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- BYU's LJ Martin rushed 222 yards, two touchdowns in a 26-14 win.
- The offensive line's performance aided BYU's Big 12 title game aspirations.
- A victory over UCF next week secures BYU's championship game appearance.
CINCINNATI — Running for an eye-popping 222 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries less than a month removed from an apparent shoulder injury, BYU's LJ Martin didn't make it look so Saturday night at Nippert Stadium.
Admittedly, the work of the offensive line in front of him made it about as easy as he could expect.
With Martin's career-high effort, 392 yards of offense, and 38 minutes and 25 seconds in time of possession, the 11th-ranked Cougars pulled away for a 26-14 win over Cincinnati and within a game of a Big 12 championship appearance in just their third season in the league.
Things don't generally come easy for BYU (10-1, 6-1 Big 12), but on this night, some of them did. Good things happen, it turns out, when you hand off the rock.
"They made it super easy," Martin said after the game, and — presumably — an ice bath or a Tylenol after he rocked Cincinnati defenders so hard that mouth guards flew out of their helmets. "They were getting wide open creases, and they did a great job pushing up front.
"It was probably the easiest night of my life."
It was also a crucial night, when the Cougars had a (potential) chance to clinch a spot in the Dec. 6 conference championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
For a moment, everything was going well, as TCU handed No. 23 Houston a third loss, No. 12 Utah rallied for a 51-47 win over Kansas State, and Colorado led No. 25 Arizona State, 21-17 before the fourth quarter.
Yes, even the Utes did their part to help secure a BYU trip to north Texas.
The Sun Devils, of course, rattled off 21 unanswered points in the final period to secure a 42-17 victory in Boulder — which leaves BYU with one final must-win game. A home victory over UCF next week on senior night will send them to Arlington, likely against No. 5 Texas Tech.
Since that humbling 29-7 loss to the Red Raiders in Lubbock back on Nov. 8, these Cougars have been motivated. Saturday was no different.
Martin even put some style points of his own on the win, a 33-yard touchdown with 56 seconds left when the Cougars were trying to run out the clock with a 20-14 lead and nine straight run plays.
The visitors reached 10 wins for the fourth time in Kalani Sitake's 10 seasons, the 20th time in program history, and on back-to-back seasons for the second time since 2020. Humbled and hungry after flying back with a defeated record, the response was immediate.
"We just got back to what we were doing," Martin said. "We had a little bit of extra time to change up some stuff, and we were kind of doing some things that we usually didn't. So, you know, just getting back to our basics and doing things that we need to do."
That included a new emphasis on running the ball for a team coached by a former fullback of the late legendary head coach LaVell Edwards. In two games since the loss to Texas Tech, Martin has run the ball 53 times for 300 yards — and he also added three catches for 44 yards Saturday with Chase Roberts sidelined in the first half.
So credit to Martin. But put some respect on his offensive line, too, a group led by center Bruce Mitchell, tackles Andrew Genty and Isaiah Jatta, and Austin Leausa, Kyle Sfarcioc and Sonny Makasini on the interior with Weylin Lapuaho sitting out.
BYU ran 74 plays on offense, and 49 stayed on the ground, while Bear Bachmeier completed 15-of-25 passes for 127 yards without a touchdown or an interception (he also ran for 46 yards and a score.
A lineman's dream.
"It's awesome. I always tease Bear about being a fullback, because he's as big as a fullback," Mitchell said of his 6-foot-2, 220-pound freshman signal caller. "It's awesome being able to have those guys, where even if we don't open something up, they're going to go get one or two yards just because they're so big and strong.
"It's awesome having them able to open up the run game with Bear and different aspects. We're not even scared to run him in the A gap, either. It's awesome to have Bear."
Big, strong and capable. But for at least one night — a night the Cougars took a big step closer to the Big 12 championship game — easy.
"The line did a great job," Sitake said. "It was assignment sound football for them, just fundamentals; it comes down to blocking, and LJ was able to find the holes. But overall, the tight ends and receivers were blocking downfield, too, and helped spring some big plays.
"I'm just really proud of everybody and what they did, in all three phases. It's hard defensively to hold this team (Cincinnati) to two scores, and I thought Jay (Hill, defensive coordinator) and the boys did great, too."
