AMES, Iowa — The next time BYU football coach Kalani Sitake and his players talk about culture and keeping the faith in the midst of adversity and you have the urge to roll your eyes, remember what happened on October 25, 2025, at Jack Trice Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 61,500 absolutely stunned onlookers.
Left for dead after Iowa State scored 24 points and racked up more than 300 yards of offense in the first half, and with star linebacker Siale Esera and superstar running back LJ Martin sidelined for the remainder of the contest with injuries, No. 11 BYU somehow rose up and played like a top 10 team in the final 30 minutes to remain unbeaten.
The Cougars (5-0, 8-0), disrespected by the oddsmakers as 3-point underdogs and seemingly ready to curl up in the fetal position and limp their way back to Provo after another apparent post-rivalry game collapse, managed to turn the Big 12 game on its head to stay atop the league standings.
Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier completed 22 of 35 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns — the first opposing QB to throw for more than 300 yards against the Cyclones in 19 games — and also ran for 49 yards and a TD as the Cougars ran off with a 41-27 win, their 19th in their last 21 games dating back to last year’s 11-2 season.
Trailing 24-10 after ISU running back Carson Hansen’s 3-yard touchdown plunge put the home team ahead 24-10 with 1:52 remaining in the first half, the Cougars scored 31 of the next 34 points to win going away.
They avenged a 45-13 loss to the Cyclones in Provo two years ago, but there was much more to it than that. It sent a message of just how far Sitake’s program has come as nicked-up BYU enters a bye week needing to get healthy for the stretch run that includes two other ranked teams, Texas Tech and Cincinnati.
“We are going to get down. We are going to hit adversity,” said receiver Chase Roberts, who had eight catches for 128 yards. “That’s when you you fall back to culture, right?
“You fall back on what you’ve established as a team. When adversity hits, that’s what comes out. We have a great culture with a great team, with great coaches, so we’re never out of it.”
The Cougars have now overcome deficits in four of their five Big 12 wins, including two-touchdown deficits at Colorado and Iowa State.
“We battle back and we win games. That is what we do,” Roberts said. “That’s what we’ve done the past two years. We just win football games, and that’s what we’re going to do going forward. We’re just resilient.”
Resilient, indeed.
And almost perfect while taking care of the football, which in all reality was the difference in the game. The Cyclones and veteran QB Rocco Becht, who was outplayed by his freshman counterpart, committed four turnovers (three interceptions and a muffed punt) while the Cougars had none.
BYU’s defense, pushed around to almost laughable proportions in the first half, also turned the Cyclones over on downs midway through the fourth quarter, rising up after Becht had driven ISU to the BYU 23.
“We had a lot of things going against us, especially at the beginning,” Sitake said. “That’s because Iowa State is a really good team. I told the guys that they were ranked for a reason (at start of the season) and then a bunch of injuries slowed them down.”
BYU easily could have played the injury card, too, after Martin ran five times for 15 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter, then sustained some sort of upper body injury, went to the locker room, and emerged without his pads on.
Sitake said it is too early to say what his injury is, but that it is not a good sign when a player cannot finish a game.
Esera went down midway through ISU’s nine-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that gave the Cyclones a 17-7 lead. After BYU had to punt, the Cougars looked dead, again.
But defensive end Logan Lutui picked off a Becht pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Keanu Tanuvasa.
“I think that was a great momentum switcher for us,” Lutui said. “It all goes back to our coaches putting us in great positions.”
But the best adjustments were to come. Parker Kingston’s 12-yard touchdown catch just before halftime signaled another momentum switch, and in the second half the Cougars’ defense allowed just three points — while scoring six points itself on Faletau Satuala’s 40-yard pick-six.
What were the adjustments?
“I am not going to tell you any specific adjustments,” Sitake said, chuckling at the question. “I think they just kept the energy going. … Once we started making plays and getting some momentum, the guys started feeling it, and we were fortunate to quiet the storm.”
BYU was also a bit lucky at the end of the fourth quarter, with the score knotted at 27-27. BYU punted after a three-and-out, and as the ball was laying on the turf, Kevin Doe pushed ISU’s Beni Ngoyi into the pigskin.
It was kicked a few yards and into the arms of Mory Bamba.
Three players later, Kingston out-dueled an Iowa State defender for the football for a 27-yard touchdown reception.
“I said, ‘You are a dog. Thank you, bro,” Bachmeier said about Kingston. “… Yeah, great play by Parker.”
As for the misplayed punt, Sitake said the Cougars work on those types of plays and teach their special teams guys to push opponents into the football if the opportunity arises.
He reminded reporters that last year that BYU was on the wrong side of a similar play when a Kansas punt bounced off a BYU player’s helmet.
As for the country seemingly disrespecting the only unbeaten team in the Big 12, Sitake said he could not care less.
“I’m not really worried about it. We talk about confidence (being) internal, so we know what we can do and we’re not really worried about what other people think,” he said. “That just creates arrogance.”
After Kingston’s second TD catch and fifth in the last four games gave BYU the 34-27 lead, sophomore Satuala redeemed himself big-time with the pick-six for the opening play of the game, when ISU’s Brett Eskilsden got past him for a 75-yard touchdown catch.
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill called a corner blitz, Satuala bit on a hitch and before the crowd was settled into its seats on a cool, windy, 50-degree day at Trice, the home team had a 7-0 lead.
“I guess I had to make up for it a little bit,” Satuala said, while Lutui came to his defense and said the breakdown wasn’t his teammate’s fault.
The Cyclones had two weeks to prepare for BYU while the Cougars were emptying the tank in that 24-21 win over Utah in the rivalry game last weekend, and it showed early.
The defense didn’t force a punt the entire first half, and Iowa State averaged 9.3 yards per play the first 30 minutes.
Will Ferrin’s 50-yard field goal into a stiff breeze in the first half was another clutch play for the Cougars and helped to right the ship when a blowout seemed to be in the offing.
Just before halftime, catches by Kingston and Tiger Bachmeier got the Cougars into scoring territory, and after a huge pickup on fourth and 2, Bear Bachmeier found Kingston for the TD.
The Cougars have now won 17 straight games when they score 24 or more points. It is the first time BYU has gone 8-0 in consecutive seasons in its history.
How did Bear do it?
“Well, I like to just stay within myself and I like to sing songs to myself and and just chill,” he said. “It is nerve-wracking, sure, but I know the guys have my back, and I know my family’s in the stands.
“… You don’t want to get too frightened. You just want to stay composed, and so yeah, down 14, you trust your guys next to you and get the job done.”
Bachmeier said he sang along to Luke Combs’ songs being played on the public address system and relaxed.
“I think that’s a great recipe for success,” he said.
An outstanding culture and a little bit of luck were also vital on an unforgettable afternoon, for BYU fans, in Iowa on Saturday.
