On Saturday, RB LJ Martin’s run game sealed BYU’s 26-14 win against Cincinnati. The Cougars are a step closer to the playoffs. Despite running for a career high of 222 yards, Martin was on the receiving end of an ‘unsportsmanlike behavior’. The situation got so loud that even the head coach, Kalani Sitake, had to point it out.

“Kalani Sitake Will never run up the score,” BYU Philly Sports wrote on X. “It’s not who he is. He even admonished LJ Martin in his game-ending interview about scoring at the end. Style points matter my guy.”

BYU had dominated the game on Saturday. By the end of the fourth quarter, with less than five minutes on the clock, they were poised to win, 20-14. On the next drive, QB Bear Bachmeier led his offense for 75 yards over 9 plays that ate off 3 minutes and 34 seconds on the clock. By that time, it was clear that the Cougars had nearly secured the win.

On the last play, with 0:56 on the clock, Martin sprinted for a 33-yard game-winning touchdown, widening the lead, 26-14. With BYU’s dominance and near victory, it was expected that Martin would take a knee before reaching the end zone. But the 33-yard run ended up in a touchdown.

With that, the Bearcats were left with less than a minute to score. Martin’s style points earned him praise but also a slap on the wrist.

During the post-game interview with Fox, Coach Sitake praised his running back, calling him a playmaker. “We wanted him to score and all. That’s great,” he further admitted, “We had the game under control. Just needed a first down.”

After rushing for 222 yards and two touchdowns, Martin registered a career-high record, pushing BYU closer to its Big 12 championship game. He continued that the Cougars could have gone into the victory formation had Martin taken the knee before reaching the endzone. “But it’s OK,” as he put it. If a team is already winning with the final outcome no longer in doubt, the winning team takes a knee to express humility and sportsmanship.

“I don’t blame LJ for the touchdown,” HC Sitake Kalani added. “The goal was to get a first down, but it was open, and you gotta take it.”

It could have backfired, but Cincinnati could never get anything going, as it was out of timeouts in the final minute. The Cougars are presently holding onto the Big 12 championship and playoff dreams. Martin’s style points were necessary to impress the college football committee, and Sitake knows this. Already dominating the game since the first quarter, Martin could have stopped before the endzone, but a 26-14 victory always looks better than a 20-14 win on paper.

LJ Martin on scoring style-points

The junior from El Paso became the 18th BYU ball carrier to go for more than 200 yards in a single game. LJ Martin admitted that he had asked the offense about taking a knee before the play began. Although the offense had decided to run the ball, it was expected that the RB would stop short of the end zone and take a knee, guaranteeing a win.

“I was asking them (before the run) if we were going to take a knee instead. They were like, ‘No, we need to run the ball, so I was like, ‘If you guys didn’t want to score, then we should have never ran the ball,” he said.

After the 33-yard style point, the Bearcats were left with less than a minute to score. Cincinnati QB Brendon Sorsby couldn’t get the offense going and was sacked on the last play for a loss of two yards. As the clock bled 0:00, the Cougars emerged victorious 26-14. Just days prior to the matchup, the head coach himself has stated, “I know what people are saying and the metrics and the analytics and style points (matter) and all that stuff.” However, he stressed the overall preparation and performance of his team, heading into the matchup.

With one loss so far, to Texas Tech, Kalani Sitake’s unit is dreaming big. Now, BYU is just one win away from suiting up for the championship game and possibly a part of the playoffs. Next Saturday, they will face off against the UCF Knights (5-6) and are heavy favorites to win.