The easy part of BYU’s schedule is in the rearview mirror with a 2-0 record and two warm, fuzzy home wins over Portland State and Stanford. During this bye week, a trip to the East Coast and showdown with East Carolina loom on the horizon.
True freshman Bear Bachmeier has been just fine. He’s had no turnovers, but he hasn’t been asked to take the team on his shoulders.
The competition is going to get tougher. ECU has a solid defense with talented athletes, and they’ll come after BYU’s freshman. This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of game for Aaron Roderick, Fesi Sitake, TJ Woods, Kevin Gilbride and Harvey Unga.
Of these coaches, look for Woods to elevate the play of the offensive line. He needs higher grades, better communication and better protection, and he must clean up some penalty mistakes that surfaced in the 27-3 win over Stanford.
Question of the week
How much of a load can Aaron Roderick expect his running back room to carry early versus later in the season?
Jay Drew: When it became official that Jake Retzlaff was leaving BYU, the pressure on BYU’s supporting cast of receivers and running backs intensified. No matter who was going to step in as QB1, the Cougars were going to need to surround him with plenty of helpers as he got accustomed to Power Four football.
Obviously, that man is Bear Bachmeier, a true freshman who, through two games, has played with maturity, poise and confidence. Aaron Roderick has given the 19-year-old QB the right amount of passing plays to this point to bring him along slowly. The running backs — primarily LJ Martin and Sione Moa — have stepped up and carried a big part of the offensive load.
As the Cougars get into the thick of their schedule, they will need more from Bachmeier, but that doesn’t mean the running game can go AWOL. BYU will need a good balance of passing and rushing to have a successful season. Roderick has said that the RBs room is deeper than most people think, with Jovesa Damuni, Enoch Nawahine and Preston Rex in spots 3 through 5. Another RB to keep an eye on as the season unfolds is walk-on Charlie Miska, who scored a touchdown against Portland State. Teammates and coaches say Miska has a lot of potential.
Dick Harmon: LJ Martin is the man right now. How BYU fares the rest of the season depends on him remaining healthy and productive. He is a workhorse and a star. He’s helping Bear Bachmeier ease into his role as a freshman QB, and his threat is keeping defenses aware.
At all costs, Aaron Roderick needs to keep Martin producing. He’ll need to monitor his reps and role. At the same time, he will need his experience to block in max protection schemes when BYU leaves seven blockers in to protect The Bear. Others can help, including tight end Carsen Ryan.
For BYU’s offense to run smoothly, it needs to be balanced. This also makes it easier for Bachmeier to progress and puts the onus on the offensive line and Martin’s backups to grow up fast and contribute.
I think defenses will come after Bachmeier, and East Carolina will lead the charge just as Stanford tried to do (three sacks). The run game is enhanced by Bachmeier’s ability to run. Right now, he’s tied with six other QBs for running touchdowns with three. He is the second-leading ball carrier (17) behind Martin (26), and A-Rod likes him to put that run threat on film for defenses to worry about.
Cougar tales
Here is a glimpse of our coverage of BYU’s 27-3 win over Stanford:
- Cleanup on University Avenue (Dick Harmon)
- What Stanford’s coach said about BYU (Jackson Payne)
- Another lights-out defensive performance (Jay Drew)
- Cougars to make most of week off (Jay Drew)
- In women’s soccer, BYU shut out Utah State 2-0. No. 18 BYU women win volleyball tournament with sweep of Incarnate.
From the archives
From X-verse
- JoJo Phillips undergoes surgery (@josiahphillips20)
- BYU defense leads country in run stops (@CFBHome)
- BYU attendance in West ranks No. 2 (@SuperWestsports)
- Bear, Tiger Bachmeier sing at retirement home (@hypetrainpod)
Extra points
- LJ Martin understands his role to help Bachmeier (Deseret News)
- Sitake concerned about QB protection (PFSN)
- BYU win over Miami turns 35 (Deseret News)
Fanalysts
Comments from Deseret News readers:
A-Rod, knowing the mismatch of the first two opponents, likely played very conservatively to not reveal much to future teams of a challenging Big 12 schedule.
Bear not having any costly turnovers has shown he knows how to play within himself and we’ll likely see him start to let loose as the season progresses.
— CapitalSky
Back in Lavell‘s day when Norm Chow was running the offense, complainers came out of the woodwork lamenting how the Cougars needed a real OC. Norm went off elsewhere to do pretty well for himself. Crowton took over and I missed praise for his offensive genius, and we experienced three straight losing seasons. It got too complex and the players couldn’t execute well enough.
The complainers will always be around like little yapping dogs, and we can ignore them. Others on this thread pointed out that Roderick is a pretty decent coach. He doesn’t need me to defend him. As long as the team keeps winning, people should be happy.
— Osgrath
Up next
- Sept. 11| 7 p.m. | women’s volleyball | @ USC
- Sept. 12| 7 p.m. | women’s volleyball | LMU
- Sept. 12| 7 p.m. | women’s soccer| Utah Valley
- Sept. 13 | 1 p.m. | women’s volleyball | Western Michigan
- Sept. 14| 8 a.m. | men’s golf | Wohali Classic, Coleville