- BYU defeated Portland State 69-0 in their season opener Sept. 2.
- Will Ferrin tied a 25-year-old record with a 56-yard field goal.
- The game marked head coach Kalani Sitake's 10th season with BYU.
PROVO — The most abnormal part of the evening was just how normal it felt.
With 2:10 left in the third quarter of Saturday night's season opener against Portland State, Will Ferrin lined up next to the right hash near the midfield logo in front of a capacity crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
After a clean snap from Garrison Grimes, a strong hold by Sam Vander Haar, and his usual run-up, the fifth-year senior kicker dipped his shot inside the right upright — with plenty of distance to spare — before he was swarmed by teammates.
The kick stretched BYU's lead over the hapless Vikings from 52 to 55-0 en route to a nice 69-0 shutout win, the second in a season opener in three years. But the 56-yard field goal meant something more in the annals of program history.
It was the longest field goal by a BYU kicker in 25 years, tying an all-time program record set by Owen Pochman in 2000, and many among the 64,494 faithful who mostly stayed until the end to see all 79 home-sided players take snaps.
But for Ferrin, it was just another kick.
"I think it's funny," the mustachioed Davis High alum said during his postgame news conference. "Every time there's a big kick, everyone's like: 'What happened there? What happened here?' And I'm like, 'it's always the same process for me.' Or if it's one of the PATs we hit today, or a game-winner, or a long kick, I go through the same process. I approach it the same way.
"If I hit the ball pure and straight every time, then good things happen. So it didn't feel much different than a lot of the other balls I've hit."
BYU (1-0) probably didn't learn too much about itself during its romp over the Vikings, who moved to 0-2 by a combined score of 111-0. But the outward manifestation of the only score on the Cougars' schedule shows the program in a different place than the last time Portland State visited, a 20-6 win that preempted a 4-9 season.
Tougher games will come, including perhaps a Week 2 tilt against Stanford (8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN). But maybe the biggest takeaway from Saturday night's rout was how normal the first game of head coach Kalani Sitake's 10th season felt.
Seven months since the last college football game, two months since true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier transferred to campus, and five months since former BYU starter Jake Retzlaff wrapped up spring training with the Cougars before leaving for Tulane following an honor code violation, football was back like it had never left.
The early returns were strong, with LJ Martin rushing for a career-high 131 yards on just eight carries, Cody Hagen finding the end zone on a 57-yard fake reverse to the end zone that featured his elite track and field speed, and Bachmeier connecting with the American Fork trio of Chase Roberts, Noah Moeaki and Carsen Ryan for touchdowns while running for two more scores.
For many like Ryan, who transferred from UCLA and Utah before making the short drive from his family's home to the Utah County stadium, it was their first time in LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"It was sweet to get a touchdown in the first game," Ryan said. "I finally got it out of the way."
It was also the first time in the postgame media room for Bachmeier, the younger brother of former Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest starter Hank Bachmeier (who was in the crowd with 10-15 other family members) who completed 7-of-11 passes for 97 yards with his three scores and ran for 32 yards on five carries.
That was in one half of play before the true freshman gave way to three other quarterbacks. McCae Hillstead completed 4-of-5 passes for 33 yards, Treyson Bourguet completed an 8-yard pass and a 21-yard run, and even Cole Hagen — the former Corner Canyon standout who briefly left the team to focus on school but returned before Saturday's season opener — saw time under center.
Bachmeier admitted he would've liked to play in the second half, even for a series or two. But he understands why squad rotation was necessary after the Cougars took a 49-0 halftime advantage following his second rushing score from 12 yards out with 49 seconds on the clock.
"I was pretty comfortable," he said. "It's pretty easy when you've got a great support staff and you've got 10 guys around you that can go."
That includes defense and special teams, which primed the pump with John Taumoepeau's blocked field goal that Jack Kelly scooped up and took 54 yards to the house for the opening score.
And if nothing else, the Cougars were reminded of their kicker, who connected on his 18th consecutive field goal and has made a habit of making the extraordinary look ordinary.
"He's getting after the ball," Sitake said. "He's a next-level kicker. … We just want to see him kick the ball."
