Sweet 16.
In 16 starts at BYU, quarterback Bear Bachmeier is 14-2, the exact same record as former Cougar QB Brandon Doman was after 16 games. The big difference is the timing. Doman’s run came at the end of his Cougar career at age 24, while Bachmeier’s domination, as a teenager, is just beginning.
“I think (Bear’s) a leader. I think he’s composed. I think he’s consistent,” Doman told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week. “There is a gritty stick-to-it-ness that Bear has, that for me is endearing. I think the players have a lot of respect for him, which means they trust him. If we can keep him healthy, he’s gonna be a heck of a leader for that team.”
Doman was also a heck of leader for his BYU teams — which is another tie that binds the two, and the performance numbers are also close. As a starter in those 16 games, Doman threw for 4,175 yards and 34 touchdowns. So far, Bachmeier has thrown for 3,448 yards and 21 touchdowns.
As a fearlessly running quarterback, Doman rushed for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns. Bachmeier is already up to 594 yards with 13 touchdowns. The sophomore can pass Doman’s career rushing numbers (626) with 31 yards Saturday at Colorado State and move into seventh all-time among BYU’s mobile quarterbacks. He needs 49 yards to pass 28-game starter Zach Wilson into sixth place.
“I think (Bear) feels a ton of confidence (and) he’s on the same page with coach (Aaron) Roderick and has a good grasp of the offense,” Doman said. “I think his skill, plus the confidence that he has, we have ourselves a pretty dang good quarterback.”
A quarterback that doesn’t turn 20 until Monday.
Two-player punch
Doman had the luxury of having Luke Staley in his backfield, similar in many ways to Bachmeier’s tag-team partner — LJ Martin.
“That two-player punch is amazing,” Doman said. “I look back at being able to run a speed option once in a while. We didn’t really have run-pass options in those days, but we had a version where we could hand the ball off to Luke or keep it or throw a swing route out to Reno Mahe. Those types of things are really hard to defend when they are having to bring a safety down in the box to defend the run game.”
In 2001, in the Mountain West Conference, Doman (senior), Staley (senior) and Mahe (senior) combined for over 7,000 yards of offense and 78 touchdowns. In 2025, in the Big 12, Bachmeier (freshman), Martin (junior), and Parker Kingston (junior) produced 6,189 yards of offense and 46 touchdowns.
Both teams are the last BYU squads to finish 12-2.
A year older, but without Kingston, the Bachmeier-Martin duo is picking up where it left off — combining for 379 yards and four touchdowns in BYU’s 28-17 victory against Arizona.
“They are just going to have to do that with Bear and LJ and now they have a couple of really solid tight ends that are pass threats and can run-block, get in a three-point-stance and help physically in the run game,” Doman said. “That internal 7-8-9 man front that they can put on the field with some big solid receivers — BYU has got a really solid offensive group. It starts with Bear and then it goes through LJ. They are really fortunate to have that duo back there. It’s pretty lethal, and we are going to see a lot of it this year.”
Sinking Arizona
BYU’s victory over the Wildcats boosted their poll position up to No. 11 in the AP Top 25.
“Any victory in the Big 12 right now for me is a massive victory,” Doman said. “It doesn’t matter how clean it looks or what the spread looks like. I think it’s a big win. A conference win is a big deal.”
The Cougars hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Colorado State on Saturday (5:30 p.m., CBS).
“I think BYU is proving to be a really established football program now,” Doman said. “There are still some depth issues that we’ve got at different position groupings, but for the most part, we are now starting to show that we are a really strong, capable program.”
Doman’s 5 favorite wins
5. BYU 24, New Mexico 21 (Oct. 13, 2001): “We found out before the game started that Luke had a potential issue with a math class that might have deemed him ineligible for that game and they didn’t want to put our team in jeopardy. So, we had to go out there without him in the lineup.”
Doman’s touchdown pass to Andrew Ord late in the fourth quarter completed the comeback win for the 17th-ranked Cougars.
4. BYU 41, Mississippi State 38 (Dec. 1, 2000): “We were 11-0 and had to come from behind with all the cowbells ringing down there. Just going into SEC country with our full complement of a team, that’s the night Luke got hurt, but that sticks out to me as a memory I’ll never forget.”
Matt Payne kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to lift the No. 7 Cougars to victory. Doman threw for 390 yards and five touchdowns, while Staley rushed for 148 yards before breaking his left leg on the final drive of the game.
3. BYU 37, New Mexico 13 (Nov. 18, 2000): “That was the night they changed the name from Cougar Stadium to LaVell Edwards Stadium and the night I got my first start. President Gordon B. Hinckley was there, and it was a nostalgic night for LaVell, being the last game he was ever going to coach in that stadium.”
Doman passed for 349 yards and rushed for 51, including an 8-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
2. BYU 24, Utah 21 (Nov. 17, 2001): “Pitching the ball to Luke down the sideline and having him score that touchdown for us to win at the end of the game to remain undefeated and win the conference championship.”
Doman’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Staley pulled BYU within 21-18 with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter. After a Utah punt, Doman marched the Cougars to the Utes’ 30. He ran an option play to his right and pitched the ball to Staley, who sprinted untouched to the end zone with 1:16 to go. Jernaro Gilford sealed the win for BYU with an interception.
1. BYU 34, Utah 27 (Nov. 24, 2000): “It was a pretty amazing experience because of how we felt for coach Edwards. Just the majesty of that whole moment was something I’ll never forget. I feel blessed every day that I got to be a part of that.”
With less than a minute to play, trailing 27-26 and facing fourth down and 13 from their own 17-yard line, Doman completed a 34-yard pass to Michael Pittman. On the next play, he hit Pittman again — for 36 yards. Two plays later, Doman ran in the game-winning touchdown to put a classic cap on Edwards’ final game as BYU’s head coach.
“Most people that I talk to that remember, they only remember those two games. They remember Luke Staley running down the sideline and us carrying LaVell off the field that last game.”
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.