BYU’s opener was exactly the kind of night a ranked team wants against an FCS opponent: clean, comfortable and packed with enough fireworks to keep the crowd happy without revealing too much. No. 14 BYU rolled past Utah Tech 63-7 on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and by the end of it, the Cougars had five different players with rushing touchdowns and a freshman receiver making the kind of debut people will be talking about for a while.
The scoreline tells the basic story. The details made it more interesting.
Three running backs not named LJ Martin found the end zone for BYU - Preston Rex, Devaughn Eka and Journee Tonga - as the Cougars piled up big plays and scores in a game that never looked in doubt. Bear Bachmeier also ran for a touchdown, and safety-turned-playmaker Legend Glasker added another layer of explosiveness to the night with three touchdowns of his own.
That made this the only time in the last 30 years BYU has had five different players score rushing TDs in a game.
Kalani Sitake liked what he saw, at least in the way his team came out and handled the assignment.
“I liked our energy, and I liked our effort,” Sitake told reporters afterwards.
“I felt we did a great job approaching the game and the mindset our team had,” he said.
BYU got to work quickly and spent much of the night doing what a deeper, more talented team is supposed to do against an overmatched opponent: take control, create turnovers and turn them into points. The Cougars forced two interceptions and recovered a fumble, and each takeaway helped fuel the lopsided finish.
The biggest individual headline belonged to Glasker. He was electric on just his first four touches, scoring three times and looking every bit the explosive threat BYU hoped he could be.
He finished with three catches for 65 yards on three targets, then added a sweep for another score. The speed, the burst, the ease with which he separated - it all jumped off the field.
Kyler Kasper also gave BYU a useful downfield weapon, catching four passes for 42 yards. Tight end Walker Lyons flashed strong hands.
Reggie Frischknecht looked like a reliable target. And the quarterback who fed all of it, Bachmeier, looked sharper than a freshman in his first outing has any right to look.
Bachmeier went 16 of 20 for 198 yards, three touchdowns and a 212.7 efficiency rating. He also added a rushing score. He looked slimmer, faster and more mobile, but still plenty difficult to bring down.
LJ Martin did what he does, too. He powered for 54 yards and averaged 7.7 yards per carry, even with what the report described as some vanilla play calls and offensive sets.
The backfield depth was on display beyond Martin. Tonga ran with the kind of stubborn force that made him hard to finish off, while Eka emerged as the leading rusher off the bench with 59 yards. Rex also found the end zone.
There were other bright spots across the roster. Cannon DeVries filled a multi-purpose role, playing nickel and handling punts and kickoffs.
He ripped off a 100-yard kickoff return - a play that covered 120 yards - and averaged 30 yards per punt return. On defense, Kendal Wall and Cade Uluave kept showing up where tackles needed to be made.
Evan Johnson and Tre Alexander both drew notice in the secondary. And Glasker’s performance was the kind that left even old BYU eyes trying to think of a receiver comparison and coming up short.
The game wasn’t all good news, though. Veteran safety Raider Damuni was helped off the field before halftime, which was an unwelcome development in an otherwise smooth night.
Utah Tech deserves credit for competing through the loss. The report noted the Trailblazers had already taken a season-opening home defeat to No.
1 Montana State, and Saturday’s game ended in another heavy loss. But BYU’s side of it was about getting in, getting out and getting the result.
That matters because the real test is coming fast.
Arizona comes to Provo next week, and the Wildcats will arrive with revenge on their minds after losing a close one to BYU in Tucson last year. Arizona had its own FCS tuneup Saturday night against Northern Arizona and won 35-7. While Bachmeier did not play in the second half for BYU, Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita played the entire third quarter and finished a scoring drive in the fourth.
Siale Esera said the Cougars already know what’s next.
“Arizona is a good team, and we have to go into this week and work hard to face them,” he said.
For now, BYU can enjoy the highlight reel. But only for a night.
By Sunday, the celebration has to be gone. As the report put it, if they hang onto it too long, it’s rat poison.
In Other News...
BYU Defense Suddenly Faces A Bigger Question After Opening Win
BYUs opening win over Utah Tech came with a familiar August reminder that the first game can change a teams outlook in a hurry. The Cougars handled the result, but veteran safety Raider Damuni went down with a leg injury and had to be carried off the field, turning what should have been a clean season debut into a concern for the defenses early depth and experience.
Kalani Sitake said the program is still waiting on an MRI to get the official diagnosis, leaving the immediate status of one of BYUs more trusted defensive pieces unclear. The Cougars were already being careful with linebacker Isaiah Glasker, who sat out as a precaution so he could be rested for Arizona, so the next few days now carry a little more weight as BYU sorts out who will be available and how much change the defense might need to absorb. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Fans Will Learn A Lot From Kalani Sitake Tonight
BYU opens its 2026 season tonight against Utah Tech at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and the game should offer an early look at how Kalani Sitake intends to steer this team. After a year of talking about the need to compete at the highest level, Sitake enters the opener with a clear mandate to show that the Cougars are not just aiming to win, but to do it with a sharper edge and a more aggressive feel from the start.
For BYU, the bigger question is what those coaching decisions signal about the programs broader ambitions. The Cougars have spent plenty of time trying to earn more respect in the College Football Playoff picture, and the opener should tell fans a lot about how Sitake plans to attack that challenge. Even against an overmatched opponent, the way BYU handles the night may reveal how serious it is about making a real national statement. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDay Just Gave BYU Fans A Big 12 Reason To Believe
ESPNs College GameDay season kickoff offered BYU fans a little bit of national validation before the real grind of the Big 12 begins. The panel spent time sorting through the conference race and debating the teams most likely to be standing at the end, with the conversation framed around prospects, matchups and how quickly the league could sort itself out once the season gets rolling.
For Cougar fans, the encouraging part was simply hearing BYU in the mix rather than on the outside looking in. The predictions were split across the studio, with some of the biggest names on the set landing on a different favorite and Pat McAfee going his own way, which only underscored how open the conference feels. Still, BYU being mentioned as a title pick on a stage like that is the kind of attention that can travel a long way through a fan base. [Read more 🡒]