PROVO, Utah — The East Carolina football team will enter one of the top non-“Power Five” atmospheres in the country when they travel to Brigham Young on Saturday.

ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill said the ECU (3-2, 1-1 American Athletic Conference) and BYU (3-2) coaching staffs have very similar schemes, which comes from the staffs exchanging information over the years.

“That probably started about five years ago,” McNeill said Monday afternoon. “(BYU offensive coordinator) Robert Anae is one of my best friends. You’ll see similar, mirror images defensively, and even offensively.”

The season changed for the Cougars when starting quarterback Taysom Hill went down for the season against Nebraska in Week 1. However, backup quarterback freshman Tanner Mangum has proved more than able to fill the role.

Mangum led BYU to a top-25 ranking before a 31-0 thrashing at the hands of now-No. 18-ranked Michigan. Since the loss, the Cougars notched a victory over Connecticut, 30-13, at home.

In that matchup, Mangum threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns, though he was intercepted twice by the Huskie defense.

“Tanner has stepped in and done a great job,” McNeill said. “He’s very accurate and mature. I could tell on film, so you’re not going to be able to rattle him. We have to do a great job of controlling them up front.”

Part of controlling the pass rush will fall on the shoulders of veteran linebackers Montese Overton and Zeek Bigger. Another option at linebacker has been Yiannis Bowden, who has taken on an increased role of late. The redshirt freshman racked up four tackles and two-and-a-half sacks against Southern Methodist last weekend.

As a team, ECU came up with eight sacks in the win and outmatched SMU’s offensive line, a much easier task than facing a sizable BYU offensive line. The Cougars have allowed 13 sacks in the first five games, five of which came against Boise State.

The Cougars have two top-tier receivers in Mitch Mathews and Terenn Houk. Houk, a 6-foot-5 senior, has hauled in 15 passes for 228 yards this season. Mathews is the team’s leading receiver and stands an inch taller than Houk. He has racked up 267 yards on 26 receptions this season.

“They have the tallest wide receivers I’ve ever coached against in my entire life and they’re very athletic,” McNeill said. “They really use those guys well. They always have big tight ends there. They’re really big and can cause matchup problems.”

For ECU’s offense, the two-quarterback system will continue against BYU, said McNeill. Blake Kemp has started all five games to this point, though backup James Summers has proven crucial in two comeback victories in the past two weeks.

“One thing you saw with us last week, with Shawn Furlow and Justin Brown, it’s about what gives us the best advantage,” said McNeill. “It’s about having your adjustments and answers ready. We’ll use the quarterbacks the same way.

“Their talents complement each other and it makes teams prepare for both. James is getting more comfortable with the package and the system. He’s really a neat kid on the sideline. I’m proud of his progress, but we’ll use both.”

Summers entered last week’s games against SMU after two turnovers by Kemp. With ECU trailing 23-7 in the first quarter, Summers led the team on a 42-0 run for the next three quarters.

Regardless of the quarterback situation, ECU’s receivers are constantly threatening with the likes of Isaiah Jones, Bryce Williams, Trevon Brown and Davon Grayson.

ECU and BYU will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium at BYU.