CINCINNATI –  BYU football took down Cincinnati 20-3 on the road on Saturday with a stout defensive effort and a strong run game.

POSTGAME NOTES & QUOTES
BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY

BYU improves to 5-4 on the season after outgaining Cincinnati (4-5, 1-4 American Athletic Conference) 338 to 286. The Cougars were successful on third down in the game, converting 10 of 16 attempts and holding the Bearcats to just 4 of 13 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth.

The Cougar defense held Cincinnati without a touchdown, marking the first time BYU has kept an opponent out of the end zone since 2014 against Savannah State and first FBS opponent since SDSU in the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl. It was the fewest points the Bearcats have scored since a 10-3 loss to Rutgers in 2012.

"I was really happy as an overall team win," head coach Kalani Sitake said. "We talked about it with our guys and this is a time we need to step it up more and this is what we worked hard all summer for, for our guys to be in great shape right now so I am really pleased with the way they worked and thought they looked good overall.”

Taysom Hill led the offense, completing 15 of 25 passes for 130 yards and one interception along with rushing 75 yards for a touchdown. Jamaal Williams had 25 carries for 92 yards while Squally Canada spelled him with nine carries, 41 yards and one touchdown.

On defense, Francis Bernard led the team with nine total tackles along with one pass breakup. Corbin Kaufusi had notched three tackles and one sack while Troy Warner logged three pass breakups in the first half.

In the Bearcats’ opening drive, they made it to the BYU 6-yard line. The Cougars stayed tough, however, holding the home team to a 23-yard field goal, which would be the only score of the game for Cincinnati.

After BYU turned the ball over on downs on its first possession, freshman Austin McChesney picked off Gunner Kiel for his first interception of his career. He returned it 37 yards with 7:12 remaining in the first quarter. However, the Cougar offense stalled, punting the ball back to the Bearcats.

The defense held Cincinnati to a three and out in the next possession. On third down for BYU, Hill rushed 9 yards for the first down. Rhett Almond kicked a 28-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3 with 38 seconds left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Hill was picked off, turning the ball over with 11:46 to play until the half. The Cougar defense stifled the Bearcats, forcing a three and out.

BYU finally got the offense going late in the second quarter. Colby Pearson and Nick Kurtz each had key third down conversions to keep the drive alive. To spark the team, Hill threw 43-yard flea flicker to Jonah Trinnaman, setting up the score. Hill rushed 8 yards into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game, taking the 10-3 lead heading into the break.

The Cougars outgained Cincinnati 115 to 9 in the second quarter.

To start the second half, Pearson and Canada were clutch on third down to get the first downs in the opening drive of the half. Williams rushed 13 yards to get just short of the end zone, setting up the score. Canada punched in that last yard for his second touchdown of the year, pushing BYU’s lead to 17-3 with 8:26 left in the third quarter.

The Bearcats’ next chance to score came on a 39-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, but it went wide left to keep the Cougars up 17-3.

BYU defense came up big again when Cincinnati went for it on fourth and two. Fred Warner and Tevita Mo’Unga combined to keep Bearcats running back Tion Green short, forcing a turnover on downs.

Draining 9:41 off the clock in the fourth quarter, the Cougars took their time marching down the field on their final scoring drive Williams converted on fourth down with a 2-yard rush. But on the second fourth down BYU faced, the team settled for a 19-yard field goal, pushing the lead to 20-3 with just 1:39 left in the game.

To seal the win, the Cougar defense held the Bearcats to a turnover on downs at the BYU 19-yard line . Hill took a knee in victory formation to take the last road game of the season for BYU.

The Cougars will finish out the regular season with three-straight home games, starting with a matchup with Southern Utah next Saturday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. MST. The game will be televised live on BYUtv along with a radio broadcast on KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM, BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143 and Cougar IMG Sports Network.

PROVO, Utah – Following a bye week, BYU football is back in action at Cincinnati on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT live on the CBS Sports Network.

Live coverage from Nippert Stadium will be on the Cougar IMG Sports Network with Greg Wrubell, which can also be found on Sirius XM 143, 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and BYUcougars.com. IMG’s radio coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

BYUtv will provide pregame and postgame coverage of the matchup, beginning with Countdown to Kickoff starting at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Postgame coverage runs for half an hour after the game on BYUtv.

