Week 10 – #3 BYU (8-0) @ Cinci (6-2, Rec Votes) – Sat, Nov 5, 2016 – Nippert Stadium – Cincinnati, OH – 6:00pm EST – ESPN2

The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time…BYU was exhausted from their brutal schedule, which is currently ranked by several people as the #1 SOS in the country. Amazingly, Taysom is healthy and the rest of the team is ready to go.

This game is now getting huge publicity as a future Big12 conference game as both BYU and Cinci have been invited starting in 2017. The two future Big12 foes don’t disappoint tonight, despite the awful weather. Taysom looks off early and throws two INT’s. It’s unusually cold and players complain about the freezing temps and slushy rain. This is an absolute slop-fest.

Thankfully, BYU can stick to the ground game and just ground and pound all night long. Their style can, at times, be so slow and deliberate, it’s as if Ty’s trying to mock Anae’s “GFGH” system. “I’d rather my guys run 60 plays at 100% strength and energy than run 100 plays at 75%...I think this year we’ve proven it’s more effective, from a point production stand point…we control the clock and dictate tempo, it helps our O and our D.”

BYU’s all-white uniforms look brown and nearly indistinguishable from Cinci’s black ones by the ends of this game and the teams slip-and-slide to another one-point decision…21-20. Jamaal Williams’ 14 yard TD run in the 4th proves to be the game-winner after the poor Cinci RB fumbles for the 3rd time on a bad exchange. Tuiloma falls on it after it literally squirms out of three other people’s hands and BYU takes a knee to win the game. 5 starters are ruled out next week for catching severe colds from this game (Warner, Kanuch, Karoma, Nacua and MLP)

Player of the Game – Jamaal Williams – 34 carries, 134 yards, 2 TD’s, 2 catches, 14 yds