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BOISE, Idaho — Credit goes to the big names, the heavy hitters, the players said to be "among the best in college football," either Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium or in analyzing their NFL draft stock.
Puka Nacua and Jaren Hall were magnificent in BYU's stunning 31-28 win over Boise State, putting up numbers the types of which the Cougars have come to expect during a disjointed 2022 campaign.
Many of the most notable have probably been recited, but just in case: 377 yards and three touchdowns for the signal caller (with two interceptions), as well as a team-high 82 rushing yards and a score for a career-best 459 total yards of offense.
Not to be outdone, Hall's No. 1 weapon Nacua posted a career-high 14 receptions — tied for the third-most catches in a single game in BYU history — for 157 yards and two touchdowns, not the least of which was a 6-yard game winner with just under two minutes remaining.
Hall and Nacua, Nacua and Hall, the duo have been mostly dynamic for BYU (5-5) during a 2022 campaign that has seen its share of highs, plenty of lows, and a group eager to fight back after a four-game slide — the worst losing skid since that ill-fated 2017 season.
The pairing was expected to do what it did, in many ways.
How's this for a headline: Seldom-used running back roars up depth chart with career night to play pivotal role in Cougars' win?
OK, maybe that's a bit wordy; we'll workshop it. But it's exactly what Hinckley Ropati did.
Catch, run, SCORE! BYU takes the lead! 💪@hfropati7 | @BYUfootballpic.twitter.com/tnje7bNktl
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 6, 2022
The 5-foot-10, 215-pound junior from Downey, California, by way of Cerritos College was less flashy but no less crucial in his role than Nacua. He rushed for a career-high 28 yards on five carries and a personal-best three catches for 82 yards, not the least of which a screen pass that Hall dumped off to Ropati in the flat.
The junior zigged, zagged and caromed off a handful of would-be tackles 48 yards for a touchdown that gave BYU a 24-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter and sparked hope.
Nacua did the rest. But don't discount Ropati's heavy lifting on a night the Cougars were down two running backs in Christopher Brooks and Mason Fakahua, among a litany of injuries, and Miles Davis made the trip but did not register a carry for a team pushed 155 of their 532 offensive yards on the ground.
"Hinckley was a big-time player, and big-time players make big-time plays," Nacua said. "We see him every day in practice, and that's what he does; he runs hard. When you've got a convoy of 6-foot-5, 300-pound dudes running in front of you, that's a good way to run.
"When our run game works, our offense looks good. We were running the ball consistently, and we got ourselves out of those short yardage situations."
After being pushed, prodded and shoved off the line of scrimmage for the better part of the four-game losing skid, BYU's offensive line took that personally. The Cougars found a semblance of a run game in last week's loss to East Carolina with Lopini Katoa rekindling his form as a 100-yard rusher.
But Saturday's game was different, and with apologies to Katoa, who ran 12 times for 46 yards, Ropati was the biggest beneficiary.
"Credit to the O-line, to the whole offense unit for coming out here and calling a great game," Ropati said. "We each did our jobs, and I just played our way.
"We had a great week of practice this week, full of energy, from coach A-Rod in the beginning of the week and the offensive staff. The biggest thing we needed to change was our energy; just make it fun. We competed with the defense, and I think that carried over to the game."
A junior college transfer, Ropati came to BYU in 2020 but missed the season with an ACL injury.
He returned as a sophomore in 2021, but played in just five games, including 15 yards on four carries against Idaho State before shutting down the year with a redshirt.
Even his season debut on offense, a single carry with 28-20 loss to Notre Dame, went awry when Ropati fumbled the ball. He hadn't been seen on the Cougars' offense since, and has been used mostly on the practice squad.
Until Saturday, that is, when BYU knew it needed at least one upset at Boise State or in the regular season finale at Stanford to clinch a bowl berth for the 17th time in 18 seasons.
BYU's injury list ran a mile long Saturday, from Brooks and Fakahua to starting right tackle Kingsley Suamataia, wide receivers Kody Epps and Gunner Romney, and linebackers Payton Wilgar and Max Tooley, who didn't make the trip.
That opened up opportunities for several players like Ropati. Sometimes, a lot of times even, the best ability really is availability.
"Kalani is always preaching: stay patient — humble and patient," Ropati said. "I feel like that's been the biggest thing: leaning into my teammates, and trying my best to be there for them, and staying patient for whatever opportunity comes."
Over the weekend in Boise, Ropati was available — and plenty able, too, when head coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick sent him into the game, both in the backfield and flexed wide.
"He's just waiting for this time, for his moment," Sitake said of Ropati. "I think he took every advantage of it. I'm really proud of him.
"Throughout the time, he was just waiting for his number to be called, I think he easily could've been discouraged. But that guy stuck with it, worked hard, and believed his team loves his role on the team. He has a much bigger role now, and I don't know if we're going to be able to stop him from getting on the field."
Saturday is not the end of the road for BYU, nor for the Broncos, who still have an eye toward a Mountain West title after a disastrous 2-2 start that led to a new interim offensive coordinator and a quarterback change.
But if Saturday felt like a must-win game for the Cougars, that's because in some ways, it was. Lose on the blue turf, and BYU's bowl hopes would feel more and more distant ahead of the home finale in two weeks against FCS Utah Tech as well as that matchup with Stanford.
With the upset, BYU can focus on earning bowl eligibility against the Trailblazers, and then shift focus toward the Cardinal, which moved to 3-6 with a 52-14 loss to Washington State.
It also takes the weight of a four-game skid off the Cougars' shoulders. Maybe some of the toxicity and hate fueled by social media and message boards will cool down now.
Or maybe not.
"For weeks, we've been hearing nothing but negative talk," Hall said. "Now there's going to be a lot of positive talk, and we can't listen to that, either.
"We've got to approach this one with the same mindset that got us here tonight: just focus on ourselves, the guys in this locker room, our families. We love our fans, the ones who are always here for us. We appreciate them. Just stay humble, and know that we've got a couple more games on the schedule to take care of."
