A rough day running the football for BYU barely gets them past Arizona State.
Looking at the stats, it’s amazing BYU came away with this win over the Sun Devils. Hopefully it’s a mark of learning from the UCF loss, a sign of resiliency from the coaching staff and players. That will be decided on November 7th in Salt Lake City. In this game, though, BYU had 47 rushing yards, 146.7 fewer than their season average up to this game. The passing attack was closer to average. Bear Bachmeier had 238 yards passing, 17.4 yards more than their season average of 220.6 per game. Their 283 total yards were 131.3 fewer than their season average. In the most important stat, the score, they were 6.4 points below average with 27 points. The two turnovers now put the season total at eight, and the average at one per game.
BYU’s offense heading into the Utah game is averaging a 44th-best in the nation, 175.4 yards rushing per game. They get 222.5 passing yards per game, which is only 77th in the nation. Their total yardage is down to 397.9, 56th in the FBS. Their scoring is down to 32.4, 44th in college football.
What the Offense Needs to Improve On
The running game has struggled without LJ Martin. But it has struggled much more against UCF and ASU than it did against Iowa State and Notre Dame. BYU made a mistake in how they were running the football when Sione Moa returned from injury. When Moa and LJ Martin were both out, and RB1 was Preston Rex, BYU knew they had to get their yards on the outside with Rex, and on the inside with Bachmeier. Against Iowa State and Notre Dame, they had 298 yards on 61 carries for 4.9 yards per carry. With UCF and ASU, it was 163 yards on 62 carries for 2.6 yards per carry.
Which brings me to the most important point. The Cougars are not a rushing team without Martin, no matter how badly they want to be. It may be time to shift gears to being pass-heavy. If they keep trying to be the run-heavy team they were with Martin, this time next week they’ll be 7-2 and once again outside of the College Football Playoff for the third straight season. And, unlike last year, the fault will be theirs, and theirs alone. Arizona State came into the game 78th in the nation against the run, allowing 146.4 yards per game. Their 4.5 yards allowed per carry was 97th in the nation, yet BYU got only 47 yards on the ground for 3.2 per carry. And this was the first time they were under 100 yards rushing since the 2025 Big 12 championship.
So if you can’t run against Utah early as you did against Notre Dame and Iowa State, you’ll have to shift gears quickly and trust Bear Bachmeier to win it as a quarterback. Bachmeier is 19-3, and at some point you’ll need to let him carry you to victory with his arm. That point may be in Salt Lake City on Saturday. They’ll do so much better if they prepare for and lean into that moment when it arrives.
What the Offense Did Right
They learned from the loss to UCF and played to win late in the game. BYU started the deciding drive at their own five-yard line. After two straight runs, they faced a third down as they did at UCF, but they played it differently. Against the Knights, BYU handed it off again, content to punt on fourth down. This time, they called a pass play and trusted their quarterback. Bachmeier saw that nothing was there in throwing so he scrambled. He didn’t get the first down, but got fourth and inches. Kalani Sitake stayed aggressive and got the first down with a two-yard sneak from Bachmeier. The next play, BYU stayed aggressive with a bomb downfield to Legend Glasker. Six plays later, Sione Moa punched it in for the deciding touchdown.
Offensive Play of the Game
The BYU offense's play of the game was made by the offensive player of the game. Legend Glasker’s 53-yard reception was the play of the game and was a brilliant call from Kalani Sitake and Aaron Roderick. Glasker had six touches for 101 total yards. When Glasker can make a big play, BYU’s offense gets on track.
Offensive Player of the Game
Legend Glasker
Offensive Stat of the Game
BYU’s success on third and fourth down (along with Legend Glasker’s play) was the difference in the game for BYU. After struggling on those downs against UCF, BYU was 8 of 17 on third down and 2 of 3 on fourth down in the win over Arizona State.
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