.
He recorded his first two touchdown catches of his collegiate career, while notching his second game of at least 100 yards receiving. His six receptions are career high while his 53-yard touchdown catch tied a career long set in the Nebraska game.
He notched a career high in tackles for loss with two.
Booted a season-high four punts inside the 20-yard line, averaging 47.4 yards per punt on five punts with a long of 58.
Notched a career high in total tackles (9), solo stops (5) and assisted tackles (4) to go along with two tackles for loss.
Francis Bernard
Scored his second career touchdown while rushing for 60 yards on four attempts with a career long of 40.
Garrett Juergens
Returned a punt 39 yards for a career high in the fourth quarter to set the table for BYU’s final score of the game.
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall (Video)
“It was really a gratifying win today. You might question it after one come-from-behind win, or two or three, but it just seems like our team comes alive in the fourth quarter and plays hard and wants to win. I’ve just been amazed and impressed by how they’ve played in the fourth quarter.”
“I think Cincinnati’s a very good team. Coach Tuberville’s a good coach – and that shows by the way their team played.”
“I’m really happy with our offensive front. Knowing that Tanner was limited and couldn’t move the same way that he has been – I don’t think he got sacked tonight – which is an amazing thing. And I really think the offensive front helped us in the run game in the second half of trying to take over the game, allowing us to get into some rhythm and occupy the clock a little bit more while we’re moving forward on the other side.”
“On the other front, once we kind of settled into what they were doing and how they were doing it and how fast they go – which took a quarter or so, a quarter and a half, we simplified the plan and our defensive front did a really nice job without us having to bring tons and tons of exotic pressure. So, I think both fronts really were the key determinant of the game.”
“Field position shifted in our favor in the second half, third down stop shifted in our favor in the second half and then Garrett Jeurgens’ punt return was a huge play. It was just fun to see him have an opportunity to make that kind of play.”
“Really, really impressed with Tanner and his ability, with limited practice, to come in and lead our team. Special teams were solid and just overall a good win.”
“If there was a black mark or something – we had some pretty critical penalties along the way that made it harder for us in the game. But, great win for our team. They’re happy and I’m happy. There’s a lot of work that’s gone into this season and it’s just fun to see them smile and get some rewards for all the hard work.”
On fourth quarter surges
“I wish I could take credit for it. I think these players – I can’t say I know what it is – other than I think their urgency increases, I think their determination increases, I think their concentration increases and their execution – all of that. You can kind of just feel it happen. I’d like to bottle that and maybe use that in the other three quarters, but maybe we wouldn’t have any left if we did it that way. So, that might just be the identity of this team. It’s hard on us all, I think, but the outcome right now is pretty good.”
On defense
“We had eight (sacks) from what I was told. I think the school record is 10. They just played really hard. We made a few personnel changes, a few little tweaks with the scheme here and there, but really it was just the effort of Bronson, and Travis and Sione and Sai Tautu. I don’t even know who got them all, but whoever we put in there just tried really hard. They were challenged to do that and that stopped what was close to 600 yards per game and almost 40 points – that’s really what changed the game.”
“When the ball was thrown downfield, with the exception of the first quarter – which was more my fault than the players’ fault – once I kind of figured out how they were attacking us, once I gave them a plan that they could execute, the secondary did a really great job.”
Tanner’s second half
“I think (the second half changes) took place with practice. It kind of sounds funny to say that in a game, but he wasn’t able to practice before the game much and do it effectively. And so I just think it took him a little bit of time to get back up to game speed without many repetitions. He just was – he was poised, the offensive staff was poised – we had a good idea of what he could and couldn’t do, and then I think we planned to suit that.”
On Kurtz’s open TD pass
“I just saw that he was wide open. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if they just broke their coverage or what. Nick’s, almost his entire family was here today. It’s really fun to see a player play like that in front of his family. That makes it really special. He did a nice job.”
On changing momentum
“It’s amazing. You can just feel the sideline ignite. We were determined. I think what’s happening now is that we’ve been in the situation enough times that there kind of isn’t doubt, there’s an optimism. I don’t know how it’s going to happen – the players might know more than I do. They just think they’re going to win. We prepare really hard mentally at a high level. I think they trust us, but I also think they trust each other and I can’t do that for them.” ​
Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville
"It was a tale of two halves. In the first half, we looked like the team we are and we played really well. We were playing hard and executing. In the second half, we got hit in the mouth and didn't respond. We didn't have a running game or a passing game. Things just didn't go our way. They played much better than we did starting in the fourth quarter. We got knocked on the turf and some of our young guys didn't get back up. We just weren't very physical in the fourth quarter."
