Analysis: BYU’s 69-0 crushing of woeful Portland State proved very little, but was a rollicking good time

As season openers go, BYU’s 69-0 demolition of one of the worst teams in the lower-level Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) on Saturday night proved more about the legion of BYU fans who stayed until the bitter, non-entertaining end as anything else.

The Cougars’ crushing of a Portland State team that has now been outscored 101-0 in two non-competitive outings played out as expected in front of 64,494 fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium — the largest crowd in Provo since a 2009 loss to TCU when ESPN’s GameDay crew was in town — but was not educational in the least.

Frankly, we learned very, very little about head coach Kalani Sitake’s 10th team, other than it’s quite a bit better than his second team, which eked out a 20-6 win over the Vikings in 2017.

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Of course, that was a precursor of things to come, as the quarterback-challenged crew in Year 2 of the Sitake era won only three games the rest of the season.

“I am gong to be a coach and say that wasn’t perfect, and there are a lot of places that we can improve on,” Sitake said. “But I was really proud of the entire team from the beginning, (although) at the beginning we had some rough times.”

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Indeed, for a few minutes early, it appeared that the visitors who lost 42-0 to Tarleton State on their home field a week ago were going to fare better against a BYU team just outside of the AP Top 25 rankings.

Then reality set in — in the form of a blocked field goal that linebacker Jack Kelly housed to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

“The blocked field goal kind of, you know, swung the momentum our way, and the guys never looked back afterwards,” Sitake said.

With the Cougars leading 49-0 at halftime, Sitake called off the dogs, even sitting freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who was making his first college start, and making history as the first QB to start an opener for BYU ever.

“We knew the game was pretty much done (at halftime), and so we put our reserve guys in in the second half, and I was really proud of the way that they played,” Sitake said.

“We got some really good, valuable reps and great competition that we were able to see from them, and I thought they performed at a high level.”

Bachmeier’s final numbers, in one half of play: 7 of 11 passing for 97 yards and three touchdowns, along with five carries for 32 yards and two touchdowns.

He became the first freshman quarterback to throw for three touchdowns in a game since Zach Wilson in 2018.

“I thought he did a great job,” Sitake said. “The physical part of the game was (important). Once he started getting hit a little bit, then I think he was able to settle down.”

On the other side of the field, Portland State coach Bruce Barnum compared Bachmeier to a centaur, a creature from Greek mythology, so the Legend of Bear got started on a good note, as 10-15 family members made their first trip to Provo to watch the freshman and his senior receiver brother, Tiger, do their thing.

“I thought it was a great team win. I thought we ran the ball really well,” said Bear Bachmeier, who wasn’t on a pitch count, per se, but might have been on a word count. “We put up a lot of points. Our defense was second to none.”

Bachmeier’s passer rating was a lofty 227.7, although as Sitake said, “there are some throws he wishes he had back.”

Sure, but when you account for more touchdowns (five) than you throw incompletions (four), that’s a pretty good night.

“I was hoping (to play in the second half), but I mean, I understand why (not),” he said.

McCae Hillstead got the nod as the second-half starter, and finished 4 of 5 for 33 yards and may, or may not, have answered the question about who is BYU’s QB2 if Bachmeier gets injured or becomes ineffective.

Treyson Bourguet and fourth-stringer Cole Hagen also got some snaps.

Bachmeier said it was a “surreal moment” when he ran out of the tunnel knowing he was about to take his first snap in a real football game since last November.

“Your heart starts beating a little faster,” he said.

So we learned that Bachmeier is human, Barnum’s explanation notwithstanding.

After Tarleton ran for more than 300 yards against the Vikings last week, the Cougars simply had to one-up the squad that upset Army Friday night, and they did.

BYU finished with 468 yards on the ground, the most since Taysom Hill and company put up 550 on Texas in 2013.

Defensively, the Cougars were as dominant as expected, after PSU gained 19 yards on its second play and 20 on its ninth — on a third-and-15 situation, no less. But Kelly’s 54-yard return of John Taumoepeau’s blocked field goal ruined PSU’s best chance to score.

“We kind of regretted running all the way down there with Jack, because the next series we were gassed,” Taumoepeau said.

Only two of Portland State’s 44 plays gained 10 or more yards. The Vikings’ 51 total yards were the second-fewest BYU has allowed in a game in school history.

Portland State had minus-5 rushing yards, the fewest rushing yards allowed by BYU since the 2010 New Mexico Bowl win over UTEP (-12).

“Having the whole defensive (coaching) staff stay intact and returning was huge for us,” Sitake said.

What else was learned? Keeping the quality, or lack thereof, of the competition in mind, here are a few notable things:

• Kicker Will Ferrin has still got it, and deserves to be a candidate for the Lou Groza Award. The Utah-killer tied a school record with a 56-yard field goal, matching what Owen Pochman did in 2000.
• Special teams is a bit rusty after being a strength of the team in 2024. Parker Kingston fumbled a punt return, BYU’s only turnover on the night, while also getting a 31-yard return. Special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga also used Tiger Bachmeier and Cannon DeVries on punt returns, and DeVries had a 41-yarder.
• Redshirt freshman running back Jovesa Damuni could be a solid RB3 in the absence of Pokaiaua Haunga and the injured Enoch Nawahine. Damuni rushed seven times for 44 yards, with a long of 12.
• Backups Hillstead and Bourguet have the ability to be serviceable quarterbacks, as both veterans shined in moments, albeit against one of the worst defenses to grace the LES turf in recent memory. Hillstead showed some speed with two rushes for 23 yards.
• Bourguet had a nice deep toss to the north end zone to Dom McKenzie that fell incomplete, but showed decent arm strength. Speaking of speed, McKenzie broke from the pack for a 41-yard touchdown run, showing off some sprinter-like qualities.
• Backup receiver Cody Hagen, also a 100-meter track star in high school, also showed some outstanding speed on a 57-yard touchdown run.

• BYU is absolutely loaded at the safety position. Tanner Wall, Raider Damuni, Tommy Prassas (an occasional nickel), Faletau Satuala and Talan Alfrey all looked good. Alfrey, a starter several years ago, made a great open-field tackle when the game was still competitive early.

It was BYU’s largest shutout win since a 65-0 blanking of New Mexico in 1988.

• Finally, junior running back LJ Martin showed he’s special, picking up a career-high 131 yards on just eight carries. And tight end Carsen Ryan (2 catches for 47 yards and a touchdown) has a chance to put the position back into the BYU offense, after it was AWOL in 2024, pretty much.