No. 23 Cougars move to 5-0 with 38-24 Friday-night win over West Virginia

PROVO, Utah — Despite turning the ball over three times, the BYU Cougars offense racked up 516 total yards, behind multiple career-best efforts, in a 38-24 win over West Virginia at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“Obviously, I’m a little frustrated about some things that we didn’t do well, but I told the team that winning is hard, so you have to celebrate it,” said Kalani Sitake, BYU head coach. “I can’t wait to get to work on finding ways to improve as a team, and I have to do a better job as a head coach to make sure these guys play a complete 60 minutes. The guys didn’t give up, and the determination is there, so we should keep building on it. I was really pleased with us being able to get the win, but giving up that last touchdown at the end was frustrating. We have stuff to work on, but I’m excited to get back to work and get better so we can play next week. I saw growth in a lot of people, specifically our quarterback. For him to respond after some of the mistakes that were made speaks to his growth and his progression.”

BYU freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier set a new career high with 351 passing yards, just 14 shy of the BYU freshman record. He connected on 18 of his 25 attempts, including connecting with wide receiver Chase Roberts on an 85-yard completion, the longest passing play for BYU since 1996. Bachmeier threw for a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown. 

Roberts finished with a single-game career-best 161 receiving yards, the most by a BYU receiver since Puka Nacua's 168 in 2021. 

Parker Kingston recorded his first career rushing touchdown and became the first BYU player in the modern era to record a touchdown rushing, receiving, throwing and on a punt return in his career.  Kingston also had a career-high 111 receiving yards in the game.

BYU running back LJ Martin added two rushing touchdowns, including a four-yard score that marked the 13th of his career. He racked up a game-high 90 total rushing yards. 

On defense, Faletau Satuala led the Cougars with eight tackles in the game, six solo and one tackle for loss. Cornerback Therrian Alexander III recorded his first career interception, returning it 47 yards to set up a score. Tanner Wall also had an interception, his first of the season and the fourth of his career.

The Cougars now have a 33-4 record in their last 37 night games.

First Quarter

For the fifth straight game this season, BYU won the coin toss and deferred to receive the ball in the second half. After the Cougars forced a three-and-out and after the Mountaineers punted, the Cougars took over at their own 13-yard line.

Bachmeier hit Roberts on a 47 yard pass on the Cougars’ first offensive play of the game, but after that, the West Virginia defense quickly forced a stand. After a few short gains and a BYU false start penalty, the Cougars faced fourth-and-10 at the WVU 30, bringing Will Ferrin and the kicking squad onto the field. Ferrin’s 48-yard field goal attempt was no good, wide left, and the drive came to an end.

On the next drive, West Virginia moved the ball past midfield before Alexander III intercepted a pass and returned it to the West Virginia three-yard line. On the next play, Kingston powered into the end zone on a jet sweep to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead with 9:14 on the clock.

The BYU defense stayed strong, hindering West Virginia to short gains on the next drive. On fourth-and-two at the BYU 44, BYU linebacker Siale Esera stopped Mountaineer running back Tye Edwards short of the line to gain, giving the Cougars a turnover on downs and maintaining control of the game. From their own 43-yard line, the Cougars worked the ball up the field before Bachmeier launched a 54-yard strike to Kingston for a touchdown on third-and-seven, pushing BYU’s lead to 14-0 with 3:41 remaining.

West Virginia advanced the ball into BYU territory, highlighted by a 23-yard scramble by quarterback Scotty Fox Jr., before the quarter ended with the ball placed at the BYU 30.

Second Quarter

The Mountaineers continued the drive into BYU territory and were able to cap the drive with a field goal, cutting BYU’s lead to 14-3.

Behind Martin, the Cougars marched down the field, eventually reaching the Mountaineer 19. On a pass intended for Carsen Ryan, Bachmeier’s pass was picked off by Mountaineer linebacker Chase Wilson and returned 19 yards to the West Virginia 37, with 8:19 on the clock. It was Bachmeier’s first interception thrown on his 98th pass of the season.

After forcing a punt, BYU took over at its own 11-yard line. On the first play for the BYU offense, Bachmeier connected with Roberts for an 85-yard gain, moving the Cougars to the West Virginia 4. On the following snap, Martin rushed up the middle for his second touchdown of the season, advancing BYU’s lead to 21-3.