"I felt like we played pretty hard most of the time. There was some good things. But, you can't play like we did tonight on the offensive line and beat too many people. The quarterback ran for his life and they got great penetration from the outside and great pushes up front to get in his face."
"The running game was decent, but we didn't do much in the second half. Our running game left us, our passing game left us, and our kicking game left us in the fourth quarter."
"We should've been fresher. They've played some tough games and we had an open date and they didn't. We didn't take on the challenge. The bottom line is that they got to us."
On the physicality:
"I knew coming in that it was going to be a physical game. They play physical football. But, we had 135 yards of total offense in the second half and we had way too many penalties. We made some plays in the first half, but not any in the second half."
On not getting to Tanner Mangum tonight:
"I don't think he got touched. We didn't blitz a whole lot, but when they throw the ball 32 times, you should at least get in his face. They protected him well. The bottom line is that their offensive line played well and ours didn't.
On Nick Kurtz being wide open for the touchdown:
"They run a switch route. We had two guys on one and none on him. For some reason, we just had physical and mental lapses like that in the fourth quarter."
On starting quarterback Hayden Moore:
"He just had more practice time. He was probably better for this game because of the way he can run the ball. It will be a competition for the spot every week."
Tanner Mangum (Video)
On the comeback win:
“We just keep playing and believing. We know that the game is never over, and we just keep fighting. We stay positive, no matter what, we just keep helping each other because we know the fourth quarter is the time to come through and finish the game.”
On the team’s fourth quarter mentality:
“It’s all inside. It’s all in our hearts. That’s where it has to come from. On both sides of the ball we fight on every single play. I think that’s the key, we take things one play at a time. We can’t control the fact that we are down: that’s already happened. The only thing that we can control is that play.”
Fred Warner (Video)
On the slow defensive start:
“I think we just started off slow. We came out and we were not as focused in as we should have been, and we weren’t executing. At halftime, we were all positive about it. In the second half we stopped them on first down when they ran the ball, and that created a second and long, and then a third and long, and then we were able to get after the quarterback. We just had to dial in.”
On the pressure:
“When I was on the sideline, I would see what was going on. You could tell that when the quarterback was dropping back, he was just waiting for someone to hit him. He couldn’t concentrate on seeing his receivers downfield. And our defense did a great job covering. When they cover like that, we can get after the quarterback upfront.”
Algernon Brown (Video)
On getting the run game going:
“I think the biggest thing was that the coaches kept everything positive at halftime. Even though we started slow in the beginning, they wanted to keep us in the game, and they wanted to keep us going. The biggest thing for us was just staying positive at halftime.”
On the team’s fourth quarter mentality:
“It’s something that we just see in each other’s eyes. The fourth quarter comes around and everybody is just so pumped. Guys just want to get on the field and make plays. You can definitely see it in everyone’s eyes.”
Bronson Kaufusi (Video)
On how the defense responds to yards against:
“I think as a defense, when teams start to get yards on us, that just wakes us all up. Everyone just elevates their game, and people want to get to the ball and play faster. After they get yards, we just want to get back out there again and stop them.”
On how the defensive pressure affected Moore:
“I feel like you can sense when a quarterback gets antsy, because he will give one check and then take off running, or look for a gap. You’ll see his eyes scrolling back and forth. That’s what we want. It was nice to be able to cause that.”
Nick Kurtz (Video)
“My mom came out here this week, and my dad moved out here a while ago. He hasn’t been able to see me score yet. He said he was crying and that everyone was crying when I scored. So it was special.”
On his wide-open touchdown:
“I saw the ball sailing, and I actually laughed, like ‘wow, I am really wide open right now’. It just sailed in, and I just kept it away from my body, and it was awesome. I just got into the end zone and saw the fans. It was great.”
Garrett Juergens (Video)
On the punt return:
“Honestly, I knew it was going to happen. We had that return called and the last time it was open, but I couldn’t get outside. We called it again and I knew that if I could get outside the first guy, I would have a lot of field to work with.”
On the effect of the punt return:
“It wasn’t until after that I realized how big of a play it was. As a punt returner, you’re just watching: first down, we got a sack. Second down, and we got another sack. And then it’s third and long and I’m getting antsy because that’s when I get to go in. At that point, it wasn’t ‘change the game’; it was ‘do your job’. And it just so happened that doing my job changed the game and gave us an opportunity to score.”​