Make that three wins in a row for BYU to open the 2025 campaign.
The Cougars captured their first road victory of the season Saturday night, besting East Carolina in 34-13 fashion.
BYU has now started 3-0 in each of the past three seasons.
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3 takeaways
Evan Johnson had the game of his life. Years from now, BYU fans will still be talking about Johnson’s night against the Pirates.
The junior cornerback prevented an East Carolina touchdown by intercepting Katin Houser in the end zone, and then on the Pirates’ next play from scrimmage, Johnson picked off Houser again and ran four yards into the other end zone for an abrupt defensive score.
As a cornerback, it’s hard to imagine a much better outing than that.
Johnson also made six total tackles and broke up another pass, loudly making a case to be BYU’s top corner.
BYU’s defense remains elite. East Carolina came into Saturday’s matchup having averaged 37 points per game on the season. Then the Cougars held the Pirates to 13 points in their own building.
Yes, BYU did allow an opposing touchdown for the first time this season, but it took more than 11 quarters and 171 minutes of play for the Cougars to finally crack. That’s outstanding.
In addition to Johnson’s heroics, Jack Kelly had two sacks, Isaiah Glasker added two tackles for loss and the team held ECU to just 3.4 yards per carry and largely contained the Pirates’ prolific passing attack.
BYU’s previous defensive excellence in 2025 had come at home against less than stellar competition, but Saturday confirmed that the Cougars can make life difficult for any offense.
Bear Bachmeier passed his first road test. After a slow first half, BYU’s true freshman QB bounced back to put together his most encouraging outing to date.
Bachmeier completed 18 of 25 passes (72%) for a career-high 246 yards and a touchdown, adding another 26 yards and score on the ground.
Additionally, he wasn’t sacked once, settled in amid a true road environment and still has yet to commit a turnover in three games.
Bachmeier appeared to grow a great deal in Greenville — which is a great sign for the Cougars heading into Big 12 play.
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