PROVO — Nobody will be looking at the tape of BYU’s defense as the epitome of how to run a college football program after Friday night’s 55-53 win over Toledo in front of 62,230 fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

But unlike the past three games, the Cougars (2-3) will remember at as one thing: a win.

Jamaal Williams had a record-breaking night, Taysom Hill managed a game with 248 passing yards and a touchdown without a turnover, and the Cougars piled up 586 yards of offense in an explosion worthy of its Mid-American Conference opponent.

Here’s how BYU graded out on the eve of General Conference weekend of BYU’s flagship institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Offense: A-

The cure for a struggling offense — play a MAC defense. Jonah Trinnaman went 75 yards on a well-timed ball from Taysom Hill for a touchdown on the first play of the game, setting the tone for the remainder of the contest.

Jamaal Williams passed Jamal Willis for No. 3 on BYU’s all-time career rushing yards list with 2,970 midway through the first quarter. Williams then broke Eldon Fortie’s 54-year-old record for most rushing yards in a single game, finishing with 286 yards and five touchdowns on 30 carries.

“I’ve got to give credit to everyone blocking tonight: linemen, fullbacks, wide receivers,” Williams said. “Taysom did a great job on the play action and taking his opportunities. I think it was a great offensive night, and we came out as a team.”

Of course, all wasn’t perfect with the BYU offense. After the game-opening TD strike, BYU’s offense cooled off substantially in the second quarter. A side that put up 187 yards of offense in the opening 12 minutes had just five net yards in the second stanza, when Hill completed just one pass.

Along with Trinnaman, Squally Canada also scored his first touchdown in a BYU uniform.

Defense: D+

BYU was at a significant disadvantage before the game started, missing linebacker Butch Pau’u and cornerback Troy Warner for the game with injuries. But the Cougars got a boost when defensive tackle Travis Tuiloma took to the field for the second-straight game. Tuiloma played one half, and finished with one tackle, while Adam Pulsipher had eight stops and 0.5 tackles for loss in relief of Pau’u.

“I was really happy with the trust he had in me, and the trust the players had in me,” Pulsipher said of the call-up. “All the work you put in, it’s an incredible feeling. It’s a high you can’t described.”

After an early touchdown that shredded the defense with just eight plays, Dayan Lake pulled down his first career interception and returned it to the 13-yard line. Lake’s shifty skills and a lead block by Harvey Langi set up Williams’ second touchdown of the game and a 21-14 lead after the first quarter.

In the absence of Warner, BYU’s young defensive backs were burned regularly, including on a wide-open 26-yard TD by Corey Jones. But Kai Nacua grabbed an interception with the veteran savvy of a defensive captain, and the Cougars did just enough not to let the game get out of hand.

“Probably not the best game film to watch for defense,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “But I’m glad our guys stuck with it.”

Toledo piled up 304 yards of total offense in the first half, led by Logan Woodside’s 180 yards on just 11 pass completions. For the game, Woodside completed 30 passes for 505 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions and two sacks taken.

“We just need to minimize the big gains people are making on us. We’ve got to tackle better,” Sitake said. “But we just can’t give up that many big plays and big points. But you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the dynamic offenses of Toledo and West Virginia we are facing.”

Special teams: C+

After back-to-back good games in the third phase, BYU’s special teams took a step back against Toledo. Aleva Hifo mishandled the opening kickoff, Garrett Juergens gained just four yards on one punt return and Jonny Linehan averaged a less-than-average 44 yards per punt while coverage also struggled.

The biggest special teams play of the game went to defensive tackle Tomasi Laulile, who blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt with 34 seconds left in the half as the Rockets tried to sneak a halftime lead.

But Almond drilled both attempted field goals, and after squibbing a PAT against Arizona, he's been solid since the injury to freshman Jake Oldroyd.

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Once again, it all came down to a two-minute drill — or 1:11, to be exact. With just over a minute remaining and down by one, Taysom Hill led an eight-play, 71-yard drive capped by Rhett Almond’s 19-yard field goal as time expired to help BYU outlast Toledo, 55-53 and snap a three-game losing streak Friday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Coaching: B+

With the defense down against a high-octane opponent and special teams off its game, BYU’s offensive coaches had to step up the play calling.

Good news for first-year coordinator Ty Detmer: he passed the test.

Detmer called the perfect plays on the final drive, leading the Cougars on an eight-play, 71-yard spurt over 1:06 to win the game on Almond’s field goal.

When the passing game struggled early, Detmer saw what Williams and Canada were doing in the run game and called accordingly. He set up the running backs with play-action from Hill, and drew up pass plays for six receivers — including three combined catches by fullbacks Algie Brown and Brayden El-Bakri.

Overall: B

Yes, it was a MAC school. Yes, BYU gave up a lot of ground to Toledo. Yes, the Cougars are five points away from being 0-5.

But after three-straight losses, BYU pulled out a win in another close contest. Through just under half of the 2016 football season, the Cougars have decided contests by a total of 12 points.

“It’s what we do, I guess,” Hill said. “We knew there would be an opportunity left; we had a lot of time and three timeouts. I think we could’ve thrown the ball around more, but when our run game was working the way it was, there was no need.”

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