Brigham Young comes to East Carolina for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday night (ESPN2). The Cougars are, in effect, ranked No. 26 nationally in both the coaches and writers polls.

BYU (2-0), coming off a bye week, received 158 points in this week’s coaches rankings, just four points behind No. 25 Auburn.

Southern California is No. 25 in the writers poll with 105 points. The Cougars are next with 94.

The last ranked team to play at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was No. 21 Tulane on Nov. 4, 2023. ECU led 10-0 in the first quarter, but the Green Wave came back for a 13-10 win.

Unusual name, unique number

The BYU quarterback is named Bear Bachmeier, a true freshman who wears No. 47.

“You don’t see many quarterbacks wearing No. 47,” noted Pirates coach Blake Harrell.

Bachmeier has completed 24 of 38 passes for 272 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He has 17 rushes for a net of 39 yards.

Older brother Tiger Bachmeier is a junior wide receiver who has one catch for eight yards. He transferred from Stanford.

The oldest brother, Hank Bachmeier, was a quarterback at Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest.

Quarterback vacates

Jake Retzlaff was BYU’s quarterback during an 11-2 season in 2024 that included a 36-14 win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. The Cougars started 9-0 before falling, 17-13, at home to Kansas.

Retzlaff ran afoul of BYU regulations regarding premarital sex and transferred to Tulane. He ran for a school-record four touchdowns in a 34-27 Green Wave win last week over visiting Duke, which featured former Tulane star Darian Mensah  at quarterback.

Instead of seeing Retzlaff this weekend, the Pirates will have to deal with him in a Thursday night matchup in New Orleans on Oct. 9.

League matchups pending

Saturday night will be the last nonconference game of the regular season for BYU and ECU.

The Cougars, who joined the Big 12 on July 1, 2023, open league play at Colorado on Sept. 27.

ECU will be at home to meet Army on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN). The Cadets will be without quarterback Bryson Daily from the 2024 AAC champions.

Harrell said Bachmeier’s running style is similar to Daily’s.

The week after

The last road shutout for the Pirates prior to the 38-0 win at Coastal Carolina on Saturday night was a 38-0 win at Duke in the 2000 season opener.

Hopefully, the current Pirates provide a better follow up. The 2000 Pirates dropped their next game, 45-28, at home on a Thursday night to Virginia Tech.

Series history

ECU has won the last two meetings with the Cougars to lead the series, 2-1.

BYU won the initial meeting in Provo in 2015, 45-38.

The Pirates took a 33-17 win at home in 2017.

ECU won, 27-24, on the road in 2022 on a 33-yard field goal by Andrew Conrad as time expired.

No touchdowns allowed

BYU has beaten Portland State, 69-0, and Stanford, 27-3, in a pair of home games thus far. The Cougars have not yielded a touchdown.

Their defense is helped by a ball control offense.

“The big thing that stands out is how they’re running the football,” Harrell said. ” … Turn on the tape, they’re big. They’re athletic. They run well. They’re physical. They’re a hard-nosed football team and they do that with running the football.

“I think they’ve averaged over 300 yards in the running game and that starts with their running back, L.J. Martin, No. 4.  … Chase Roberts, No. 2, is a deep threat.

“Jojo Phillips is another speedster out there and another guy that kind of catches my eye. He was a former high school quarterback, Parker Kingston, No. 11. He’s a left-handed kid that tried to throw a double pass I believe in the Stanford game.

“It’s the same offensive coordinator (Aaron Roderick) as when we were out there in ’22. ”

Linebackers stand out

Harrell, a former defensive coordinator, broke down the Cougars on that side of the ball.

“They’re mostly an odd (front) team,” said the Pirates coach. “Three down. They’re getting a little bit of four down. … The linebacker, the guy that stands out to me, is No. 17, Jack Kelly. He’s the transfer from Weber State. That’s where Jay Hill, who was the head coach at Weber State, came over and now is the defensive coordinator at BYU. … The other linebacker, Isaiah Glasker, No. 16, is pretty athletic. So those are kind of the guys that stand out for them.”

Exciting challenge

A Power Four opponent in Greenville makes this a big game.

“We’re excited about the night,” Harrell said. “We’re excited not only for our football program, our players, but all Pirate Nation. Excited to make this a place where it truly is a place where football matters with a fan base that can make a difference in the game.

“We always talk about it takes everybody and this week it certainly will.”