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The BYU defense brings down Stanford running back Micah Ford in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Here’s what’s going on inside Darnell’s head as I try to figure out what the kids mean when they say “6-7.”

From what I understand, there isn’t a specific, clear definition for using the term. I think they do it to make fun of us older folks.

And just when I was getting comfortable with “yeet” “sus” and “no cap.”

A good or bad win?

On a night when Bear Bachmeier looked like the true freshman he is, the offense couldn’t finish drives and the defense was overwhelming, BYU dominated Stanford in a 27-3 victory.

The pleasure you take out of the Cougars going 2-0 varies with your perspective.

I always fall back on the “complimentary” vs. “complementary” issue.

Believe me, I have to look it up every time to spell it the way I mean it.

Complimentary” is an expression of praise or approval. “Complementary” is completing or enhancing. BYU coaches love to talk about playing “complementary” football where all three phases complete or enhance the other.

For example, if the BYU defense forces a turnover deep in the opponent’s territory, the offense complements that act by driving for a touchdown. Or if special teams has a great punt or kickoff return, the offense complements that action with a touchdown scoring drive. Or the offense goes on a long, sustained drive to allow the defense to rest a bit.

The offense fell short of finishing that complementary relationship against Stanford on numerous occasions, and that’s what most BYU fans are complaining about.

Where the blame is placed varies. It’s offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s fault, or Bachmeier’s fault, or the official’s fault.

It’s clear from the AP poll on Sunday that voters weren’t impressed with the Cougars dominating win: BYU fell another spot to 27th.

But what do those guys know, anyway?

Now it’s time for Perfectly Rational Overreactions (PROs) from BYU’s victory against Stanford.

PRO No. 1: Aaron Roderick is becoming the next Ilaisa Tuiaki.

I saw this a couple of times from BYU fans on social media last night, referring to the Cougars’ former defensive coordinator who resigned following the 2022 season. At times during his career at BYU, Tuiaki’s defense was solid. Other times, it struggled and those struggles eventually cost him his job.

It’s interesting that so many Cougar fans are down on Roderick, who’s had some really good quarterbacks and offenses in his tenure. Now he’s dealing with a true freshman quarterback but to be fair, the offense was subpar against Stanford. On his post-game radio appearance, head coach Kalani Sitake alluded to Stanford’s defense changing a ton of things from their opening loss to Hawaii. Maybe that was a factor. It did seem like Roderick had a pretty conservative game plan as well.

When Bachmeier won the starting job, Roderick told the media that the entire playbook was available to him. He must have meant the entire playbook after the pages that held pass plays over 10 yards had been torn out. Naturally, not those.

Just kidding.

Eventually, Bachmeier teamed up with Chase Roberts on a nice deep ball, but the majority of his throws were short and shorter. Bachmeier finished 17 of 27 for 175 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. If you take out his 41-yard strike to Roberts, he averaged just 5.1 yards per attempt.

I would like to point out that having a true freshman quarterback means a growth mindset and Bachmeier will show growth. But being patient with an offensive coordinator isn’t in the DNA of many BYU fans.

PRO No. 2: The BYU defense is the best in Provo since 2012.

So far, the Cougars defense has been absolutely overpowering. It was expected against hapless Portland State and Stanford’s offense didn’t appear very explosive, but give some credit to Jay Hill and his boys. The Cardinal wanted to establish the running game and were completely shut down from the start, finishing with just 19 yards on 24 attempts. Stanford did have some success moving the ball through the air late in the game but the Cougars already had a pretty comfortable lead at that point. I’m not a huge fan of the hockey-like substitutions on the BYU defense, where four or five guys are subbed every single play. It seems pretty chaotic and extra running to tire out the defenders, especially big defensive linemen. But it’s working, so good on Hill.

PRO No. 3: Will Ferrin is the greatest kicker in BYU history.

He’s making a case for it. He made four field goals against Stanford and that’s 22 straight makes. He’s connected on 39 of 45 field goals (87%) in his career and hasn’t missed an extra point since 2023. Plus, you know he’s clutch after his game-winning at Utah last season. The BYU offense couldn’t finish drives on Saturday but Sitake knows Ferrin is pretty much an automatic three anywhere inside 50 yards. Ferrin could have attempted a 58 or 59-yarder at the end of the first half but Sitake called time out too quickly. I think he would have made it.

And finally, PRO No. 4: Big 12 defenses are going to feast on BYU’s struggling offense.

Like I said, the Cougar offense is going to grow over time. BYU has a bye this week and that means a chance to self-evaluate for the coaches and players. I would expect the offense to be better against East Carolina and better still for the Big 12 opener against Colorado. Bachmeier looked more comfortable in the pocket in the second half. If the Cougars don’t get a couple of phantom holding calls and scored touchdowns on those plays, we’re talking about a 41-3 game. The correction of errors and missed assignments will allow the offense to complete drives more often as the season progresses. Plus, LJ Martin is such a threat in the running game the Cougars are bound to figure out a way to make defenses pay for stacking the box.

I still don’t know who’s good in the Big 12 right now, anyway. It’s only been two games.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs?

The entire defense, for sure, but linebackers Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly specifically are proving to be the biggest playmakers on the squad. Hill utilizes them in ways that opponents can’t handle and they continue to make huge impact plays. Those guys will be a handful all season.

Making up stuff

Glasker and Kelly are numbers 16 and 17, respectively. Hey, 16-17. That’s the new slang for BYU fans. 6-7 is so over.

Judge and jury

You’re familiar with the story of the woman at a Philadelphia Phillies game who badgered a man into giving her a baseball he recovered in the stands. The man initially gave the ball to his young son but this woman stalked over to his seat and demanded the ball back, claiming it landed in her section and was hers.

Social media went wild and did the thing where they try to make someone famous for their bad behavior. Rumors were flying that the woman was fired from her job.

I’m not comfortable with this mob mentality. The court of public opinion gave her a thumbs down and the glee with which so many social media justice seekers exhibiting while berating this woman is disturbing.

Sure, her behavior was bad. But I’m not willing to join in and try to destroy someone’s life over it.

Done for the night

There was a really odd and premature ending to the Lone Peak at Bishop Gorman high school football game on Friday.

Apparently Nevada has a rule where if three or more players enters the field during a skirmish or fight, that game is forfeited. A Bishop Gorman player was tackled near the Lone Peak sideline early in the third quarter and one of his teammates came over to mix it up with some Knights players. In the ensuing ruckus, which was kind of mild, to be honest, more than three players came off Lone Peak’s sidelines and officials ruled the game a forfeit for the home team.

Interestingly, the Bishop Gorman coach said his team trains for situations like that because other teams have tried to bait them into fights to get a forfeit.

At the time the game was called, Lone Peak trailed 35-14.

That’s all for now, but for this: The little piggy that “went to market” in the nursery rhyme wasn’t going shopping. Think about it.

Have a great bye week and remember it costs nothing to be kind to others.