BYU football coach Kalani Sitake has often been asked two questions in particular the last few weeks as the Cougars have gone about repeating the September and October success that they enjoyed in 2024.
Did he expect his team to be 8-0 and ranked No. 10 in the country two-thirds into the 2025 season?
Did he know that true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier would be this good?
The questions and answers are related, obviously, as Bachmeier’s surprising play is a big reason why the Cougars are undefeated after the campaign appeared doomed from the beginning, when projected starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff transferred out to avoid a seven-game suspension for running afoul of the school’s honor code.
Sitake generally sidesteps the questions, saying he goes into every season hoping for the best and not worrying about the end results. He continually talks about sticking to the process, focusing on consistency and steady improvement, and maintaining the culture that has produced 19 wins in BYU’s last 21 games.
“It has been a team effort,” Sitake said after the Cougars’ fourth come-from-behind win this season, the 41-27 victory at Iowa State. “So we are in a really good spot. We just have to keep working, keep finding ways to get better and stay humble and hungry and make sure that we improve from this week to the next time we play.”
Expectations aside, there’s no doubting that BYU has overachieved by almost any measure, with the caveat that the November schedule — beginning a week from Saturday (10 a.m. MST, ESPN or ABC) at No. 13 Texas Tech — ramps up considerably for the final third of the season.
Heading into BYU’s second open date of the season, the Cougars’ remaining opponents have a combined record of 24-7 (77.4% winning percentage) and two of them, Texas Tech and No. 17 Cincinnati (5-0, 7-1) are salivating at the prospects of playing BYU at home.
At this same juncture last year, when the Cougars were also 8-0 and preparing for a showdown with rival Utah after a bye week, Sitake said: “We still haven’t done much.”
He’s not saying that this time around, as BYU has displayed a remarkable penchant for overcoming double-digit deficits in three Big 12 road games (Colorado, Arizona, Iowa State) and pulling out improbable victories. And the Cougars already have a win over the Utes in their back pocket, a 24-21 win in Provo. That victory should play well when the CFP rankings come out in December, because Utah’s remaining schedule is among the easiest in the league.
BYU’s résumé is indeed better than it was even last year. The Cougars are one of five teams with six wins over Power Four opponents, along with No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Oregon and No. 8 Georgia Tech.
Defending national champion Ohio State has the longest winning streak in the country, 11 games, followed by BYU and Navy at 10 each. So the Cougars’ success isn’t a fluke, by any stretch.
But they have been a tad lucky, prompting Sitake to proclaim that good teams “create their own luck,” after the ball bounced their way against Utah and Iowa State, botched punt recoveries that turned the tide in both upset wins.
“I am not worried about whether we were going to be 8-0 at this moment,” Sitake said. “I just want us to be at our best.”
Is BYU’s best yet to come, or has it peaked?
The Cougars are currently No. 16 in ESPN’s College Football Power Index (FPI), a predictive analytics system that measures a team’s strength and forecasts season outcomes. Has BYU overachieved? Consider that in August the FPI gave BYU a 7.7% chance of starting the season 8-0.
“It is what it is. It’s been like that the past two years, and we just go win games. That’s what we do at BYU, and they can keep making us underdogs, but we’re going to come out with the win,” said receiver Chase Roberts, who has surpassed the 500-yard season receiving yards plateau for the third-straight season. “So we’re confident in that. We have to do our part, do our 1/11th as players. … They can (say) whatever they want, but we’re going to continue to believe in ourselves.”
When the first College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings for the 2025 season are released Tuesday (6 p.m. MST, ESPN), BYU will be in the mix. Regardless how the rest of the season plays out, that’s quite remarkable, considering the hand Sitake and his staff was dealt in July when they were staring at an uncertain quarterback situation and the losses of Retzlaff (Tulane), Keelan Marion (Miami) and Harrison Taggart (Cal).
Meanwhile, the break this week seems like a good time to look back on how the Cougars got here, the reasons for their success and what has to happen for them to keep winning.
QB Bear Bachmeier’s rise has been unbelievable
Any talk of how BYU has exceeded expectations in 2025 has to begin and end with talk of Bear Bachmeier, the early May addition by way of Stanford (spring football participant) who has made everyone in Provo forget about the Retzlaff saga. Five times the Big 12 Freshman of the Week, Bachmeier has been nothing short of terrific, on and off the field.
With the BYU offense now dubbed “Bear Force One” by Fox-TV’s Gus Johnson, Bachmeier’s story is resonating nationally. From wearing the non-QB-like No. 47, to entertaining senior citizens with his guitar and singing voice on off days, to leaping over defenders and dragging them into end zones, it all seems too good to be true. It seems unbelievable.
