BYU football report card: Players predictably grade high against the Idaho Vandals

PROVO — The game went largely like most thought it would with BYU blowing Idaho out 52-13. Grades are in for every position group regarding their overall performance in the final home game of the season.

Offense: The offense was humming from the start and accounted for 203 yards and 28 points after just one quarter of play. At the half, the Cougars had gained 367 yards and put up 42 points and were generally able to do what they wanted against a bad Idaho defense.

Bronco Mendenhall is extremely wary of running up the score against anyone and called off the dogs in the second half. BYU finished with 537 total yards and 52 points playing with its subs after halftime.

Riley Nelson played like you'd expect him to against an awful opponent and completed 19 of 31 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns. He also tacked on 49 yards rushing on just seven carries.

True freshman Jamaal Williams added 104 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries in just one half of play. Cody Hoffman had another great game — finishing with 108 yards and three touchdowns with his nine receptions.

It would have been nice to see more production in the second half, but it largely didn't matter. Grade: A-

Defense: The defense started a bit sluggish allowing Idaho to get within field goal range on its initial drive. It bucked up from that point, but did allow a first quarter touchdown that few, if any, were anticipating.

Overall the defense yielded just 13 points and 274 yards of offense while forcing five turnovers. Mendenhall emptied his bench with players such as Uani Unga and Simonte Vea accounting for a couple of the forced turnovers. Grade: A-

Special Teams: The special teams play was adequate and didn't play a big part in the overall outcome. Riley Stephenson punted twice for a 42.5 average, but Justin Sorensen missed badly on his first field goal attempt before connecting late on a short one. Grade: B-

Overall: BYU played largely like you'd expect it to against a team like Idaho in the final home game of the year. The team came out well-prepared and took care of business early before coasting to victory. Grade: B+

Email: bgurney@desnews.com

Twitter: @BrandonCGurney