Cougars take care of business from the get go and cruise to a victory over Utah Tech

After being fueled by a bunch of hype from a very busy offseason, BYU wasted no time to produce fireworks.

The first play from scrimmage was an ill-advised cross-body throw by the Trailblazer quarterback that resulted in an interception by cornerback Therrian “Tre” Alexander III. That pick was maybe a centimeter from touching the ground, which likely added to the dramatic effect. 

The Cougars took advantage of an early turnover. The first offensive drive of the season took five plays and ended with a 9-yard rushing touchdown around the edge from freshman receiver Legend Glasker, cousin of star linebacker Isaiah Glasker. Safe to say there are some great genes running through that family.

This already did not feel like last season’s home opener versus Portland State, because it did not take half of the first quarter to get points on the board. In fact, it did not even take two minutes off the clock. 

After a three-and-out forced by the defense, the BYU offense completed a methodical 13-play, 82-yard scoring drive, capped off by quarterback Bear Bachmeier’s first passing touchdown of the year. Junior wide out Jojo Phillips converted a screen pass off an RPO into a 5-yard score to make it a 14-0 lead.

The defense concluded the first quarter by forcing a fumble recovered by junior defensive end Tausili Akana on the Trailblazer’s 30-yard line. The fumble did not require much exertion from the Cougars since the snap was simply dropped and bounced in their favor. Two plays later, Legend Glasker caught a screen from Bachmeier and took it to the crib for 26 yards to make it 21-0, BYU. 

Turnover number three came by way of an interception by cornerback Evan Johnson on a well-underthrown deep ball attempt.

New defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga has some big shoes to fill with Jay Hill leaving for Michigan, but so far, the defense has not skipped a beat. The Cougar attack capitalized thanks to a Preston Rex 9-yard rushing touchdown.  

Following another defensive stop, Legend Glasker, seemingly trying to do his best impression of the 1998 Randy Moss Thanksgiving game and score on every touch, hauled in a contested deep ball and took it to the house for 33 yards. No wonder he was getting all this high praise from pretty much everyone that brought up his name. 

Last week, ESPN College Football Insider Pete Thamel on the ESPN College Gameday Podcast said he was told that Legend Glasker could not only be one of the best freshmen but one of the best receivers in the Big 12. That may very well come to fruition after exploding onto the scene through spring and fall practices, then shredding Utah Tech Saturday night. Even though it was a subpar FCS squad, he is continuing to trend upward into possibly the most important and talented receiver on the team and in the conference. 

The only blemish the Cougars had all game came with three minutes left in the half. Strong safety Raider Damuni went down with what appears to be a gruesome knee injury. He lay on the turf for a while before being helped to the medical tent without putting any pressure on his leg. He was helped to the locker room. A devastating blow, especially for someone like Damuni, who has dealt with a plethora of injuries throughout his career. With no official diagnosis confirmed, let’s pray for a miracle. 

Anyways, back to the great parts about this contest. A 28-point second quarter was topped off with Bachmeier getting his legs going. He escaped pressure and scampered 13 yards for BYU’s sixth touchdown of the half. 

This was the perfect scenario. As predicted, the Cougar starters rolled out and put away the game very quickly and got way ahead, 42-0, at halftime. How did these starters fare in the half? It was nothing short of excellent. Bachmeier was effective with his legs and his arm the whole half to remind us and assure us of his elite dual threat abilities. The sophomore completed 16 of 20 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns while securing 30 yards on the ground in four carries and one touchdown.  LJ Martin only needed to do seven rushing attempts all night and still got to 54 yards, giving him 7.7 yards per carry. 

The starting receiving core, including the tight ends, displayed a decently balanced attack across the board. It is hard to ignore how graceful Legend Glasker looked out there, as his great play gave us three catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns and two rushes for 16 yards and another score. Oregon transfers Kyler Kasper and Roger Saleapaga II put in some work as well. Kasper had four receptions for 42 and Saleapaga II caught two balls for 23 yards. USC transfer Walker Lyons snagged two passes for 22 yards and Phillips had two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown

Cannon DeVries made a name for himself on special teams. He started the second half with a bang by taking a kickoff return to the end zone. Devries also had a 46-yard punt return earlier in the game. Apparently, BYU will not experience a fall off on special teams this season?

It is time for the backups to shine. True freshman running back Journee Tonga ended his first collegiate drive by punching it in for a 4-yard touchdown immediately after his first ever rushing attempt went for 34 yards. At this point, it is now 56-0, Cougars. 

Unlike last season’s home opener, it did not end up being a shut out. Utah Tech running back Ace Chapman scored the first touchdown of the season for the Trailblazers on a read option play inside the one-yard line late in the third quarter. 

The following BYU drive was the Devaughn Eka drive. By himself, he totaled 59 yards on the ground during the drive on his way trucking a defender across the goal line on his touchdown run. That total became the game-high in rushing yards for the contest. 

Even though the second and third string defense allowed Utah Tech to get into the red zone again in the fourth quarter, they put an end to that with a pick by Matthias Leach to make it four forced turnovers. The clock ticked down from there, and BYU garnered a 63-7 win over the Trailblazers.

Most likely the highlight of the night was when the broadcast showed Cosmo the Cougar’s certificate for his induction into Mascot Hall of Fame

Thus far, BYU has met their high expectations and did what they were supposed to do. This game was a nice warmup for the Cougars’ first conference matchup of the season next Saturday, September 12. Arizona is on deck.

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