With the Irish looming next week, BYU’s 24-10 win over Iowa State on Friday night was about more than staying unbeaten. It was a test of what the Cougars can look like without LJ Martin, and the answer was messy, promising and, most of all, heavily dependent on Bear Bachmeier.
Bachmeier did nearly everything. He threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 109 more, and averaged 12 yards a carry.
BYU piled up 506 total yards, with Bachmeier responsible for 438 of them. That kind of load was enough to beat Iowa State, but it also underscored how much the Cougars are asking of their quarterback.
“Bear’s a good player,” Kalani Sitake said afterward, earning the trophy for the understatement of the night. He added more truth: “He ran the ball quite a bit today, took some shots, but he’s a tough kid.
I don’t know if we want to keep depending on him to get yards for us. We’ve got to see the other guys - Preston [Rex], Journee [Tonga] and Devaughn [Eka] - grow up real quick here.
… Overall, I felt like we were ready for this game. It’s not disappointing because we got the win, but I think we can play better.
I know we can play better.”
That point was impossible to miss. BYU won, but the margin could have been much bigger if not for its own mistakes.
The Cougars failed on three fourth-down tries, including two inside the Iowa State 5-yard line. One came on fourth-and-1 at the Cyclone 2, when BYU chose to throw instead of letting Bachmeier simply take the yard himself.
A muffed punt later led to Iowa State’s only touchdown.
Without Martin, the run game was reduced to patchwork. Rex, Tonga and Eka rotated in, but none came close to replacing him.
Together, they finished with 54 yards, while Bachmeier handled the real damage himself. Sitake still defended the group, saying, “Those guys are all capable runners,” but the reality on the field was clear enough: BYU needs someone else to help carry the ball.
Bachmeier, though, looked fully in command. The sophomore quarterback operated with more polish, making the right reads and finding the right answers as BYU moved through the Iowa State defense.
He connected with seven different receivers, led by freshman Legend Glasker, who had five catches for 99 yards and a 75-yard touchdown. Tight ends Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga also chipped in, combining for seven catches and 133 yards.
“It’s nice that Bear’s growing up so quickly,” Sitake said. “… I feel like I’m coaching a big-time vet now. It’s nice to see his demeanor and his leadership come through.”
Said Bachmeier: “It felt good, just playing the game you love with the guys you love.”
The defense matched the offense’s impact in a much cleaner way. BYU held Iowa State to 200 yards total and just 98 through the air. The Cyclones’ only touchdown came after the Cougars’ special teams mistake, and their runner Aiden Flora was held to 86 yards.
“We can do really good things when the defense plays at that level,” Sitake said.
Now BYU sits at 5-0, ranked eighth, with Notre Dame next on the schedule. That matchup at LaVell Edwards Stadium carries the kind of weight the Cougars have been waiting for: a prime-time game of national significance on their home field, on national television. Sitake knows what it means, and so does everyone else in Provo.
If the Irish were watching Friday night, they saw enough to understand the challenge ahead: a loud crowd, a strong defense and a quarterback who is becoming the engine of the whole operation. Sitake made his belief plain.
“I trust Bear,” Sitake said. “… [He’s] going to be the guy who’s going to be the key to all of it.”
For now, that’s exactly what BYU looks like - a team with a quarterback carrying too much, a defense doing its part, and a next-man-up plan that still needs work. But it was enough against Iowa State, and it keeps the Cougars moving toward the Irish with momentum and a clear identity.
In Other News...
BYU Got The Breakout It Needed Before Notre Dame
Missing its top offensive threat in LJ Martin, BYU still found a way to leave Iowa State with a 21-10 win, and the performance came at a timely moment with Notre Dame looming. The Cougars needed someone else to carry the load, and sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier answered with his most complete showing yet, throwing for 329 yards and adding a career-high 109 on the ground.
Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga II also became important pieces in the passing game, giving BYU a different kind of balance when it needed it most. For a team trying to sort out its identity heading into a marquee matchup, the bigger question now is whether this kind of all-around production can hold up when the competition level rises again. [Read more 🡒]
BYU's Playoff Path Suddenly Runs Through One Massive Test
With Week 6 arriving, the playoff picture is already starting to take shape, and BYU is firmly tied to it through the kind of test that can redefine a season. The Cougars have played well enough to stay in the conversation, but the next stretch will tell the real story as college footballs biggest conferences keep sorting out contenders and pretenders around them.
This is the part of the calendar when every result seems to carry extra weight, especially for a BYU team watching the wider race while trying to protect its own spot in the mix. The preview of the weekend slate points to injury questions, high-profile matchups and shifting expectations across the SEC, Big Ten and beyond, but for BYU the focus is narrower now: one massive challenge looms, and everything about the playoff path suddenly runs through it. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Looks More Dangerous After Another Statement Win
BYU kept rolling with a 24-10 win over Iowa State, another performance that gave the Cougars more evidence they belong in the national conversation. The game had the kind of defining moments that tend to stick with a team for a while, from an Iowa State penalty on Aiden Flora to a jarring collision involving BYU tight end Roger Saleapaga II and safety Eddie Lemos, but the Cougars kept finding answers and improved to 5-0 on the season.
The biggest swing came when Bear Bachmeier connected with Legend Glasker on a 75-yard touchdown pass, a play that helped separate BYU and underscored how dangerous this offense can be when it gets a crease. With contributions from other players and the usual pregame activity around former BYU players and officials, it felt like another night that reinforced the Cougars confidence, while also hinting there may still be more to come from a team that has started the year with real momentum. [Read more 🡒]