BYU's biggest question mark is answered in win over Utah Tech
By Nate Church,
September 5, 2026
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BYU dominated Utah Tech in its 63-7 win on Saturday night and answered some important questions about this year's team. Coming into this season, questions surrounded both the offense and the defense. From the first snap of the game, some of those questions were answered when Tre Alexander III picked off Utah Tech's CJ Miller.“Sometimes coming into games and getting the momentum going is pretty hard,” said linebacker Siale Esera. “And so once we came out with that interception, the team was hyped, the crowd was hype and in turn, that helped us.”Soon enough, quarterback Bear Bachmeier led the Cougars’ offense out onto the field. After a few short plays, Bachmeier handed the ball off to true freshman Legend Glasker, who swept across the field and ran into the end zone, scoring the season's inaugural touchdown.
Photo by Hannah Townsend
“I told you guys,” said coach Kalani Sitake in the postgame press conference. “I told you guys don’t worry about the receiver room.”One of the biggest question marks coming into the season was the wide receiver room, however, that group turned into arguably the biggest exclamation point in Saturday’s game.One of those exclamation points was true freshman Legend Glasker. Glasker was the star of the show for the Cougars and proved that the hype surrounding him in fall camp had merit.Glasker had three touchdowns in his first four touches, which consisted of two receptions and two rushing attempts. He finished the game with three catches for 65 yards and two receiving touchdowns.“I always knew he played like that,” said Devaughn Eka about his high school teammate. “It wasn’t anything new to me but it's great for everybody else to see.”After his breakout performance, Legend Glasker detailed his own feelings about his performance.“After the first one, I was like, I got to get another one,” he said. “The third one just surprised me to be honest, but I’m blessed. I’m happy.”The rest of the wide receiver room put on an encouraging display. Kyler Kasper led the group in receptions with four and recorded 42 yards. Jojo Phillips finished with two receptions for 16 yards. Tight ends Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga II were utilized throughout the night and shared 45 total receiving yards between them.Bachmeier played a major role in his receivers’ success, throwing 16-for-20 with 198 yards and three passing touchdowns. He added a rushing touchdown to the list as well, the 12th of his career.On defense, defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga’s new system was dominated by the cornerbacks, specifically Tre Alexander III and Evan Johnson.After Alexander’s opening interception, Johnson earned his first interception of the season and the eighth in his career later in the first half. The room held Utah Tech to just 30 total passing yards in the first half.
Midway through the second quarter, Damuni went down with an apparent injury to his lower leg. He was helped off by trainers and did not return to the game. Also of note, linebacker Isaiah Glasker only took the field for the duration of the first quarter and did not return.Sitake reported post-game that he did not have an update on Damuni. However, Glasker is expected to be back for BYU’s Week 2 matchup against Arizona.Another standout on defense was linebacker Cade Uluave, the highest rated linebacker in this year’s transfer portal, who recorded 3 tackles and 2 tackles for loss in the first half, the only half he played in.As a unit, however, the defense struggled to put pressure on the quarterback and get into the backfield. It finished with just four tackles for loss and a single sack.“In practice we stress pressuring the quarterback, getting turnovers, that kind of stuff,” said Esera. “We didn’t get many sacks and stuff today but we did get three interceptions, and so I feel like that trade-off is good enough.”Fans were given much to cheer about throughout the night, sophomore Cannon DeVries drew some of the most raucous. DeVries was plugged into the defense at the nickel position and given the punt return starting spot.After recording 73 yards between two punt returns in the first half, DeVries opened up the second half as the opening kick returner, a spot that was given to Legend Glasker on the official depth chart.After fielding the opening kick on the goal line, DeVries took off. He worked his way down field, spinning and bouncing away from defenders. Near midfield, DeVries broke free and flew into the end zone, causing one of the loudest crowd pops of the night.
Photo by Hannah Townsend
“I’ve dreamed of scoring a return here at LES and to make it happen, it was something special I couldn’t describe. It was pretty awesome,” DeVries said.The Cougars have had some iconic returns in the past, with DeVries, the trend will seemingly continue into this season.BYU’s dominant performance against Utah Tech provided big answers in big ways. Not only that, its performance set the tone for how Sitake and his staff want to approach the upcoming season. That tone should carry over into the Big 12 matchup against Arizona next Saturday, a game that will likely become a must-watch showdown.“Arizona’s going to be a great team,” said Sitake. “I think they didn’t like how last year’s game ended so … it’s a good focus for us on Week 2 to be ready for a conference game."
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