Cougars move to 2-0 with 27-3 win over Stanford

PROVO, Utah – A smothering defensive effort, forced turnovers and four made field goals powered BYU to a 27-3 win over the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday night at Lavell Edwards Stadium.

“Happy we got the win, really pleased with a lot of things we saw, especially on defense,” said Kalani Sitake, BYU head coach. “Things got a little rough at the end, and we had some mistakes there, but overall just happy with the win. Obviously Stanford had an extra week to prepare for us, and hopefully we can take advantage of our extra week for East Carolina. Stanford did some really good things on defense, and they were a little more familiar with our quarterback, so we just had to control the things we could control.”

The Cougars totaled 332 yards to Stanford’s 161. Bear Bachmeier notched 175 passing yards and BYU recorded 157 rushing, led by LJ Martin’s 110.

In the first half, BYU’s defense held Stanford to 0-for-6 on third-down conversions and just 29 total yards, including minus-18 rushing. Additionally, the Cougar defense held the Cardinal to just three first downs in the first two quarters.

Tonight’s game marked the first time since Nov. 22, 2014, against Savannah State that BYU recorded an interception, fumble recovery and safety in the same game. Raider Damuni picked off a Stanford pass in the first quarter, setting up a field goal. In the second, Jack Kelly forced a fumble that Viliami Po’uha recovered. Later in the same quarter, sophomore Faletau Satuala recorded BYU’s first safety since 2022 at USF. Satuala added an interception late in the fourth.

Will Ferrin led BYU in scoring with four made field goals. Ferrin is the seventh Cougar to make four or more field goals in a single game.

With last week’s win, BYU has started the season outscoring its opponents 96-3 and have not surrendered a touchdown.

Tonight’s win marks the sixth-straight season that Sitake and the Cougars have started off the season 2-0.

1st Quarter

The Cougars won the coin toss and deferred to receive the ball in the second half. Logan Lutui led BYU’s defense to a three-and-out on Stanford’s opening drive. On BYU’s first offensive possession, the Cougars picked up three first downs but came up empty handed after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-six.

Martin jump-started BYU’s next drive with a 47-yard run to the Cardinal 38. He followed with an 11-yard gain on the next play. Two straight completions from Bachmeier set up first-and-goal, and on second-and-three, the freshman quarterback scored his third rushing touchdown of the season. The Cougars led 6-0 after a failed two-point conversion with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

The Cougar defense brought up a third-and-three on Stanford’s own 32, where Cardinal quarterback Ben Gulbranson threw an interception to safety Damuni. Damuni returned it 26 yards into Stanford’s 18-yard line and welcomed the Cougar offense back on the field, but the Cougars couldn’t convert on third down, ending the first half with a 6-0 lead.

2nd Quarter

Ferrin hit a 36-yard field goal on the first play of the quarter, extending BYU’s lead to 9-0.

On Stanford’s ensuing drive, BYU’s defense forced a third-and-two on the Cardinal 26. Two-straight false starts pushed Stanford back to third-and-12, where Kelly sacked Ben Gulbranson for an 11-yard loss and forced a fumble. Po’uha recovered the ball at the 5-yard line.

A Parker Kingston touchdown run was called back for holding, and BYU had to settle for another Ferrin field goal. Less than four minutes after his first, Ferrin hit from 30 yards out to make it 12-0.

A 42-yard punt by Sam Vander Haar pinned Stanford at its own 2-yard line with 5:59 left in the half. On the next play, Kelly stuffed the Cardinal for a 2-yard loss. One play later, Satuala tackled a Stanford receiver in the end zone for a safety, pushing BYU’s lead to 14-0.

Neither team scored after that point and the first half concluded 14-0.

3rd Quarter

Opening the second half, running back duo Martin and Sione Moa powered a 13-play, 72 yard drive that resulted in Ferrin’s third field goal of the night. The Cougars would go up 17 with 8:56 on the clock.

The Bachmeier brothers kept the momentum going in the second half when Tiger Bachmeier broke free for a 44-yard punt return to the Stanford 43. Bachmeier ran for nine yards on first down, then completed two passes to move the Cougars closer. That set up a Moa 8-yard touchdown run, stretching BYU’s lead to 24-0.

4th Quarter

Stanford got on the board with 10:31 to play as Cardinal kicker Emmet Kenney made a field goal, putting the score at 24-3.

Bear Bachmeier connected with Chase Roberts for a 41-yard gain to the Stanford 36, and Roberts added two more yards after the catch. On third-and-six, Bear Bachmeier hit tight end Carsen Ryan for 25 yards, and Ryan carried it another 10 to the Cardinal five for a first down. A false start pushed BYU back, and the Cougars failed to reach the end zone, bringing up fourth-and-six. Ferrin then kicked his fourth field goal of the game, a career-high total in a game, hitting from 23 yards to extend the lead to 27-3.

The Cardinal engineered their second-longest drive of the game toward the end of the fourth quarter and despite getting as close as BYU’s 22-yard line, the Cougar defense was able to keep them from the end zone as Satuala picked off Gulbranson’s pass on fourth-and-14 with just over two minutes left to play.

The Cougars improved to 2-0 on the season in a 27-3 win over Stanford.

Up Next

BYU has a bye next week and will return to action on Sept. 20 at East Carolina’s Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. Game time has not yet been announced.