This week four matchup against East Carolina presents plenty of cause for concern for BYU football. Truthfully, as the season began, this week's meeting with the Pirates felt like a comfortable introduction to non-LaVell Edwards Stadium backdropped football games for this year's Cougs. A non-power conference foe right before the conference slate opens? Fresh off a bye week at that? Chalk that up to a W, right?
Well, maybe we should pump the brakes a touch. BYU will need to give this battle its full attention before diving headfirst into Big 12 competition. You'd hate to slip on the diving board before jumping into the pool.
East Carolina enters this week's game with a 2-1 record. Their lone loss? A 7-point road defeat to NC State of the ACC (who already has two conference wins under their belt). Their wins? Truthfully, they're pretty impressive.
A dominant win over FCS Campbell was to be expected, as the Pirates ran the Camels off the field in no uncertain terms (that was a crazy sentence for anyone without football context). Most recently, however, a 38-0 win over Coastal Carolina was more than enough to catch my attention.
And here's the key stat that really has me sweating about BYU's upcoming visit to NC: the Pirates are doing their damage through the air, averaging 346 passing yards per game. Katin Houser's arms are deadly weapons, and the Cougar secondary is about to be caught in the crosshairs.
The Cougars boast one of the toughest defenses in the country, and the top scoring defense, allowing 1.5 points per contest through two games. But where the Cougars are especially stingy is on the ground. Stuffing the box and catching the rusher in the backfield has been Jay Hill's M.O. in 2025, and they've been especially effective during the first two games of the year. They're averaging 0.3 yards allowed per rush on the year so far -- that's disgusting.
But through the air, though they've been perfectly competent in the opening games, the Cougars aren't quite as stifling when defending the pass -- though who could be?
If East Carolina wins this game, it will be because of their passing game. BYU is stout on the ground -- on both sides of the ball -- but Bear Bachmeier still hasn't quite showcased his arm talent against two weaker defenses, and I'd be surprised to see Aaron Roderick put his freshman hash slinger in peril against the best team the Cougars have faced all year. This being the first road test on top of that, and you'd be right to have a little trepidation regarding BYU's flawless track record in non-conference matchups as a Big 12 member.
Should the Cougars escape North Carolina with a win? Of course. On paper, this team is stronger running the ball, defending, and boasts better athletes and coaching across the board.
But there's a reason these games are played on grass, not on paper, and sometimes the math doesn't quite add up how you'd hope. Brace yourself.