BYU (4-4) at Cincinnati (4-4, 1-4 AAC)
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016
Kickoff: 3:32 p.m. EDT
Nippert Stadium (40,000)

BYU Game Notes

Cincinnati Game Notes

Notes

SERIES HISTORY. Last year, BYU defeated the Bearcats 38-24 in the two schools' first meeting. Trailing 24-17, BYU scored 21 points in the fourth quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Nick Kurtz had 119 receiving yards and two touchdowns and Algie Brown scored two rushing touchdowns and had 88 rushing yards. 

THE AMERICAN. BYU is facing an opponent from the American Athletic Conference, marking the seventh different conference BYU has faced in 2016. The team has already played games against the Pac-12, Big 12, MAC, Big Ten, SEC and Mountain West. 

TOUGH SCHEDULE. BYU's 2016 schedule ranks 17th in the Jeff Sagarin USA Today rankings. The Cougars have played six Power 5 teams, going 3-3 against them. Three of the four losses have come at the hands of teams currently ranked in the top 20 (No. 14/15 WVU, No. 16 Utah and No. 24 Boise State). 

BYE WEEK. BYU is 11-2 when coming off of a bye week over the past 10 seasons. Both losses came in 2013 against Utah and Wisconsin. 

NOVEMBER GAMES. BYU is 31-6 in the month of November over the past 10 seasons. 

JIM THORPE AWARD. Defensive back Kai Nacua was named as one of 16 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, honoring the nation's top defensive back. Nacua is tied for No. 2 nationally in interceptions with five. 

Quotes

Head coach Kalani Sitake
How did the bye week go?
I think the best part about it was we had a lot of guys finally have time to get healed up. We hit the weight room hard and get some guys caught up in academics and everything. The bye week came at the right time, especially for the health reasons. Obviously had some more time to do some recruiting as a staff and also have some extra time to prepare for Cincinnati, so we took advantage of the extra time we had.

What did you take to build off of the Boise State game?
If you would have told me that we didn’t have Jamaal (Williams) going into the game, but we still had a chance to win at the end, I would have taken it. After looking at the game, there were a lot of opportunities that we had to build on the lead and also to make some plays that we weren’t able to capitalize on. That was frustrating, but I was pleased with the effort and the fight in our guys because it gave us a chance to win the game at the end. I think if we would have blocked a little bit better it would have helped. You have to give Boise State credit because they literally just pushed our guys out of the way and blocked that kick. We have had a lot of close games and it would have been great to have won that game with the field goal.

On receivers
They just have to catch the ball, there’s no other way to say it other than that. That was disappointing because I thought those were big-time opportunities that could have helped us out and to stay on the field and continue driving and possibly get more points on the board. We will just have to keep working with it and make sure that we have the right guys out there making plays. It’s an expectation of our receivers- to block down field for our running backs and we expect them to catch the ball.

Make of Cincinnati?
They are a really good team and they have some really athletic guys. We have been looking at them and the Houston film was really impressive. They have a great coaching staff; I think I say the same thing every week about every team. We have gone against great teams for the first eight games and this one will be no different. We are expecting their best shot and we are looking forward to it.

Focus on Cincinnati during the bye week?
We focused on just our team and the Cincinnati game. You have to take advantage of the bye week and Cincinnati was our focus and keeping our guys healthy and progressing. We’ve focused a lot on our young guys and developing the depth and technique. Cincinnati is our next opponent and we focus on them and we have just been focusing on them since the end of the Boise game.

Senior DL Harvey Langi
Most important thing to get done during a bye week?
I think getting rest and mentally prepared. There’s definitely more time to watch film and get down formations and personnel and see what they do and like to do on certain downs. A lot of us are out there doing extra work and getting footwork right. Taysom (Hill) was out there throwing and the receivers were catching. Anything you feel like you want to work on personally during is perfect to do during the bye week.

How do you feel personally about your performance?
I feel like I am not where I can be and should be, but I think that’s all of us. We just always have that mentality that we can work better, but I just feel like an amateur from watching other linebackers. I watch where others put their hands, how their footwork is, and how they use momentum. I just feel like an amateur and that I’m learning. I really do love learning and I love playing football. I don’t care where I play, I just love playing football. In my mind when you leave a game from playing in the trenches, the feeling you get after leaving is so different. The trenches are just war and you almost feel like a ghost after the game. It is a different mind-set, but I love playing and what I’m learning.

