This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kansas City, Mo. • The fact that BYU's defense spent so much time on the field Saturday night was mostly its own fault. But nobody could say Bronson Kaufusi failed to take advantage of his extra opportunities.
Missouri's 83 offensive plays (to BYU's 56) created the need for a lot of tackles, in other words. Kaufusi was the Cougars' most productive player, with the defensive end recording eight solo tackles and two assists. He was credited with three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles — and recovered one of them in a 20-16 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kaufusi personally stopped a Missouri scoring drive with his hit on running back Ish Witter in the first quarter, causing a fumble and recovering the ball at the BYU 21-yard line. The Tigers managed to recover the ball at the BYU 14 after Kaufusi jarred it loose from Tyler Hunt in the third quarter, and they eventually scored a touchdown on a drive that extended into the fourth quarter.
Kaufusi took over the team lead in tackles for loss with 11.5 in 10 games, moving ahead of linebacker Fred Warner (nine).
The Cougars failed to register a sack among Missouri's 28 pass attempts. Linebacker Harvey Langi matched Kaufusi's 10 total tackles and Jherremya Leuta-Douyere contributed 1.5 tackles for loss. But the Cougars allowed Missouri to convert 13 of 20 third-down plays and gave up 434 total yards to one of the Southeastern Conference's worst offenses. The Tigers kept the ball for more than 39 minutes of the game, even while operating a fast-paced scheme, and ran 49 plays in the first half.
Prior to sustaining a concussion, BYU safety Micah Hannemann produced the defense's other takeaway. His interception and 29-yard return to the Missouri 41-yard line led to the Cougars' first touchdown, good for a 10-6 lead. The pickoff was Hannemann's second of the season.
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