Bear Bachmeier leads the Cougars' offense to their 12th win, best year this century

With Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin out for the game, BYU knew their offensive attack would have to be much different than it had been most of the season. When Bear Bachmeier reaggravated an ankle injury on BYU’s first possession, they knew they were going to have to pass the ball to win. As he has all year, and with the help of great players around him, Bachmeier answered the call.

Bachmeier would be 27 of 38 for 325 yards and a touchdown. His favorite targets of 2025 were like a tripod the sharpshooting Bear leaned on. Senior Chase Roberts, playing his last game in BYU royal blue, had seven catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Parker Kingston had 12 touches for 134 yards, receiving, rushing, passing, and punt returning. Now Kingston has to decide if he’ll return to BYU for another season. Carsen Ryan had his best collegiate game with eight catches for 120 yards. JoJo Phillips had four catches for 53 yards as Bachmeier spread the ball around to his pass catchers.

The running game wasn’t the same without LJ Martin, but Enoch Nawahine and Jovesa Damuni still made it a force to be reckoned with. The two backs combined for 80 yards on 17 carries and each scored a touchdown. Damuni, another freshman for the BYU offense, will look to carry the momentum from this game over into 2026, especially if LJ Martin goes to the NFL. The Cougars went above their average of 397.4 yards per game of total offense, totaling 425 yards against Georgia Tech.

Despite some hits, BYU’s offensive line ultimately proved why they are in the top 15 in fewest sacks allowed. Bachmeier was never sacked thanks to BYU’s starting five. BYU is now 53-10 when scoring first under Kalani Sitake, has at least 11 wins in three of his last six seasons, and have their fifth 12-win season in program history, their first since 2001.

Unfairly snubbed from the College Football Playoff, BYU went out and did what they do: they competed, battled, and won. With so many crucial returning players and coaches next year, BYU will look to do even better than 11-2 and 12-2. A lot of people in the college football world don’t know about BYU, but they’re going to find out.