PROVO — BYU’s victory lap around LaVell Edwards Stadium a day after clinching a berth in the Big 12 title game started with a Saturday morning jog.
By the early afternoon, the Cougars were sprinting.
LJ Martin rushed 21 times for 95 yards and three touchdowns, and Bear Bachmeier threw for 289 yards and a score as No. 11 BYU overcame a slow start to pull past UCF 41-21 in front of an announced crowd of 60,389 fans.
With Chase Roberts sidelined on senior day, Parker Kingston collected 126 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on a 55-yard punt return as the Cougars outscored the Knights 38-7 in the final three quarters.
BYU topped 400 yards of offense, while holding UCF to 42 yards on the ground with two sacks, five tackles for loss and a pair of turnovers.
Tayven Jackson threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a 4-yard score for the Knights (5-7, 2-7 Big 12).
But if Vampire Cougs come out at night, BYU’s version didn’t in the first quarter.
Jackson completed 10 of his first 12 pass attempts for 110 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown to Agyema Addae to give the 17.5-point underdog Knights a 14-0 lead.
The Cougars responded the same way that won 10 of their first 11 games of the season: with defense and the run game.
Martin ran on six of nine plays before diving into the end zone for his first touchdown, then converted another on a direct snap from less than a yard out to tie the game at 14-14.
In between was an interception by Evan Johnson, and Will Ferrin gave the Cougars their first lead of the game with a 26-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the half.
Martin completed his hat trick on the first drive of the half, and Parker Kingston added a 55-yard punt return touchdown — the third of his career — to stretch BYU’s lead to 31-14 midway through the third quarter and pull away for good.
This story will be updated.