3 takeaways from BYU’s dominant win over Utah Tech

BYU left no doubt in its season opener.

The Cougars kicked off their 2026 campaign with an emphatic 63-7 win over Utah Tech Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium. They led 42-0 at halftime and never looked back.

Legend Glasker was legendary. No player garnered more fall camp buzz at BYU than Glasker, and in his first college game, the freshman receiver out of Lehi High more than lived up to the hype.

Glasker’s first career touch resulted in a 9-yard rushing score. His first catch became a 26-yard touchdown, and he’d find the end zone again later on a 33-yard haul.

he's special.📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/ESeLw1T3jF

In all, Glasker racked up 81 total yards on five touches, tripling Utah Tech’s team touchdown total on his own.

Kelly Poppinga’s defense (mostly) showed well. When the Cougar starters were on the field, Utah Tech was clearly overwhelmed — Tre Alexander grabbed an interception on the first play of the game, after all.

In fact, after one quarter, BYU had more takeaways (two) than first downs allowed (one), and the Cougars surrendered just 52 yards in the first half.

After halftime, however, Utah Tech fared much better against the BYU backups, orchestrating a 15-play touchdown drive and another 14-play series that ended with a goal line interception.

Utah Tech went 5 of 7 on fourth down in the second half after going 0 for 6 before halftime. Additionally, the Trailblazers nearly doubled their yards per play average (2.2 to 4.1) from the first to second half.

But as previously mentioned, BYU’s starters were excellent when they were on the field. Alexander and Evan Johnson each snagged an interception, Siale Esera had a sack, Tausili Akana recovered a fumble and Cade Uluave had two tackles for loss.

say it with us ...YOU JUST GOT SHMEV'D!!📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/abD1UTJe85

The late slump for BYU’s defense shouldn’t sound any alarm bells. The Cougars were playing third and fourth-string players in a game that was well out of reach.

When things mattered most, Poppinga’s unit did its job and did it well. Next week against Arizona will give us all a better idea of how good the defense truly is.

BYU took care of business offensively. The Cougars are a top-15 team nationally. Utah Tech was a week removed from losing 54-0 to a fellow FCS squad. Anything less than a lopsided blowout would be quite disappointing for BYU.

Luckily for Kalani Sitake’s crew, the Cougars did exactly what they were supposed to in notching a 56-point victory. They posted 521 yards of total offense, averaging 7.7 yards per play, committing no turnovers and only being forced to punt once.

Bear Bachmeier picked up right where he left off, completing 16 of 20 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score as well.

Scampers for Six!!📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/1Z8Gw5VIsF

Led by LJ Martin and freshman Devaughn Eka, BYU ran for 308 yards at nearly seven yards a pop, with five different players — Bachmeier, Eka, Glasker, Preston Rex and Journee Tonga — finding the end zone.

Additionally, some of BYU’s special teams uncertainty cooled off a bit as Cannon DeVries emerged as a potential weapon in the return game, bringing a kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown and averaging 37 yards per punt return as well.

CANNON TO THE HOUSE!!!📺 ESPN+ https://t.co/IALryFznqY pic.twitter.com/C9NaXk3fgj