All eyes are on the quarterbacks.
Utah’s got a hot, headline-making drive extender in Devon Dampier.
BYU’s got freshman Bear Bachmeier, who is leaning into being a potential big factor.
Utah State has the daring, fearless pig farmer in Bryson Barnes.
They’ll all be in action this weekend and it should be fun to watch what they do with completely different challenges.
Kyle Whittingham witnessed a near-flawless Utah offense in a bloated win over UCLA, where Dampier looked like a surgeon and his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, a savant.
When will K-Whitt and Beck give Dampier the hook on Saturday against Cal Poly? When the lead is 50? One series in the third quarter, or at the half? How good is a Cal Poly team that beat San Diego, 41-17?
Aaron Roderick has the perfect platform to introduce Bachmeier to major college football after he registered five touchdowns on just 30 plays in a quarter and a half in the Cougars’ 69-0 win over Portland State. That wasn’t enough work, but it was ethical.
Stanford is going to come after Bachmeier Saturday and he’ll face pressure. He left Stanford after spring practice for Provo. That may be worth some emotion. Stanford returns ends David Bailey and Tevarua Tafiti, both QB hunters.
Roderick will counter that by deploying a physical run game to try and limit the distance on third-down plays. He’ll also give his rookie max protection with six or seven blockers. But how will Bachmeier respond against a P4 defense, and is Stanford any good?
Barnes will face a powerful challenge in College Station and intimidating Kyle Field. He was sacked six times by UTEP in a win in Logan last week. If the Miners can get to him a half-dozen times, what will this SEC defense do?
A&M’s defense features ends Cashius Howell and transfers TJ Searcy (Florida), Dayon Hayes (Pitt, Colorado) and top-50 Sam M’Pemba (Georgia). The tackles are five-star DJ Hicks and Albert Regis. Barnes must steer clear of these guys.
Whatever transpires against A&M, head coach Bronco Mendenhall and offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven will need to protect Barnes at all costs. He’ll need to slide and avoid taking on A&M tacklers in a macho showdown, which is his nature.
- USU needs Barnes and the goal for the local Aggies against road Aggies will be to return to Logan with as many players as possible in one piece. A&M beat UTSA last week 42-24. Kyle Field has a way of swallowing up visitors.
- Here’s what we know about this trio of local QBs so far:
- Dampier vs. a tackle-impaired UCLA defense: A scintillating 21 of 25 pass completions for 206 yards, two touchdowns. He was almost flawless. On the ground, he had 16 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. He was better than advertised and far more dangerous than at New Mexico now that he’s surrounded by a mammoth offensive line and Whittingham’s defense.
- Bachmeier vs. an undersized, horrible Portland State defense: Seven of 11 completions for 97 yards, three touchdowns, 63.6 percentage with 227 pass efficiency in 30 plays. Rushed five times for 32 yards and two touchdowns. He was protected by play calls that set him up for easy throws and had little pressure. He showed poise, intelligence and didn’t cough up the ball. Obviously, Roderick wants him to be a game manager early on, not take it upon himself to win; yet, five TDs?
- Barnes against a middling UTEP defense: Nineteen of 28 completions for 233 yards, one touchdown. He had 29 yards and one touchdown rushing. He displayed confidence, leadership and moxie in his first action as a USU starter.
None of these guys has thrown an interception in a combined 64 pass attempts.
All are undefeated.
Predictions: Dampier accounts for four touchdowns and rushes for 100 yards and leaves in the third quarter. Bachmeier will be responsible for four touchdowns and play deep into the third. He will throw his first pick. Barnes should not play the whole game and will be lucky to throw for a TD and he will be intercepted.
Predictions
- Texas A&M 35, Utah State 9
- Utah 51, Cal Poly 0
- Illinois 28, Duke 17
- Iowa State 28, Iowa 21
- SMU 24, Baylor 21
- Texas Tech 52, Kent State 7
- Oregon 34, Oklahoma State 17
- Mississippi State 27, Arizona State 24
- Michigan 21, Oklahoma 17
- Kansas 31, Missouri 28
- Cincinnati 38, Bowling Green 14
- Kansas State 28, Army 21
- Houston 21, Rice 0
- Arizona 35, Weber State 7
- BYU 37, Stanford 10
Last week 10-1; overall 10-1 (.909)