What does defense need to change the most heading into November?
We take pride in stopping the run. I feel like we need to use that mentality and pride in the pass as well. That all starts with the defensive line. We need to get the quarter back moving. If he is not moving, then the corners are just running with those guys all day long, so we need to get to the quarterback.

Junior TE Tanner Balderree
On the off week
We did a lot of lifting, trying to get strong again from what’s tapered off during the season. It’s always hard. We’ve been lucky this year with our new program and it’s been able to sustain our strength better than the past couple years. It’s been really helpful. I’ve felt strong throughout the season, but there is still the inevitability that it’s going to taper off during the season. So this last week was good to help with that.

After Boise State
We still have a lot to do. We’re close, and we almost won the game even after making all the mistakes we did even on offense. We’re a good team, but we just haven’t quite put a full game together yet. We still have a lot of potential we can reach and we’re working every day to get there.

On the offensive mentality
We’re just working on focusing and doing a good job. I think everyone is capable of doing a good job, and we have a lot of good athletes on the team. It’s about not worrying about what someone else is doing, it’s about focusing on your job with the technique you’ve been taught.

On Cincinnati
They work really hard. Similar to what we’ve seen with Toledo and Boise, they are more on the athletic side. Their interior linemen are very good and very athletic. They are an athletic, fast team all-around, and they rely on their speed a lot to get to the ball and make plays. So we need to be ready for that again.

Junior OL Tuni Kanuch
What motivates you to finish the season strong?
We’re competitors. No one wants to lose, even if you’ve had upsets or been upset before. We want to win. We love BYU, we love the fans and we love each other. We’ve worked too hard all year to give up just because we lost a couple of games. They were really close games so we know we can play ball. We play a lot of good teams. We have one of the hardest schedules I’ve ever seen. I’m proud of my team. We have losses that we’re sad about, but we’re not ashamed of how we play. 

Bye week
It was good. I think it brought more hunger to the group. We were hungry, but sometimes through the season, you get a little beat up. There’s a lot of football going on, you’re overwhelmed, you have to catch up with school. We conditioned. All we did was run and lift. Today, I felt like everyone was amped to be in pads, ready to hit, ready to go over the schemes. I feel we’re more prepared to play football this week. 

O-line against Boise State
There was some confusion between us, so there were a lot of things we had to clean up in film. I’m going to give it to Boise’s defense. They’re good. They run, they work hard. They’re great football players. We weren’t assignment sound. That came from us as players and the leaders of the o-line not being prepared enough for ourselves. The coaches did everything they could for us and it gets to a point where the players have to step up. 

Good time for the bye week?
We had a couple of early games in a row, so I feel it’s a perfect time to have a bye week and rest up. It’s a good time to look at the bigger picture. Football is everything while we’re playing it, but when we have time off, there is a lot more to life. 

Cincinnati’s defense
I think they’re really good. We played them last year. They have two inside D-line that I know are coming back—they’re starters. I think they’re very physical. They two-gap very well. We better prepared, but I know that we will be. 

Junior DL Handsome Tanielu
Bye week
I’m a little banged up, personally. I’ve been struggling with a torn elbow ligament, so it was good to give it time to build some strength. As a team, it was really good for us—all we did was run and lift. It also made us a little hungry. Last night, I was thinking about how I can’t wait to put on my helmet. We only have four games left in the season. As a junior, it’s scaring me a little bit as it comes to the end. The bye week definitely was needed. 

Emotional level
The emotional level and experiences we have had as a team is incredible. These close games, win or lose, are good experiences. They give you feelings that you can’t ever forget. When it happens to be on your side of the table and is a victory, it’s awesome. Even when it doesn’t, it still was pretty cool and will still be remembered as a good fight. The emotions at the Boise State game were definitely there, but you can’t do anything about it now. 

Rotating in the defense
With this new defense BYU has been using, you have to rotate. To play a four down front, you have to be a dirty dog. You can’t be a tired dog. Your ears need to be pinned back and you need to be ready to go. You have to have a really good defensive line and have fresh legs out there. It’s not sitting there and reacting. You want them to react to you. So the rotations are important and we need to make sure that the guys waiting to go in are ready. 

Cincinnati
They have a good, well-rounded team. They are similar to us in a lot of areas. Specifically, they have a really good passing game and I think it’ll be fun to get to their quarterback.