BYU’s defense buries ECU with huge first-half picks

Defense travels.

And if that’s so, BYU corner Evan Johnson might just return home in the first-class seats. Give him his own limo to and from the airports on this just-finished 2,000-mile jaunt across two time zones.

Give him the comfort pillows, the reclining seats, all the soda and juice he can down and lace that warm washcloth with some fancy fragrance.

Johnson’s interception of ECU’s senior star quarterback Katin Houser in the second quarter of a 6-3 game proved the biggest play of BYU’s 34-13 win over ECU Saturday night.

It was a huge play. A back-breaker. A real killer before a loud, screaming, expectant ECU home crowd looking for a big Power Four win on American Conference soil.

Until his next play.

The next time Houser threw his way.

With ECU ready to finish a long drive with a touchdown, Houser threw a pass to his favorite target, Anthony Smith, at the goal line. Johnson deftly stepped in front of Smith and grabbed the ball. He ran into the end zone before jaunting down the sideline.

After a muffed punt reception by ECU’s return specialist put the ball on the 1-yard line, Houser tried to hit Smith again on a quick slant. Johnson broke on the ball, grabbed it out of the air, and needed only two strides with the pick-six to easily take it to pay dirt for what became a 13-3 BYU lead with 56 seconds left before half.

One could argue the game was over at that point.

Evan Johnson to the rescuepic.twitter.com/WwS4h26OaV

— Jackson Payne (@jackson5payne) September 21, 2025

The Cougars left North Carolina 3-0. Next up, Colorado in Boulder.

Johnson was crafty on both his interceptions. One was a dig route, the other a slant. Johnson kind of held back, making Houser think he was out of position to make a play. Once Houser committed to throwing to Smith, Johnson exploded in front of Smith for the thefts.

It was a pair of first-class felonies.

“We knew they ran the RPO hitch. I knew it was coming and when I saw him take a three-step drop, I knew it was my time to make a play,” Johnson told KSL radio afterward.

“I wish it was on the wide side of the field so I could show my speed. But that will come.”

These two big plays were significantly big, and they overshadowed what were elite defensive plays and calls by the Cougars defense and coordinator Jay Hill.

Jack Kelly had two sacks on Houser in a game where Hill dropped a lot of players into coverage because Houser delivered the ball so fast. But when he did pressure Houser, it was effective. The defense also drew six illegal motion penalties on an ECU team that had been averaging nearly 40 points a game.

Kelly credited Hill for preparing the defense for this unique offensive tempo.

“Jay Hill did a great job during the week preparing us. It was actually harder than the game so when we got out there, it seemed like the game slowed down for us.”

BYU is now allowing opponents just 5.3 points a game, one touchdown in three games. Houser was averaging 71.1% completions before BYU. In this game he completed 50.6%.

ECU did gain a respectable 404 yards, but got just two field goals and a TD for the effort by running 77 plays, 17 more than the Cougars.

BYU’s best cover corner simply turned the entire game around on two plays.

Johnson had one of the toughest defensive assignments in the game. He had to cover ECU’s best receiver who is extremely fast and taller than him.

He jumped Smith twice and made it look like an art form.

Johnson’s effort led a BYU defense that stymied ECU’s explosive offense, keeping it out of the end zone for three quarters and seven minutes into the fourth quarter when Houser scored on a keeper. It was the first TD scored on BYU this season.

There was a lot to discover about Kalani Sitake’s 2025 football team after lopsided wins over Portland State and Stanford, when the Cougars took off through two time zones to face an explosive ECU’s quick-fire, high-paced offense.

But one thing that was confirmed, and not needing any discovery, was BYU’s defense and how effective it can be.

BYU’s defense should have had three other interceptions from Houser in this game.

Defense travels?

This one collected a lot of frequent flier miles over the weekend.