The No. 14 BYU Cougars have legitimate aspirations to conquer the Big 12 and make the College Football Playoffs this year.
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier is the single most important player in powering BYU to this type of historic finish. And BYU is in good hands with Bear. After all, as a true freshman last year, he piloted the team to a 12-2 record behind his 3,033 passing yards, 527 rushing yards, and 26 total touchdowns. Bachmeier was recently named to the Maxwell Award watch list, which is given to the best all-around college football player, and deservedly so.
With a fully healthy Bear Bachmeier appearing in every game this year, BYU is a true contender.
Now, while there's a lot of benefit to Bear Bachmeier's punishing running style, it also invites a healthy dose of injury risk. While offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick will be judicious in determining when Bear will tuck the football and run, he's still going to take hits throughout the year.
And should Bear Bachmeier miss any time this year, backup Treyson Bourguet would likely become the single most important player on BYU's roster if the team is to live up to its lofty goals in 2026.
Can BYU win behind an effective "game manager" in Treyson Bourguet?
Let's assume Bear gets dinged up at some point in the season and needs to sit a few games. In that scenario it's likely Bourguet would be leading BYU's offense.
And when a backup like Bourguet takes the reins of an offense that's expected to be elite this year, all the team needs is for him to be an effective game manager. Now I know the term "game manager" is sometimes viewed as a slur hurled at below-average quarterbacks, and that might be the case for starters. Game managers rarely lead their teams to victory, but they also don't make fatal mistakes that can lose games, either.
If Bear misses 2-3 games at some point, Treyson Bourguet would just need to manage the game. BYU would pound the run, employ a lot of play action, and draw up a host of short and medium range passes that heavily feature tight ends Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga. Kalani Sitake's squad would trust the defense, control the ball, and turn every possession into a grind for the opposing defense. BYU would just need Bourguet to avoid turnovers and methodically move the chains.
Can Treyson do that?
The answer to that is a mushy "probably".
Remember, Bourguet has previous starting experience at Western Michigan. In 2022 and 2023 he appeared in 10 games completing 112 of 214 passes (52.3%) for 1,322 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He transferred to BYU in 2024 and is now starting his third season in Aaron Roderick's offense. He's an experienced redshirt senior but has only attempted two passes in a BYU uniform.
At this point, Treyson Bourguet probably has the skills, experience, and system knowledge to be an effective game manager.
But whether BYU can win with a backup game manager will depend upon when they need him.
Early in the season, even with a backup quarterback BYU could handle Utah Tech, Arizona at home in a tougher game, and Colorado State.
But in the middle of the season, trotting out a backup game manager to replace Bear Bachmeier could be fatal to BYU's season. The Cougars six games in the middle of the season consists of one relatively easy game in Iowa State, but it also includes TCU, Notre Dame, UCF, ASU, and Utah. All five of those teams are dangerous. It would be difficult for Treyson Bourguet, or any backup quarterback, to navigate a 2-3 game stretch in the middle of the season without any stumbles.
But BYU's final three games are more manageable with a backup in Baylor, Kansas, and Cincinnati.
So if Bear Bachmeier misses a couple of games this year can BYU survive with the fate of the season now riding onTreyson Bourguet's arm?
Timing matters, and the Cougars would be far more likely to escape unscathed if Treyson Bourget was leading the offense either early in the season, or at the tail end.
While the hope is for Bear Bachmeier to play a fully healthy season, of course, let's also remember we're just one play away from Treyson Bourguet becoming the most important player on BYU's roster.
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