1 / 2

BYU's Tiger Bachmeier returns a punt against Stanford at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

2 / 2

BYU's Viliami Po'uha (45) celebrates after recovering a fumble against Stanford at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

❮ ❯

Daily Herald sports reporters Darnell Dickson and Brandon C. Gurney use their sports expertise to riff on the hot BYU sports topics of the moment.

1. BYU football is off to an impressive 2-0 start to the season. Although much has gone as expected during the first two games, which player or aspect of the team has surprised you most so far?

DICKSON: As somebody who follows and covers the Cougars, it’s difficult to be surprised by anything, to be honest. Not necessarily because I know everything (for sure that’s not true) but because of the sheer number of media that covers the program. Very little goes unnoticed or unreported, even stuff that the coaches and players want to keep quiet. I would say the first two games have gone pretty much the way I expected, though I didn’t think the BYU defense would only give up a single field goal. That the defense has been so dominant might be a bit of a surprise but Portland State and Stanford, frankly, weren’t very good offensively. There are biggest tests coming up later. On defense, John Taumoepeau is probably better than I expected at defensive tackle and paired with Keanu Tanuvasa (and soon-to-be-healthy Justin Kirkland) the interior looks good. On offense, I know there was a lot of talk in the preseason about how good Utah transfer tight end Carsen Ryan was playing. I was just a bit skeptical because I saw him play in high school and his numbers at UCLA and Utah were not impressive. But he’s show nice blocking ability and more speed than I imagined in the first two games.

GURNEY: This is a tough one since the overall play from the Cougars has been so consistent with few if any real points of criticism being made relevant. I guess the one pleasant surprise, at least for Cougar fans, is how freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier has gotten better through the course of both football games. I sort of expected BYU’s offense to throw out offensive sets that would put Bachmeier in great position and to perhaps throw off opposing defenses, but it’s largely been the opposite. Bachmeier has finished the first two games playing better than he did at the start, and I think that’s good news for his development moving forward.

2. The schedule now gets much more difficult for BYU football moving forward. What area do the Cougars need to improve most to prove truly competitive during Big 12 Conference play?

GURNEY: Okay, this is an easy one and I’m glad I’m answering first here because Darnell can’t steal my answer. It’s the throw game and there’s really not any other answer, at least in my mind. Sure, Bachmeier has shown strides, but those strides to see a significant uptick in the coming weeks should the Cougars truly prove competitive in Big 12 Conference play. The receivers need to stop dropping so many passes, too. The weapons are there, certainly, but more consistency needs to be shown through the air, and not just during the latter half of games.

DICKSON: Don’t listen to Gurney. He’s often distracted by pretty pictures and flashy stuff. The throw game has been conservative, to say the least, in the first two games, especially against Stanford. I think it will open up soon enough. On defense, I’m still not convinced the BYU secondary is ready for prime time. East Carolina will really throw the ball around when the Cougars head to Greenville in two weeks. Remember, BYU was replacing two very productive and senior corners from 2024 (Jakob Robinson and Marque Collins). Portland State and Stanford didn’t really test them much. Pirates quarterback Katin Houser has 680 yards passing in two games and is completing nearly 70% of his passes. That will stress this defense plenty.

3. BYU receiver Jojo Phillips has been the team’s first major casualty and looks to miss a good chunk of time following surgery due to an apparent collarbone injury. How big of a loss is Phillips and how do the Cougars adjust to his loss?

DICKSON: Phillips was still in the development phase of his career, flashing huge ability but disappearing during certain stretches as well. In three seasons, he only has 14 receptions .. and of course, he drew one of the biggest holding penalties in BYU history last year at Utah. As far as replacing his reps, the Cougars have several young receivers who could step up, guys like Cody Hagen, Tei Nacua and Reggie Frischknecht. Receivers coach Fesi Sitake likes to keep a pretty tight rotation at the receiver position, anyway.

GURNEY: I think this is a big loss, but not necessarily an irreplaceable one. You could tell that Phillips was being afforded an opportunity to shine during last week’s game against Stanford, and probably due to strides he’d shown during practice sessions. He was seeing a lot of targets to his lanky 6-foot-5 frame with coaches hoping to tap into his tremendous upside. But his loss isn’t insurmountable simply because I think Cody Hagen is really, really good. I expect the former Corner Canyon 4-star prospect to step up big and rise to become one of the top offensive weapons BYU has in its arsenal.

4. Coaches announced this week that they’ll likely go with Tiger Bachmeier as the team’s primary punt returner in the wake of Parker Kingston fumbling twice during returns in as many games. Fair?

GURNEY: I hate this move simply because Kingston is so fun to watch when returning punts. He logged one of the most thrilling and improbable returns for a touchdown last season versus Kansas State where he muffed the catch, initially, but then turned it into a score that covered the entirety of the football field. But that’s the point, sort of. Kingston has muffed too many returns, and ball security is and has to be the top priority at any position, and perhaps even particularly so for a punt returner. I just hope Kingston is afforded other opportunities as he’s probably the most electric returner the Cougars have presented since James Dye.

DICKSON: The No. 1 responsibility of a punt returner is ball security. Kingston lucked out a couple of times last year (including the thrilling return against Kansas State) and a he’s coughed the ball up a couple of times this season in just two games. I’m not surprised special teams coach Kelly Poppinga has gone to Tiger Bachmeier. I will be interested to see if Kingston’s reps decrease as a receiver or if he takes this as a challenge and responds with some great performances. This is a competition sport and adversity can bring out the best, or worst, in an athlete.

5. The BYU women’s soccer team will wrap up its pre-conference play this Friday when hosting UVU at home. What’s a reasonable expectation for the Cougars this season based on what we’ve seen unfold so far this season?

DICKSON: The Cougar defense has been really, really good and will keep them in most matches. Unfortunately, the offense has been slow to get going. One of the most frustrating aspects of the offense is their inability to put away a good opportunity. Look, I was never a soccer player, so I can’t really speak objectively about how hard it is to kick a ball that is 27 inches in circumference into a regulation goal that is 24 feet wide and eight feet high, but it sure seems like BYU is airmailing a lot of open shots. Until they start putting more shots on frame I’m not sure they can win the Big 12 regular season or conference tournament. I think the Cougars are good enough to make the NCAA Tournament but anything beyond that is still TBD.

GURNEY: Cougars started out a bit rough, and tying a match with the likes of Cal Poly certainly doesn’t inspire confidence, not to mention needing a shootout to get past Utah Tech. But Jennifer Rockwood’s relatively young team appears to be peaking at the right time and the only real blemish, if you can call it that, is a 1-0 loss to No. 13-ranked Arkansas on the road. So yeah, BYU should be in the thick of the Big 12 Conference championship race and should make a good run in the NCAA tournament.