The 6-2, 230-pound co-captain from Murrieta, California, edged out several talented true freshmen quarterbacks, including Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele of Cal and Malik Washington of Maryland, due to outstanding offensive statistics and by keeping BYU in College Football Playoff contention through championship weekend.

For the season, Bachmeier ranked No. 3 among true freshmen in passing, completing 224 of 349 passes (64.2 percent) for 2,708 yards and 14 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He averaged 208.3 yards per game passing, with an efficiency rating of 139.2. In addition, Bachmeier was second on the team in rushing, with 146 carries for 527 yards and 11 scores. He helped lead No. 12 BYU to an 11-2 record, a trip to the Big 12 Championship and an invitation of the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Bachmeier was named conference freshman of the week seven times in 12 weeks during the regular season, captured the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Award and was also named Big 12 Honorable Mention.

In mid-November, the Davey O’Brien Foundation named Bachmeier one of 20 semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien Award. He was also named to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Great 8 list twice during the 2025 season.

BYU accepted an invitation to play No. 22 Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, on Saturday, Dec. 27. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on ABC.

Satuala garners All-American status from FWAA

DALLAS — BYU safety Faletau Satuala has been named a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.

Presented in partnership with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the 2025 FWAA All-America Team features student-athletes from 33 different schools with nine of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences represented plus an Independent.

Satuala, a 6-4, 210-pound sophomore from Bountiful, Utah, played in all 13 games for No. 12-ranked BYU. He led the Cougars in tackles (78) and forced fumbles (2) and was third on the team in interceptions (3) and tackles for loss (7.5).

He was previously named All-Big 12 First Team by Sports Info Solutions and All-Big 12 Third Team by the conference coaches. In addition, Satuala was honored as the Lott Trophy Player of the Week and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for helping BYU to a 41-27 win at Iowa State in week nine of the season. Satuala was also a candidate for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.

As a true freshman in 2024, Satuala played in 12 games for the Cougars in his first year in Provo, collecting nine tackles and an interception.

Dybantsa on Lute Olson Award list

BOSTON, Mass. – BYU’s AJ Dybantsa was one of 30 players named to the Lute Olson Award Early Season Watch List on Thursday afternoon.

The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.

Through 11 games, Dybantsa is averaging a team-high 21.1 points per game while shooting 55.6 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three and 74.3 percent from the free throw line. He is also averaging 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.

The 6-foot-9 forward has scored 20 points in four consecutive games following his 23-point performance against Pacific on Tuesday making him the first Cougar to have 20-plus in four consecutive games since Tyler Haws in January 2015. During that stretch, he scored a career-high 28 points, 22 of those coming after halftime, in BYU’s comeback win over Clemson in the Jimmy V Classic.

No. 10 BYU returns to action on Friday, Dec. 19, when the Cougars host Abilene Christian at the Marriott Center. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT on TNT.