It was the first road test for BYU and their true freshman quarterback, Bear Bachmeier, but the Cougars handled business at East Carolina to remain unbeaten.
If you were tuned into week two's battle with Stanford, you'd find much of the same to say about the Cougars during this battle with East Carolina. I, for one, drew the same conclusions about Sitake's squad during the Cougars' 34-13 road win in Greenville -- this team is led by its defense, and the offense just needs to fill in the gaps.
Sloppy would be a great word to describe the attack in this one. Missed throws, dropped balls, penalties, and failure to execute in the red zone plagued the offense, especially before the halftime break, where BYU led 13-3.
Two field goals and an endzone breach, but that touchdown came off an Evan Johnson pick 6 at the goal line (his second INT on the day). All scores arrived courtesy of special teams (glory be to the infallible Will Ferrin) and defense in the first half, as the offense stalled out on drive after drive.
Fortunately, the defense remained stout; Raider Damuni (7 tackles), the aforementioned Evan Johnson, and the omnipresent linebacker core of Isaiah Glasker (6 tackles, 2 TFLs) and Jack Kelly (7 tackles, 2 sacks) terrorized the Pirates' offense. Jay Hill's side of the field allowed its first touchdown of the year after the game had been put essentially out of reach, but still held the home team to a meager 13 points in a masterclass of defensive engineering. A literal concrete wall at midfield couldn't have contained the run much better than this bunch, who stiffed ECU for just 3.3 yards per carry. It's incredible that 3.3 feels high for this defense, but that's where we stand to this point.
In the second half of play, however, the fireworks were on full display for the Cougars' offense.
Bear Bachmeier missed a number of throws in the first half, be it underthrows, overthrows, or flat-out poor timing. In the second half, however, the offense came alive as they needed no further assistance from the defense to sustain their lead. Piling on 21 points, Bachmeier found solid ground behind his offensive line. Receivers gained separation from the ECU secondary, and Bear attacked the soft spots like I attack a steamed pork bun fresh out of the 7-Eleven -- with pure, concentrated violence. His 246 yards through the air mark his best sum of the year, and a confidence-boosting second half was critical.
The offensive line held up their end of the bargain in this battle, allowing zero sacks and bulldozing open lanes for the running game. LJ Martin's impact can't be understated of course, as the back broke 100 yards for the third straight game of three appearances on the year.
The non-conference schedule is officially in the rearview, and though there's plenty of football to be played, allow me to give my early diagnosis.
The defense is exceptional. A team that put up 38 points on its opponent the week prior and couldn't be stopped through the air only broke the goal line once. Two forced turnovers and an embarrassment of riches of the defensive end makes Jay Hill's toy box the envy of the block. The defense will lead the way for this team, and Bear Bachmeier is improving all the time. In fact, Bachmeier still has yet to turn the ball over through three games (knocks on digital wood), and that's the key to the Cougars' offense this year -- hold the line, and take care of the game. Limiting mistakes will be key to success during conference play so the defense can restrain the opponent's counter-attack.
All things considered, though, the positives outweigh the negatives significantly. I expect to see this team breach the AP top 25 tomorrow (but who can even say at this point, right?).