BYU was supposed to handle Utah Tech. It did more than protect a ranking and avoid an embarrassing opener.
The No. 14 Cougars scored on offense, short fields and special teams in a 63-7 win Saturday night. They ran for 308 yards, converted nine of 11 third downs, finished all six red-zone trips with touchdowns and never turned the ball over. Utah Tech gave it away four times.
The cleaner story is how few parts of the operation made the game harder than it needed to be.
That does not make a win over an overmatched FCS opponent a forecast for the Big 12. Utah Tech arrived one week after a 54-0 loss to Montana State and has now been outscored 117-7. Arizona will bring an entirely different speed to LaVell Edwards Stadium next Saturday.
Still, an opener can answer narrower questions. BYU’s first one gave useful receipts for Bear Bachmeier’s command, Legend Glasker’s role, Cannon DeVries’ return value and Kelly Poppinga’s first night calling the defense.
BYU-Utah Tech score and box-score receipt
| Game item | BYU | Utah Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 63 | 7 |
| Total yards | 521 | 184 |
| Rushing yards | 308 | 49 |
| Yards per play | 7.7 | 3.3 |
| First downs | 29 | 11 |
| Third downs | 9 of 11 | 5 of 13 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Red-zone scores | 6 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Penalties | 5 for 46 | 2 for 15 |
BYU led 42-0 at halftime after outgaining Utah Tech 358-52. DeVries returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards, and backup quarterback Treyson Bourguet led the next touchdown drive.
Utah Tech’s only scoring drive began after the game reached 56-0.
Bachmeier kept the easy game easy
Bachmeier completed 16 of 20 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, all before halftime. He ran four times for 30 net yards and another score. Nine Cougars caught a pass, and no one needed more than four receptions.
Those are tidy numbers against a defense BYU should beat. The better evidence came in the situations that often make openers annoying.
BYU faced third-and-2 five times with Bachmeier in the game and converted all five. The offense finished nine of 11 on third down overall. It did not lose a fumble, throw an interception or need a fourth-down attempt. Its one first-half punt followed a three-and-out backed up at the BYU 9, and Fuller Shurtz answered with a 54-yard punt.
The offensive-line continuity question therefore has a first game answer. Paki Finau, Sonny Makasini, Bruce Mitchell, Kyle Sfarcioc and Andrew Gentry started together. BYU averaged 6.7 yards per rush, reached 308 rushing yards and allowed one sack. Utah Tech’s front is not Arizona’s, but the line did not waste its controlled test with exchanges, protection confusion or a stalled short-yardage night.
Glasker’s role became real in three touches
The preseason case for Glasker was that BYU needed one repeatable job from the true freshman, not a teenager asked to rescue the receiver room. Saturday produced something better than a pile of hopeful targets.
Glasker’s first college touch was a nine-yard jet-sweep touchdown. His first reception was a 26-yard screen for another score. His next catch went 33 yards for his third touchdown before halftime. He finished with three receptions for 65 yards and two carries for 16.
Aaron Roderick found three ways to put Glasker’s speed against space: horizontal motion, a catch-and-run screen and a downfield throw. The August Glasker file argued that a compact menu could make him useful early. BYU gave him exactly that, and he executed every part of it.
Arizona now has those concepts on film. The next test is whether Glasker can still affect coverage when the defense expects motion and closes faster. Even if he does not score, forcing a safety to honor the 33-yard route or a linebacker to widen with the sweep can create room for LJ Martin and the tight ends.
Glasker was also one piece of a broad distribution. Kyler Kasper led BYU with four catches for 42 yards. Roger Saleapaga II and Walker Lyons combined for four receptions and 45 yards. Jojo Phillips caught both of his targets, including a touchdown.
Four takeaways changed the workload
Poppinga’s first game as defensive coordinator began with Therrian Alexander III intercepting CJ Tiller on Utah Tech’s first snap. Tausili Akana recovered a fumble on the Trailblazers’ fourth possession. Evan Johnson intercepted the next one.