But it has happened, as the native of Murrieta, California, has started to show up on Heisman Trophy candidate lists, albeit as a longshot.
“That dude is tough. Like, seeing all the hits he takes and how he’s willing to take hits to get more yards and stuff, he’s probably one of the toughest dudes I’ve seen, especially for a quarterback.”
— BYU safety Faletau Satuala on Bear Bachmeier
“That guy is just a competitor. He’s a winner. He’s somebody that we can put our full trust in. He’s the right man to head this team. And no matter how young he is, he’s somebody that steps up to the occasion, and that’s somebody that I always put my choice on,” said defensive end Logan Lutui.
Added another defender, safety Faletau Satuala: “That dude is tough. Like, seeing all the hits he takes and how he’s willing to take hits to get more yards and stuff, he’s probably one of the toughest dudes I’ve seen, especially for a quarterback.”
Bachmeier has completed 62.7% of his passes for 1,693 yards and 11 touchdowns, with just three interceptions. By way of comparison, through eight games last year, the risk-taking Retzlaff had thrown 18 touchdown passes, with seven interceptions.
A big burden has been put on ‘Bear Force One’
Bachmeier has rushed for 408 yards and nine touchdowns, with a passer efficiency rating of 148.5 (Retzlaff’s was 148.3 heading into November 2024).
“Bear has improved every week. He’s gotten better, and we keep asking him to do more, and he just keeps doing it, and he keeps asking for more,” Sitake said. “So let’s just give him what he wants. Let’s give him more to do for us.”
That might have to happen out of necessity, especially if star running back LJ Martin — another candidate for team MVP honors through eight games — is sidelined by an injury he sustained in the first quarter against Iowa State.
“He’s a humble young man. We’ll just keep him that way. Nobody (should) tell him how good he is,” Sitake said of the 19-year-old gunslinger. “There’s a lot of room for improvement. But he’s like that. If you watch him after every series, good or bad, he’s on the sideline, he’s trying to learn, he’s watching the film.
“That’s a guy who just studies hard, and he’s always ready,” Sitake continued. “So we will just keep him doing that. I wish I could take credit for that, man. But the guy came that way. He’s from a wonderful family.”
Brought along slowly by offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and assistant quarterbacks coach Matt Mitchell, Bachmeier put the Cougars on his back in the second half of the Iowa State game. But he deflected the praise after that landmark performance, saying the offensive linemen were the real heroes.
Bachmeier was named the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week after accounting for 356 total yards and three touchdowns against the Cyclones.
A case could be made that he also won the Arizona game — with his legs. He’s not making folks forget about Taysom Hill, but he does have some of that in him, having already set BYU freshman quarterback records with 94 rushing attempts for 408 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
“Yeah, we have a lot of momentum. Now we have a bye, so we just got to keep it going,” said Bachmeier, who has done his homework on last year’s team, although he was still in high school. “Last year we were 9-0, and then we didn’t trust the process, and we faltered, for whatever reason.
“We know we just have to stick to what we’re doing. And that’s BYU football, and that’s week by week and day by day, just doing what we’ve consistently and constantly been doing.”
Roberts, the senior receiver, was visibly shaken when Retzlaff departed, according to teammates. The American Fork High product thought his final year in Provo had suffered a major setback. But Bachmeier’s passing and his own improvement has Roberts on track for the best season of his career.
“We definitely knew he was tough. I didn’t know he was this tough,” Roberts said in Ames. “After some of the hits he took and seeing him like, grunt some stuff out, he solidified how tough he really is and how great of a leader he is.”
Jay Hill’s defense continues to be opportunistic
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill’s third season in Provo has been marked by steady improvement as the former Weber State head coach continues to get his type of players at BYU. Most notably this year, his ability to make in-game adjustments to shut down red-hot offenses (Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Iowa State in particular) has enabled the Cougars to get four come-from-behind wins.
The defense has also been able to overcome injuries to stalwarts such as linebackers Jack Kelly and Siale Esera and safety Raider Damuni, and keep producing.
“This isn’t our first time losing key players on defense,” Lutui said after the ISU game. “We’ve had that throughout the season. The mentality of our team is just ‘next man up’ and ‘don’t let there be any drop-off.’ Our team has stepped up to the occasion with whoever is in the game, and they are able to make plays.”
While the linebackers were supposed to be the strength of the BYU defense in 2025, the defensive backs and defensive linemen have been better than expected. A blossoming star, Satuala had the pick six that finished off the Cyclones, and leads the team in tackles, with 53. Fellow safety Tanner Wall has the second-most takedowns, with 38.
