Ben Bywater, Brigham Young Football News: Draft Scout Player News

12/17/22 - OLB Ben Bywater, rSr/2025, Brigham Young

Cornerback Jakon Robinson stopped SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai on a 2-point conversion try with eight seconds left in the game, and BYU beat the Mustangs 24-23 Saturday night in the New Mexico Bowl. Mordecai, who finished with 218 passing yards and two touchdowns, tried to cut up the middle on a designed run and was dropped by Robinson, shutting down SMU’s comeback attempt from a 24-10 third-quarter deficit. The 2-point try came after Jordan Kerley caught a 12-yard TD pass from Mordecai. Taking his first snaps in a college game, BYU redshirt freshman Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters ran for a game-leading 96 yards with a touchdown, and Christopher Brooks added 88 yards and a score for the Cougars (8-5). Maiava-Peters was 7 of 12 passing for 47 yards and an interception. After an apparent fumble recovery in the third quarter was overturned, the Cougars got a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown from linebacker Ben Bywater, breaking a 10-all tie.

Bywater added a game-high 11 tackles as part of a surprisingly stout performance by a BYU defense that had been allowing 30 points per game. The Cougars defense also turned in a big play on fourth-and-2 at the BYU 24 with five minutes left in the game as Alden Tofa sacked Mordecai for a 17-yard loss. SMU (7-5) raced to an early lead, getting a 35-yard field goal from Collin Rogers and 9-yard scoring pass from Mordecai to Roderick Daniels Jr., around a 1-yard scoring run by Maiava-Peters in the first quarter. Jake Oldroyd booted a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter for BYU, and the team were tied at 10-all at halftime. After Bywater scored on the interception, BYU added a 22-yard scoring run by Brooks in the third quarter. SMU closed within seven points at 24-17 in the fourth quarter when Tyler Lavine scored on a 3-yard run. Lavine finished with 91 yards on 23 carries. - BYU/AP College Football

rSr/2025