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The BYU defense gang tackles a Stanford player in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU linebackers Isaiah Glasker (left) and Jack Kelly celebrate a big play during a college football game against Stanford at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Keanu Tanuvasa (57) reaches for Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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“They are who we thought they were.”

The phrase was made famous by then Cardinals Coach Dennis Green during a postgame press conference after a humiliating loss to the Chicago Bears, and can now be applied to BYU football following Saturday’s 27-3 win over Stanford.

The signs of what BYU football will be this season, at least during the initial stages, were pretty apparent throughout the preseason and certainly extending to its 69-0 win over a hapless Portland State team. Much of what most prescribed for the Cougars was again on full display, and largely validated against a Cardinal team struggling for its own identity under new Head Coach Frank Reich.

So what is BYU currently?

It’s a team led by what looks to be one of the more formidable defensive units we’ve seen in Provo in recent years, coupled with a solid and proactive special teams that is largely covering for a developing offense operated by true freshman Bear Bachmeier.

Taking center stage on Saturday, individually, were the Cougar’s much-hyped outside linebackers Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker, both of whom showed prime form in putting the stamp on the game early and often.

“Having a backer like Jack, who can fill (gaps) and Glasker, who can run, hit — I feel really good about the depth of our front seven,” said BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake.

Overall BYU’s defense allowed just 19 yards rushing to the Cardinal, and to negative yardage for most of the game until the Cardinal discovered at least some gaps in what was otherwise a dominant BYU front seven.

“I give them credit,” Reich said. “We knew that they run a lot of pressures aimed at stopping the run game. Against Hawaii, we ran the ball, with that we figured we would come in with their game plan being to make us beat them by throwing the football. That’s what I was assuming that they were coming in thinking, and so they did a good job in the run game.”

As for Glasker, he made his presence known early, bearing down hard on Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson during a 3rd-and-6 situation on the game’s initial possession to force an incompletion to an otherwise open receiver.

A little while later it was Kelly, making perhaps the standout defensive play of the night, strip-sacking Gulbranson with Cougar lineman Viliami Po’uha falling on the loose ball for a forced turnover early in the second quarter.

Always understated, Kelly took to the microphone during the postgame, stating, “It was pretty good. Obviously I have a lot to improve on. There’s certain things where I needed to stay in my gap…I think it was a good night, but I can obviously get better.”

Overall Kelly finished the game with his sack, forced fumble, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry and otherwise dispelling his stated obvious need to improve.

As for Glasker, he finished with similar numbers, forcing a fumble while contributing a sack, a tackle-for-loss and two quarterback hurries on the evening.

“It’s awesome because I can learn from him and he can learn from me,” Kelly said of playing with Glasker on the other side of the formation. “So it’s like a great duo and obviously we have other guys.”

One of those other guys on Saturday was sophomore safety Faletau Satuala, who jumped a pass Stanford made to the flat late in the second quarter in Stanford’s own endzone to help force a safety. Kelly contributed to help score the rare 2-pointer along with a swarm of other defenders.

“Our coaches were alerting us for a screen and draw. Obviously, not that kind of screen is what they were expecting, but we were in zone,” Satuala described. “I just saw my guy kind of break back, and we’d been working on screen calls all week. As soon as I saw him go back and kind of curl for the QB to throw the ball, I just broke on it.”

The safety gave the Cougars a 14-0 lead heading into the halftime break.

A little later on Satuala contributed an interception to effectively end the football game late in the fourth quarter.

“We knew he’d help us out as a true freshman last year, but he’s starting to understand the scheme,” Sitake said regarding Satuala’s emergence in BYU’s overall defensive scheme.

On offense, the Cougars came out sputtering from the get-go. Sure, BYU running back LJ Martin diced up the Stanford front early, but too many misreads by Bachmeier, some gaffes in pass protection from the offensive line along with multiple other miscues led to just two offensive touchdowns scored on the night despite being allotted prime opportunities from the defense.

But that was to be expected.

“Right now it’s figuring things out,” said BYU receiver Chase Roberts. “But I think these first two games were perfect for us (to learn.) We have a bye week now to rest up, heal up and then really get going even more during the next two weeks.”

In short, BYU right now is what most thought it would be. The defense and special teams units look to be stellar, aiding an offense still searching for identity, and as Roberts mentioned, getting your feet wet against Portland State and then Stanford may have been a perfect jumping off point for necessarily improved offensive production moving forward.