Bear Bachmeier’s flying leap over a Utah defender on Saturday speaks far beyond the moment. His No. 11 Cougars are hurdling the unexpected in ways BYU fans used to expect but haven’t seen in some 20 years.
BYU’s 24-21 victory against No. 23 Utah gave the Cougars their 18th win in their last 20 games. The streak is completely impressive and ranks among the elite programs in the country. It also fits nicely in BYU’s hall of achievements that includes a 28-2 stretch between 2006 and 2008 and the Cougars’ historic 25-0 run between 1983 and 1985.
Those glory years were engineered by legendary quarterbacks Robbie Bosco, Steve Young, John Beck and Max Hall. The big difference for the current Cougars is who they are doing it with – a junior college transfer and a true freshman — and who they are doing it against as a power conference program.
Jake Retzlaff, who is now starting at Tulane, began the run last year when he took a team picked to finished 13th in the Big 12 to a No. 13 final ranking in the AP Top 25. Bachmeier extended Retzlaff’s 11-2 record to 18-2 with his own 7-0 start.
Over the last 20 games, the Cougars are 9-1 at home, 8-1 on the road and 1-0 at a neutral site (Alamo Bowl). BYU is 14-4 against Power Four foes, including a 3-1 mark against ranked opponents. They are also 4-0 against G5/FCS teams with an average score of 44-13.
While the wins have been frequent, they haven’t always been easy. Six of BYU’s 18 victories are by a combined 19 points and attached to fantastic finishes.
- Last year, Retzlaff threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Darius Lassiter with 10 seconds remaining to beat Oklahoma State, 38-35.
- Will Ferrin kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:56 to play to win at SMU, 18-15.
- Ferrin booted a 44-yard field goal with three seconds left to beat the Utes in Salt Lake City, 22-21.
- Last month, Isaiah Glasker intercepted Colorado’s Kaidon Salter with 59 seconds remaining to preserve a 24-21 win at Colorado.
- Two weeks ago at Arizona, Bachmeier ran in the tying touchdown with 19 seconds to play in regulation and then ran in another touchdown to win the game in double overtime 33-27.
- Saturday, Bachmeier bulldozed his way through the Utah defense for a 22-yard touchdown run with 4:22 left in BYU’s 24-21 victory.
Kalani Sitake’s formula for success is simple — play solid defense, take care of the football, force turnovers and execute on special teams.
Last year, the Cougars’ defense ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 in nearly every major category and in 2025, it is contending again. Going into Saturday’s game at Iowa State (1:30 p.m., Fox), BYU is No. 1 in red-zone defense, No. 3 in scoring defense, No. 3 in rushing defense, No. 4 in passing defense and No. 4 in total defense.
During this 20-game stretch, BYU is +14 in turnover margin with a nation-leading 31 interceptions, including nine this season. The offense is buoyed by junior running back LJ Martin, who leads the Big 12 in rushing and has yet to fumble.
Ferrin has been fantastic on special teams. The senior kicker has made 37 of 43 field goals (five of 50+) and all 69 of his extra points over the last season and a half.
Add it all up and you get an imperfect team who has a perfect 7-0 record. How long the Cougars remain unbeaten will have more to do with their winning formula and less to do with Bachmeier’s vertical leap — although it won’t hurt.
Superman’s ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound never cramped his style either.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.