BYU's defense locked down and stifled Cincinnati's greatest strength

BYU's defense wouldn't break against the Bearcats and stopped UC on eight of their ten possessions.

BYU v Cincinnati | Dylan Buell/GettyImagesBYU’s defense epitomized the bend-but-don’t-break philosophy for defenses in the sport of football. Cincy would get close to scoring many times and come away with nothing, turned back by BYU. The Cougar defense was in good form in the same places they've been great all season. They were helped by their offense maintaining possession and keeping them fresh. Jay Hill’s plan was good, and his guys went out and made it happen.

Their strengths this year have been on third down, where they ranked 13th in the nation, allowing only a 31.1% conversion rate. They…