‘It’s just grit’: 3 plays that triggered the Cougars’ dramatic comeback victory

BYU freshman Bear Bachmeier celebrated a historic milestone with a mouthful of Pop-Tarts on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida. The 19-year-old just completed the Cougars’ first 12-win season in 24 years.

Bachmeier also joined Jim McMahon, Robbie Bosco, Steve Sarkisian and Brandon Doman as the only BYU quarterbacks with a 12-win season, but there is one glaring difference — those legendary predecessors were seniors when they did it, and Bachmeier is just a year removed from high school.

“I knew coming in that it was a great team, and I knew we could do something special, but I never expected this. I’m just so grateful to be here. I love this university and I love these guys.”

—  BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier

“I knew coming in that it was a great team, and I knew we could do something special, but I never expected this,” said Bachmeier. “I’m just so grateful to be here. I love this university and I love these guys.”

It took all of “his” guys, on both sides of the ball, for No. 12 BYU to edge No. 22 Georgia Tech 25-21 Saturday. Here are the three key plays that made it happen.

Blocked field goal

Leading 21-10 in the third quarter, Georgia Tech marched to the BYU 18-yard line and lined up for a field goal to extend its advantage. Aiden Birr, the best kicker in the ACC with a nation-leading 25 field goals prepared to pad his .893 success rate.

The snap was crisp and the hold clean, but Birr’s ball banged into the big paw of BYU defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa and the blocked kick sent the pigskin flailing off target.

“I’m blessed that the coaches have a strategic plan,” said the Utah transfer. “They put us in place, and I’m blessed to play next to JT (John Taumoepeau). He’s a dawg. He has great leverage. Great knock-back. He’s relentless. We just wanted it more than anything else.”

Tanuvasa’s big play brought BYU’s portion of the stadium to life and restored belief that the Cougars sixth comeback win of the season was possible.

Two-point conversion

Seizing on the momentum, Bachmeier drove the Cougars 80 yards in 11 plays and Enoch Nawahine’s first touchdown run of the season cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 21-16 with 11:13 to play in the fourth quarter.

On the ensuing two-point conversion try, Bachmeier, playing on a sprained ankle that he re-aggravated on the game’s opening drive, scrambled out of the pocket and bull-dozed a defender on his way over the goal line.

“It’s just grit. You see it all over the field,” said tight end Carsen Ryan, who caught a career-high eight passes for 120 yards. “Bear has a sprained ankle and he’s running over dudes to get that two-point conversion. Without that, we probable lose the game.”

Bachmeier wasn’t the only who winced when he turned the same ankle he injured early in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 6. BYU was already playing without LJ Martin, the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year, and the idea of outscoring Georgia Tech with a one-legged quarterback had Cougar Nation anxious.

“It was a rough one,” Bachmeier said of the injury at the 9:56 mark of the first quarter. “I just kept telling myself — 55 minutes, 54 minutes, 50 minutes and we are going to be happy at the end. Pain is temporary, so just push through. There is nothing that was going to take me out of that game.”

With his ankle limiting him to the pocket, Bachmeier used him arm to throw for 325 yards and a touchdown to earn the game’s MVP award.

Game-saving pick

In his final game as Georgia Tech’s decorated quarterback, Haynes King looked over the BYU defense on fourth and 10 at the Cougars’ 18-yard line with 14 seconds remaining. The Yellow Jackets needed a touchdown to win the game.

Despite their constant attempts, BYU’s defense hadn’t sacked King the entire game. On the snap, the Cougars brought pressure and King moved to his right. The fifth-year senior unloaded his pass to the end zone just before getting hit.

“I was reading the quarterback’s eyes,” said BYU’s cornerback Evan Johnson. “When I saw that ball go up, I had to go get it.”

Johnson stepped in front of Jamal Haynes and grabbed his fifth interception of the season to seal the win. The play was especially sweet for the junior, who earlier in the drive gave up a 68-yard bomb on fourth and 15 to keep Georgia Tech’s hopes alive.

“It took some toughness. Those plays hurt. As a corner, that’s going to happen, so it’s just your mindset on how you are going to bounce back,” Johnson said. “God gave me a challenge and I overcame it.”

Honorable mentions

Isaiah Glasker’s fumble recovery on Georgia Tech’s first possession of the second half cost the Yellow Jackets a scoring opportunity. Facing third and goal at the 11, King tossed the ball to Jordan Allen. In BYU’s topsy-turvy effort to tackle him, Nusi Taumoepeau knocked the ball lose with his foot. A mad scramble ensued and the ball squirted all the way back to the 31 before Glasker jumped on it for the Cougars.

Tanner Wall’s solo tackle with 6:24 to play in the fourth quarter didn’t get a headline, but it did force a Georgia Tech punt. BYU had the Yellow Jackets pinned back at their 12-yard line, but on third and seven, Haynes broke free on a run play and had a lot of Orlando grass in front of him before a diving Wall brought him down one yard shy of the first down. After a Georgia Tech punt, the Cougars scored the winning touchdown on the ensuing drive.

With Martin and Sione Moa out with injuries, BYU turned to the rarely used Enoch Nawahine and Jovesa Damuni to run the ball. Together, they combined for 80 yards and both scored their first touchdowns of the season — BYU’s only touchdowns in their second-half comeback.

In truth, Bachmeier needed all “his guys” to pull off the win and finish the kind of season no one saw coming. As a result, the Cougars should be on everyone’s radar for 2026.

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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.