Stanford Cardinal at BYU Cougars

BYU defense stifles Stanford in 27-3 victory

LJ Martin added 110 yards on the ground for the Cougars while averaging 6.1 yards per carry. It was Martin’s second straight 100-yard game and the fourth of his career.

“He gets stronger as the game goes on,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “We just got to keep feeding him the ball.”

Chase Roberts added 84 yards on five catches. BYU (2-0) tallied three sacks, seven tackles for loss, and forced three turnovers.

Ben Gulbranson threw for 142 yards and had two interceptions for Stanford, which totaled 161 yards on offense. The Cardinal (0-2) mustered 12 first downs and went 2-of-13 on third down.

“They did a good job in the run game,” Stanford interim coach Frank Reich said. “We got to be better there. If we’re going to be a successful team and for us to win games, we have to have a balanced offense. We’ll make the improvements there.”

BYU appeared poised to build on a strong offensive showing after Bachmeier capped a six-play, 85-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. Martin opened the drive by reeling off 58 total yards over back-to-back runs where he dragged defenders along for the ride.

Instead, the Cougars bogged down on offense.

BYU had a chance to break the game open early in the first half after forcing turnovers on back-to-back drives. Raider Damuni returned an interception 26 yards to the Cardinal 18-yard line on Stanford’s first second-quarter drive. Then, Jack Kelly stripped Gulbranson on a sack, and Viliami Po’uha pounced on the ball at the Stanford 5.

The Cougars ultimately settled for field goals on both takeaways – a 36-yarder and a 30-yarder – from Will Ferrin to extend their lead to 12-0.

BYU did not get its second touchdown until Sione Moa powered across the goal line on an 8-yard run to put the Cougars up 24-0 with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

Stanford never threatened on offense during either half. The Cardinals averaged 1.2 yards per play before halftime and crossed midfield only once in the first three quarters.

“We knew Stanford was going to run the ball,” Kelly said. “They are physical guys. So that was the main thing Coach (Jay) Hill was preparing us for was just being able to stop the run because we knew they were physical up front.”

The Takeaway Stanford: Turnovers and poor running doomed the Cardinal. BYU allowed minus-18 rushing yards before halftime while also securing two takeaways in the second quarter.

BYU: Stifling defense helped the Cougars weather sluggish offense. BYU has outscored its opponents 96-3 so far this season.

Consistent Kicks Ferrin went 4 for 4 on field goals for BYU, matching his single-game career high and marking the first time he’s made four field goals in a game for the Cougars since transferring from Boise State. The last kicker who made four field goals in a game for BYU before Saturday night was Skyler Southam in 2018 against Arizona.

Stifling the Run BYU allowed only 19 rushing yards. Stanford averaged a meager 0.8 yards per carry and lost 40 yards on seven tackles-for-loss.

The Cougars have allowed just 14 rushing yards through two games – fewest in the FBS. This comes after replacing every starting defensive lineman from last season.

“The front seven is playing at a high level right now, especially in run defense,” Sitake said. “We feel really good about the depth in our front seven. I think there was a lot of questions about the (defensive) tackle position. I think we’re answering them.”

Up Next Stanford: The Cardinal host Boston College on Saturday.

BYU: The Cougars visit East Carolina on September 20th.