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BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier throws a pass against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

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BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (center) carries the ball against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) leaps into the end zone for a touchdown against TCU in a Big 12 football game at Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, October 3 ,2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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In spring football and fall camp, the word around BYU was that sophomore Bear Bachmeier would a new and improved version of freshman Bear Bachmeier.

More comfortable in the offense. More accurate as a passer. Able to see the field and make better decisions.

He was terrific his freshman season, passing for 3,033 yards while completing 65% of his passes for 15 touchdowns with seven interceptions. On the ground, he ran for 527 yards and 11 scores.

More importantly, the Cougars won … a lot, posing a 12-2 record.

So how do Bachmeier’s statistics measure up after the first four games of 2026?

Remarkably, about the same as his first four games last season.

As a freshman, Bachmeier was 61 of 90 (68%) for 697 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions while rushing 37 times for 163 yards and four more scores in Game 1-4, and BYU was 4-0.

This season, Bachmeier is 55 of 86 (64%) for 704 yards, six touchdowns and  one interception while rushing 27 times for 130 yards and four scores. The Cougars have again started 4-0.

At least statistically, Bachmeier is about the same quarterback he was last season.

The past two games have been tough for the sophomore, posting a Quarterback Rating (QBR) of 56.2 against Colorado State and 44.6 against TCU. His QBR as a freshman was 68.8, with lows of 24.1 in his second game (a 27-3 win vs. Stanford) and 32.1 against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game.

There are some unique circumstances that may have slowed his improvement. No. 1, the first four games of 2025 were against four different teams than the Cougars have faced this season, so apples-to-apples comparisons don’t work.

No. 2, BYU had to replace his top three pass catchers (Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston, Carsen Ryan) and some grace can be given for adjusting to new talent.

The low QBR against TCU — Bachmeier was 11 of 24 for 62 yards through the air — has been explained away as a fluke because of the rain, a humid, wet field and a slippery football.

Heck, former BYU quarterback John Beck spent 10 minutes on Monday during a radio interview on ESPN The Fan talking with host Ben Criddle about hand size, finger length and the difficulties of throwing a wet football.

In addition, the Cougars lost returning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin to an injury in the first half, certainly impacting the effectiveness of the BYU offense. The penalties committed by the BYU offensive line (four procedures, one holding) didn’t help much, either.

Of course, it must be acknowledged that Bachmeier is a gamer and still helped his team find a way to win, busting through tacklers on his way to the game-clinching 21-yard touchdown run with just over two minutes to play.

Bachmeier is 16-2 as a starter, and that definitely counts for something.

“I wish I could say we were at our best the other night,” BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said on the “Coordinator’s Corner” show Monday. “We weren’t, but but we found a way to win, and I was really really pleased with our team’s effort, just sticking with it on a tough night. And yeah, it’s great to be 4-0.

“We were expecting some rain, but the forecast looked like it was going to rain and then stop. What we weren’t expecting was just that constant drizzle the entire game and that was was pretty tough. It definitely had an impact on the game. You saw both quarterbacks struggling to grip the ball. Their guy launched a few balls out of bounds where he just couldn’t grip it. Bear had some trouble gripping it, and Bruce (Mitchell) had some trouble gripping the ball at center.”

Because of the weather and the low-scoring game, Roderick admitted he pulled back on the offense to just keep it simple.

“You still have to find a way, but there was a point in that second half where it was like, okay, we need to play smart with the football. We had some pretty bad field position there for a little while in that second half. So you don’t want to take any risks when you’re backed up against your own goal line.

“I know it was a little stale, a little boring there, but I was really just pleased with our players’ attitude. The guys just kept playing, kept competing. There was no selfishness about how how many passing yards we had or anything like that. Everybody just knew at this point we just got to do what we have to do to win.”

Bachmeier and the offense imposed their will on the TCU defense for the final offensive drive — 10 plays, 72 yards, 5:55 off the clock — to take a 17-7 lead.

“They know we’re milking the clock, and they know we’re going to run the ball,” Roderick said. “Everybody in the whole stadium knows we’re going to run the ball, and Bear and and our O-line and Journee Tonga and the tight ends and the receivers were blocking.”

Bachmeier carried the ball three times for 40 yards on that final drive to beat TCU.

“He’s a great runner,” Roderick said. “We’re running Bear less this year, and that’s by design. We don’t want to get him too beat up, but the fourth quarter of the night called for it. We needed him in that moment to run the ball. I think he was a little frustrated with how we played in the passing game and how he had played, and it just says a lot about his character that he doesn’t let that frustration affect how hard he competes and what he’s willing to do for the team. He took over the game running the ball.”

Beck described Bachmeier’s effort this way: “it was good to see Bear make some big plays. His ability to be difficult to tackle, that is something that is unique because you can have a quarterback that has enough mobility to run. You can have a quarterback that can be fast and put the defense in binds, but he’s still going to protect himself and get down at the first sight of a oncoming tackler.

“And then you have a guy like Bear, where when the ball is in his hands, he runs like a running back. You see him with that little springy bounce that he does. That he picks his feet up. He has a great feel for space around him and tacklers going low, and he picks his feet up, and they miss tackles because of it, and I think that that’s a huge thing that Bear brings to the table.”

Bachmeier and his offensive teammates have a chance to redeem themselves on Friday at LaVell Edwards Stadium against Iowa State, which gave up 42 points and 518 total yards in a three-point win against West Virginia last Saturday.

A video made its way around social media on Saturday where Bachemeier’s BYU teammates lifted him up on their shoulders in the locker room after the win at TCU.

“You can see how our players feel about him, and I think they love him because he’s willing to put his his body on the line for the team,” Roderick said. “He’s not ducking any contact out there. In fact, I think there’s times in those games where you see tacklers kind of come from the side and not want to take him on head-on, and our players, I think, really appreciate that about him.

“He’s a winner. He can beat you a lot of different ways, and we’re just really lucky to have him.”