BYU football is attempting to restrengthen its chances of playing for its first Big 12 title. The Cougars took a costly conference loss to Texas Tech one week ago. But now must withstand Cincinnati without Chase Roberts due to a CFB injury.
Before the fourth quarter arrived, BYU lost one of its top playmakers. The school's athletic communications department revealed Roberts won't return to the field.
His injury wasn't revealed, but was seen wearing sweatpants and without pads on the sidelines. BYU immediately turned to running back LJ Martin to carry the load on offense.
LJ Martin punches it in for BYU 👊@BYUFootball gives the Cougars a 10-point lead pic.twitter.com/Hy5PFHxJj2
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2025
Roberts, though, is a key playmaker for the 10-1 Cougars — especially as they remain in the conference title hunt.
Effect of Chase Roberts on BYU
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier has become the toast of Provo and the Mormon campus. But Roberts became one of his top go-to options.
Roberts possesses a big body option on the perimeter for Bachmeier. He entered Cincy with 43 catches, 702 yards and five touchdowns in tow.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound WR produced two 100-yard outings for BYU — against West Virginia (161) and Iowa State (128). He also caught six passes for 61 yards and scored once on the Red Raiders, despite the loss.
But now BYU needed to turn to someone else in the air attack. The RB Martin became the dynamic receiving playmaker with three catches for 44 yards. Although Parker Kingston surfaced as the go-to target from the WR room — catching six passes for 36 yards before game's end.
BYU led 20-7 early in the fourth quarter against the Bearcats.
