BYU (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) at East Carolina (2-1, 0-0 American)
- Kickoff: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MDT
- Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (capacity: 51,000)
- TV: ESPN2
- Livestream: ESPN.com/watch
- Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.
- Series: East Carolina leads, 2-1
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars are coming off an early bye, which may have come at the right time considering their less-than-stellar offensive showing against Stanford two weeks ago.
True freshman QB Bear Bachmeier is still a work in progress, but BYU’s run game has been strong, averaging more than 300 yards per game while LJ Martin has rushed for 9.3 yards per carry.
The Cougar defense has yet to surrender a touchdown, having held Portland State and Stanford to a combined 212 total yards while forcing four turnovers and recording five sacks.
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BYU has not been ranked yet this year and is currently the first team out of the AP Top 25.
It’s worth mentioning that the Cougars are 34-4 in games that kicked off at 6 p.m. or later since 2019; however, one of those four losses did come against East Carolina.
For East Carolina: Following a narrow opening loss at NC State, the Pirates plundered Campbell 56-3 before heading on the road to shut out Coastal Carolina in a 38-0 beatdown.
East Carolina has one of the best passing offenses in the country, with efficient senior quarterback Katin Houser throwing the ball around 40 times per game.
The Pirates are also tied for fourth nationally with 10 sacks as a team and are just outside the top 10 in scoring defense (nine points allowed per game).
East Carolina was picked to finish eighth out of 14 teams in the American Conference preseason poll, but an encouraging start now has the Pirates appearing likely to exceed such expectations.
What to watch for
Another week, another first for Bear Bachmeier’s college career — this time, his first experience playing in a true road environment.
BYU didn’t need Bachmeier to do anything special in order to defeat Portland State and Stanford, but East Carolina will present the loudest crowd of the freshman’s career and his toughest competition to date.
If Bachmeier struggles, the Cougars’ path to victory becomes more complicated. He’s had a bye week to work out some of the kinks from his outing against Stanford, so look for how Bachmeier handles the Pirates pressure and operates the offense amid intense hostility.
ECU’s rushing attack has been flawed, partially due to lackluster run blocking. Pay attention to how BYU’s front seven performs against the Pirates’ offensive line, especially if nose tackle Justin Kirkland finally suits up for the Cougars.
On special teams, according to BYU’s latest depth chart and comments from the coaching staff, it would appear that Parker Kingston has lost his role as the Cougars’ primary return specialist, at least for the time being. Look for what newly-promoted Cody Hagen and Tiger Bachmeier do on kick and punt returns against ECU.
Key player
Tanner Wall, senior, safety, BYU: BYU’s secondary will be thoroughly tested against East Carolina. Thus, Wall’s performance will be paramount.
The senior captain snatched three interceptions last year for the Cougars and allowed a 55.2 opposing passer rating in coverage. Portland State and Stanford both avoided throwing in his direction, but the pass-happy Pirates likely will.
As the most experienced member of the secondary, Wall serves as the “quarterback” of the defense and will be relied on to communicate assignments and align his teammates. BYU will need both his leadership and actual play in order to defeat ECU.
Quotable
“When you watch it on film, you can see how talented they are, and you can see how well-coached they are, and that’s not an easy environment to go into. Their fans are gonna be excited for that game, but we’re just as excited too. We get to go on the road. This is gonna be fun for us to go see our fans in the East Coast, but also for our guys to rally together and bond even closer than what we’ve been and we’re already a close team.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“Good football team. They’re 11-2 last year. Kalani Sitake, he is in his 10th season there, and done a really excellent job.
“… Obviously, you think of a big BYU team, you look at their football team, turn on the tape, they’re big, they’re athletic. They run well, they’re physical, they’re a hard-nosed football team.
“… I’m excited, not only for our football team, our football program, our players, but for all of Pirate Nation, and excited to make this place where it truly is a place where football matters and a fan base that can make a difference in the game. We always talk about it takes everybody, and this week, it certainly will be, from the preparation all week long within our football program, around the building, those things and then certainly for Saturday night, as we make this thing a true rowdy in Dowdy experience for the visiting team.” — East Carolina coach Blake Harrell
Next up
- BYU: at Colorado on Sept. 27
- East Carolina: vs. Army on Sept. 25
BYU schedule
- Aug. 30 — defeated Portland State, 69-0
- Sept. 6 — defeated Stanford, 27-3
- Sept. 27 — at Colorado
- Oct. 3 — West Virginia
- Oct. 11 — at Arizona
- Oct. 18 — Utah
- Oct. 25 — at Iowa State
- Nov. 8 — at Texas Tech
- Nov. 15 — TCU
- Nov. 22 — at Cincinnati
- Nov. 29 — UCF
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