​​With 2:07 remaining in the half, the Cougar offense returned to the field, but a fumble on a backward pass at the BYU 3 allowed the Mountaineers to reach the end zone on the next play, trimming the Cougar lead to 21-10.

The Cougars struck quickly in the final seconds of the half, highlighted by a 35-yard pass to Kingston and an eight-yard pass to Roberts. Martin ran for two yards, but a false start on BYU pushed them back five. Bachmeier had two deep passes fall incomplete before scrambling 14 yards on third-and-15. He picked up three yards on fourth-and-one, then found Ryan for five yards before a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone moved BYU to the two-yard line. Bachmeier finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run, his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, giving the Cougars a 28-10 lead to close the half. 

Third Quarter

BYU engineered a long, 15-play, 55-yard drive to open the third frame. Bachmeier and Jovesa Damuni paired for multiple short pickups, eventually putting BYU at its own 47. Bachmeier found his older brother Tiger Bachmeier for a 10-yard gain on third-and-11, and despite being unable to reach the line of gain, the Cougars successfully went for it on first down, powered by a Martin two-yard rush. Bear Bachmeier hit Ryan with a 14-yard pass, who rumbled to the Mountaineer 39. As result of a BYU false start and an incomplete pass, the Cougars were placed in another fourth-down situation, but this time, the kicking team stepped on the field. Holder Sam Vander Haar and Ferrin crafted a trick play where Vander Haar kept the ball and rushed 11 yards to capture the first down. The Cougars were unable to move the chains after that point and brought out Ferrin again, who drilled a 37-yarder and kept the Cougars in front, 31-10.

With 3:49 remaining, Mountaineer quarterback Khalil Wilkins completed two passes combining for 29 yards, moving West Virginia to BYU’s 44. On the next play, he attempted a deep pass to the right corner of the field, but safety Wall intercepted it after a West Virginia wide receiver bobble at the Cougar four-yard line, stopping the drive and welcoming the BYU offense back onto the field.

BYU began its next drive at its own four-yard line. Martin rushed for six yards on first down, followed by a one-yard gain from Damuni. On third-and-three from the BYU 11, Bear Bachmeier completed an 11-yard pass to Damuni, but he fumbled at the BYU 18 and West Virginia jumped on the ball first.

The Mountaineers drove 22 yards on five plays, finishing with a six-yard touchdown run up the middle with 37 seconds left, cutting the Cougar lead to 31-17.

BYU responded with a quick drive. On second-and-10, Bear Bachmeier completed to Kingston, moving the Cougars back into Mountaineer territory as the quarter came to a close.

Fourth Quarter

BYU opened the fourth quarter with a Bear Bachmeier pass to Roberts for a 21-yard gain on third down to move the Cougars to the West Virginia 30. The quarterback then rushed on a keeper 13 yards to the Mountaineers’ 27-yard line. Martin contributed on multiple plays, including a 14-yard catch that advanced BYU to the West Virginia six-yard line. Martin finished the drive with a five-yard run to the one-yard line and then powered in for the touchdown on the following play, pushing BYU’s lead to 38-17 with 8:50 remaining.

The Mountaineers responded with a strong drive, as Wilkins connected with wide receiver Jeff Weimer for a 32-yard completion to the BYU 43-yard line. A pass interference call against BYU later advanced West Virginia to the Cougars’ 16. Two BYU penalties and a few runs from Wilkins placed the ball at the Cougar 1, but BYU’s defense held firm. On fourth-and-goal, West Virginia’s rush up the middle was stopped short, but an offside call on BYU offered the Mountaineers another attempt. In their second attempt to pass the goal line, with just over three minutes to play, West Virginia was stuffed, with BYU’s Max Alford credited with the stop.

Following a Cougar three-and-out, West Virginia put together a quick, final scoring drive. After two-straight deep balls, Fox Jr. found a receiver in the end zone on a 29-yard completion with 1:14 to go.

Neither team scored after that point, and the game concluded with a final score of 38-24.

Up Next

BYU will travel to Tucson to face Arizona on Oct. 11 at Arizona Stadium for its next Big 12 matchup. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MDT. Watch the live broadcast on ESPN2 or listen to live play-by-play with Greg Wrubell on BYU Radio.