Despite fewer offensive fireworks compared to the season opener, BYU’s 27-3 victory over Stanford was anything but a dud. The Cougars (2-0) were surprisingly favored by 20 and they won by 24.
Hardly threatened by the Cardinal, BYU doubled up Stanford in total yards (332-161). The Cougars outrushed them 157-19 and won the turnover battle (3-0). BYU did struggle to finish drives and Will Ferrin kicked more field goals than extra points (4-1), but in a game where every play is an education for true-freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, the Cougars did enough to improve to 2-0 in front of a sold-out LaVell Edwards Stadium (64,692).
Here are the three plays that made a difference.
Strip sack
BYU’s defense peppered Stanford with eight tackles for loss, including three sacks. Cardinal quarterback Ben Gulbransen was no match for the speed of Cougar linebackers Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker.
Early in the second quarter, on third-and-7 at their own 16-yard line, Gulbransen dropped back to pass. Kelly came at him like a charging lion and dropped him for an 11-yard loss. During the impact, the wise and crafty senior stripped the ball away from Gulbransen and BYU’s Viliami Po’uha jumped on it at the 5-yard line.
“We are not necessarily looking at the scoreboard,” said Kelly of BYU’s defensive mentality. “We’re thinking about this drive, the next drive, the upcoming drive. It’s about taking it play-by-play, drive-by-drive.”
BYU turned the fumble into a Ferrin field goal to lead 12-0.
Perfect punt
With 6:04 remaining in second quarter, BYU punter Sam Vander Haar, a junior from Melbourne, Australia, came up with the biggest play of the night. His 42-yard punt that pinned the Cardinal inside their own 3-yard line put Stanford’s shaky offense in a vulnerable position — and BYU ate them up.
Vander Haar averaged 48 yards on three punts. He is also the holder for Ferrin, who extended his school record for consecutive field goals to 22. He has also made 51 straight extra-points.
Satuala safety
Two plays after Vander Haar’s punt, Cougars safety Faletau Satuala dropped Marcus Brown on a screen pass in the end zone for BYU’s first safety since 2022.
“I just saw my guy kind of break back, and we’d been working on screen calls all week,” said the sophomore from Bountiful. “As soon as I saw him go back and kind of curl for the quarterback to throw the ball, I just broke on it.”
There are three different decibel levels for how fans celebrate points at LES. A Ferrin field goal is greeted with applause, a touchdown gets a thunderous roar, but when the defense delivers a safety, the reaction goes next level.
Satuala’s safety only gave BYU a 14-0 lead, but Stanford was done.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.