Evan Johnson’s end zone interception and pick six turned the tables on ECU in a matter of minutes, and he leads the team in picks, with three. Kelly leads BYU in sacks, with five, while battling an upper-body injury that kept him out of the Arizona game.
“I think it comes down to our culture, to our brotherhood, to the unity that we have, that we’ve built since last year, in the offseason, throughout fall camp and up to this point of the season,” Lutui said.
Statistically, this BYU defense is slightly better than last year’s through eight games, against a slightly easier schedule. Last year, BYU had played the 29th most-difficult schedule in the country through October, per the Sagarin Ratings; this year, Sagarin has BYU as having played the 50th most difficult schedule.
What Jeff Sagarin’s computers, or humans, for that matter, don’t realize is that BYU-Utah games are incredibly difficult to win, for either side.
BYU was 40th in total defense last year entering November, having allowed 331.5 yards per game. The Cougars were No. 27 in scoring defense, having allowed 19.62 points per game.
This year, they are currently 28th in total defense (318.2 yards per game) and 15th in scoring defense (17.0 points per game).
“I love that all the guys are unselfish, and they know that it’s going to take more than just 11 guys on defense,” Sitake said. “It’s going to take some depth and guys coming in and filling in for (injured players). Whenever the opportunity (is there), these guys make plays, just like Faletau did on his pick six.”
Indeed, the defense is as opportunistic as ever. The Cougars are tied for sixth in turnovers gained (12 interceptions, four fumble recoveries) and tied for fourth in interceptions after leading the country in that category last year.
BYU has had at least one takeaway in 22 straight games and at least one interception in 21 of its last 22 games. The pass rush has improved as well, as BYU is tied for 60th in team sacks, with 17 (2.12 per game).
“We’ve done a good job creating havoc, which is what we want to see,” edge rushers coach Kelly Poppinga said.
Aaron Roderick is on fire as BYU’s play-caller
We postulated a few weeks ago that Aaron Roderick has emerged as BYU’s best offensive coordinator since the LaVell Edwards era, and since then, nothing has happened to make us change our minds. Roderick’s handling of the quarterback situation, and his adjustments in games that allowed the Cougars to get the chains moving after slow starts, have been spot on.
Sure, the Cougars are talented on offense, with Martin, Roberts, Cody Hagen, Parker Kingston and tight end Carsen Ryan playing well and an offensive line picking up where it left off last year under second-year OL coach TJ Woods.
Bachmeier owes a lot of his success to them, obviously. And to Roderick. The former BYU receiver and Utah co-offensive coordinator has done a masterful job with Bachmeier, to date.
“A Rod and Matt Mitchell have done a great job prepping Bear,” Sitake said. “And then you have to give a lot of credit to the other quarterbacks in the room (Treyson Bourguet, McCae Hillstead, Emerson Geilman). They work really well together.”
Roderick’s play designs have been outstanding as well, symbolized by the “tornado reverse” play that has produced two touchdowns and been imitated by several NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs.
Moving forward, Martin will be sorely missed, if he can’t go in any of the remaining five games. The junior from El Paso, Texas, is first in the Big 12 and ninth in the country in rushing yards, with 789. He’s averaging 108.9 yards from scrimmage, which also leads the Big 12 and is 18th nationally.
Roberts is 29th in the country in receiving yards, with 591.
“Just seeing the fight of the team and how we battle adversity (has been uplifting),” Roberts said. “We never feel like we’re out of it, even if we’re down a couple touchdowns. We keep the faith. I never lose faith in these guys and in our coaches.”
The Cougars are incredibly balanced, averaging 216.6 rushing yards per game (16th) and 216.8 passing yards per game (81st), while ranking No. 34 in the country in total offense. They have been a bit average on third down (69th, at 40.4%, 42 out of 104 attempts); however, they are No. 16 in fourth-down conversion percentage (70%, 14 of 20). They were 3 for 3 on fourth down against the Cyclones, a big reason why they prevailed.
Their red-zone offense has been good, but not great. They have scored on 91.9% of their red-zone opportunities, but have had to settle for 11 field goals while crossing the goal line 23 times.
More importantly, they’ve lost only six turnovers (three fumbles, three interceptions), which ranks them 14th in that category nationally.
They are No. 4 in turnover margin, with 16 takeaways and only six giveaways.
Considering they have a freshman quarterback, that’s outstanding.
“Proud of what the guys have done,” Sitake said. “But far from satisfied.”
