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PROVO -- BYU Came away with another victory this week as Riley Nelson led the Cougars to a victory against San Jose State 29-16. But he wasn't the only player making impact plays Saturday night. Here is a look at the top performers.
Kyle Van Noy, BYU LB- Van Noy is truly a special player. He made his presence know on the field... again. Van Noy had an interception, which set up a BYU touchdown. He also had a huge open field tackle on third down that stopped a San Jose drive. Van Noy pressured the quarterback disrupting the passing game. He also broke up passes and was in the right place at the right time consistently through out the entire game.
Jordan Pendleton, BYU LB- Pendleton returned to the starting line up this week after being out due to an ankle injury. Pendleton had a big sack for a loss of nine yards and was also able to hit the quarterback several times in the game, disputing Matt Faulkner's flow. The highlight of his game was when Pendleton blitzed off the edge and forced Faulkner to throw a bad pass, Van Noy was able to catch the errant throw and have a nice return which set up a game-changing BYU touchdown.
BYU Offensive line- The oft-maligned offensive line had a great game. Riley Nelson was able to sit in the pocket, when that was his desire, make his reads, go through his progressions and find the open man. Nelson's two interceptions were not the fault of the O-Line. The line also protected Nelson when he got out of the pocket which allowed the play to stay alive. The line also not nasty in the trenches and allowed the running game to be a dominant force in this game. BYU rushed for 225 yards and controlled the pace of the game in the second half. The Offensive line made huge holes and allowed the backs to pick up big first downs.
Michael Alisa, BYU RB- Alisa may be the power back BYU fans have been looking for. Alisa had a break out game, carrying the ball 15 carries for 91 yards. Alisa seemed to power through the first tackle allowing him to pick up several first downs in the game. Alisa found the holes that the offensive line had provide and capitalized on the holes with great runs.
Riley Nelson, BYU QB- Nelson had more of a "got it done: game. BYU had three turnovers and Nelson was responsible for all of them, but when he needed to answer back he always did. Nelson made some great throws and found open receivers down field. Nelson kept drives alive with his legs by scrambling to find open receivers and running for yards down field. Nelson proved to many how tough he is, when faced by the defense he simply lowered his head and powered forward, with no sign of fear. Nelson ran nine times for 65 yards and threw for 219 yards on 14 of 24 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Email: onlinesports@ksl.com
