- BYU defeated Stanford 27-3 with a strong defensive performance in Provo.
- Will Ferrin tied his career high with four field goals in front of 64,692 fans.
- LJ Martin ran for 109 yards as BYU's defense forced two interceptions and three sacks.
PROVO — Whatever the opposite of BYU's offensive fireworks in last week's 69-0 win over FCS Portland State may be, that's what happened Saturday night.
But 2-0 is 2-0.
Will Ferrin tied a career high with four made field goals, and BYU held Stanford without a touchdown en route to a 27-3 win over the Cardinal in front of a sellout crowd of 64,692 fans, the most at LaVell Edwards Stadium since 2007.
LJ Martin ran for 110 yards on 18 carries, his second consecutive game of more than 100 rushing yards and fourth of his career for the Cougars (2-0). Sione Moa added 29 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Bear Bachmeier completed 17-of-27 passes for 175 yards, including five catches for 84 yards by senior Chase Roberts. The true freshman quarterback also ran for a 3-yard touchdown to account for the only points of the first quarter.
In between was a defense, led by Logan Lutui's six tackles, that compiled seven tackles for loss, three sacks, six quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions by Raider Damuni and Faletau Satuala.
Satuala, the former four-star prospect from Bountiful, finished with four tackles, a tackle for loss and a safety in addition to his pick — the second of his collegiate career.
It's the first time in 11 years BYU's defense collected an interception, a fumble recovery and a safety in the same game as the Cougars opened the season with a 96-3 scoring advantage in the first two games.
"Obviously, the game plan is a huge part of that," said linebacker Jack Kelly, who four tackles, two tackles for loss and combined with Satuala on a safety for a BYU defense that kept the ACC program led by interim head coach Frank Reich to 161 total yards and just 19 on the ground. "We play for something bigger than ourselves, which is each other. I think that really helps us come together and rally."
Mentioned Reich, the former Indianapolis Colts coach who was brought in by general manager Andrew Luck to lead the team for a single season: "I give them credit. We knew that they run a lot of pressures aimed at stopping the run game.
"We've got to be better there. If we're going to be a successful team, for us to win games, we have to have a balanced offense, and so we'll make the improvements."
Offensively, the Cougars averaged 4.9 yards per play for 332 yards — but stalled in the red zone four times.
"I'm really pleased with a lot of the things that we saw, especially with the defense," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said after the game. "Things got kind of rough at the end, had some mistakes here and there, but overall I think guys were just trying to stretch too much and make big plays themselves. Offensively, I think the same thing was happening.
"A lot of them were mistakes on our end," he added of the team's four penalties for 35 yards.
Martin ran for 75 yards in the first quarter, including a 47-yard spurt during a six-play, 85-yard scoring drive that set up Bachmeier's short rushing touchdown with 3:25 on the clock.
Ferrin stretched the lead to 9-0 with a 36-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, and added another from 30 yards that Kelly on the Cardinal's 5-yard line.
Kelly and Satuala combined on a sack for a safety with 5:14 left in the half, and the Cougars sent Stanford backward 18 yards on the ground in holding the Cardinal to 29 total yards of offense en route to a 14-0 halftime shutout.
"The first 14 points were kind of weird," said Sitake, who joked (or was it a joke?) that he thought about letting Ferrin attempt a 64-yard field goal, as well. "And then the second half was a touchdown and two field goals."
While BYU's offense stalled plenty, particularly in the red zone, the defense and special teams carried the load.
That included Tiger Bachmeier, who replaced Parker Kingston at punt return in the second half to set up a touchdown drive with a 44-yard return.
Five plays, 43 yards and two-and-a-half minutes later, Moa rumbled into the end zone to push the Cougars in front 24-0.
Emmet Kenney capped a 15-play, 67-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal with 10:31 remaining in the game — the first points allowed by BYU's defense in 2025 — to cut the deficit to 24-3.
But Ferrin responded with his fourth field of the evening, a 23-yarder for the 22nd straight make of his career, to keep the result well in front and the Cardinal never threatened again.
