BYU and East Carolina combined for 137 plays and 822 yards of total offense during the Cougars’ 34-13 victory on Saturday in Greenville, North Carolina. Three of the 137 were more significant than the other 134 and they happened during a 3:45 stretch of the second quarter.
The interception
Trailing 6-3 with 4:44 to go in the first half, the Pirates marched to the BYU 6-yard line. On the 14th play of the drive, quarterback Katin Houser rolled to his right and fired a pass to the end zone. Cougars cornerback Evan Johnson jumped in front of Houser’s target to grab his first interception of the season.
The punt
Seven plays later, after BYU’s drive stalled at their own 39, Sam Vander Haar drilled a 49-yard-punt to ECU’s Kyler Pearson at the Pirates 12. The Cougars’ Marcus McKenzie hit Pearson immediately and forced a fumble. The ball bounced backwards toward the BYU goal line before ECU’s Marlon Gunn Jr. jumped on it for ECU at the 1. Initially it appeared the ball crossed the goal line, which would have resulted in a safety for the Cougars, but the play wasn’t reviewed.
ECU wished it had been.
The pick-six
On the very next play, with 59 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Houser was intercepted by Johnson and the junior from Monterey, California, returned it 4 yards for a touchdown to give BYU a 13-3 halftime lead.
“It was something we saw in film. Coach (Jay) Hill gave me a good call,” Johnson said. “The QB gave the three-step (drop) and that was my opportunity. I knew I had to go get the ball and make a play.”
Johnson’s two interceptions, one that started in ECU’s end zone and the other that ended in BYU’s end zone, triggered a 14-point swing during that 3:45 stretch and gave the Cougars a lead they would never lose.
Honorable mentions
There were several big moments in the other 134 plays, including Bear Bachmeier’s 20-yard touchdown strike to Carsen Ryan and his 16-yard touchdown run. Despite his youth and inexperience, the true freshman has yet to turn the ball over through his first three games.
LJ Martin motored over 1,500 career rushing yards and he joined former Cougar Marcus Whalen as the only running backs in program history to rush for 100-plus yards in the first three games of a season. Against the Pirates, Martin rushed 14 times for 101 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Kicker Will Ferrin also earned some praise for quietly extending his school record streak of 24-straight field goals. Ferrin had boots of 40 and 23 yards in the first half. His last miss was a 49-yard attempt at Baylor on Sept. 28, 2024.
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.