BYU turned those first three takeaways into 21 points. Matthias Leach added a fourth-quarter interception in the end zone to stop Utah Tech’s last scoring threat.
The short fields helped the score get silly, but they also reduced the burden on the offense. BYU’s three touchdown drives after first-half takeaways started at the Utah Tech 32, the Utah Tech 30 and the BYU 35. The Cougars needed 12 total plays to turn them into three touchdowns.
Poppinga’s group also handled ordinary downs before the backups absorbed two long second-half drives. Utah Tech went 0 for 6 on third down in the first half, gained one first down and managed 52 yards. The first scoring drive did not begin until BYU led 56-0; it lasted 15 plays and included a pass-interference penalty that moved the ball to the 2.
There is a correction in that drive. Sitake said afterward that he wanted fewer than BYU’s five penalties, and the second-half touchdown showed what can happen when a drive keeps receiving another snap. The defense’s first-half work was dominant. The late drives keep the film from becoming a two-hour compliment reel.
DeVries settled the return question for one night
The official Utah Tech depth chart listed Glasker or Johnson ahead of DeVries on kick returns. Utah Tech’s only returnable kickoff went to DeVries after halftime. He took it 100 yards for BYU’s first kickoff-return touchdown since Talan Alfrey in 2024.
DeVries also returned two punts for 73 yards, including a 46-yarder that started a possession at the Utah Tech 30. BYU failed to score from that field position when Matthias Dunn missed a 47-yard field goal, but the return itself changed the field by nearly half its length.
Brody Laga handled every BYU kickoff, producing 10 touchbacks on 10 attempts, then made three second-half extra points. Dunn made six extra points but missed his only field goal, so that job remains unsettled.
The depth was more than ceremonial
Five Cougars scored rushing touchdowns, the first time BYU has done that in a game across the last 30 seasons, according to the official recap. Glasker, Preston Rex, Bachmeier, Journee Tonga and Devaughn Eka reached the end zone on the ground.
Eleven named runners carried the ball. Eka led the team with 59 yards on eight attempts. Martin had 54 on seven before his night ended. Tonga gained 38 yards on two carries, and Logan Payne added 30 while helping BYU drain the final 6:33.
Bourguet’s first snap became a 17-yard run. Tonga followed with 34 yards and scored two plays later. The next reserve drive traveled 69 yards in 11 plays, almost entirely behind Eka. Those series gave BYU something more useful than late kneel-down participation: live evidence that the second offense could line up, communicate and finish drives.
Utah Tech has allowed 117 points and 956 total yards through two games. BYU did what a ranked FBS team should do to that profile without making the afternoon messy.
Arizona will test the habits, not the margin
BYU hosts Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 1:30 p.m. Mountain on FOX. It is the Cougars’ Big 12 opener, which means the 56-point margin gets left behind immediately.
Bachmeier protected the ball and kept third down manageable. The line created movement without forcing Martin into a heavy workload. Glasker received a defined role. The defense made bad throws expensive. DeVries turned return space into points. Backups finished possessions rather than merely occupying them.
Arizona can disrupt every item on that list. It can close Glasker’s screen window, force Bachmeier past his first answer, make BYU tackle for four quarters and punish the five penalties more severely. That is why the Utah Tech score should not be sold as proof of a conference contender.
For one night, all three phases looked ready at the same time.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics, Sept. 5: No. 14 BYU defeats Utah Tech 63-7 for BYU’s official game account, player totals, Sitake’s postgame comments, Glasker’s three-touchdown note and Arizona broadcast listing.
- Utah Tech Athletics, Sept. 5: Trailblazers drop in-state game at BYU for independent confirmation of the result, team totals, Utah Tech’s scoring drive and Lance Anderson’s postgame assessment.
- Utah Tech Athletics: official BYU-Utah Tech box score for team statistics, scoring drives, third downs, red-zone results, participation and individual lines.
- BYU Athletics: official event record for completed status, venue and official box-score link.
- BYU Sport Nuts: football hub, 2026 schedule, results and Utah Tech game center.
