Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin are back at the center of BYU’s push for another Big 12 title, and the Cougars are leaning hard on the backfield that helped drive them to a runner-up finish behind No. 12 Texas Tech last season.
With Bachmeier coming off a breakout year at quarterback and Martin returning after leading the conference in rushing, No. 14 BYU brings back one of the most dangerous offensive tandems in the FBS. The Cougars have veteran pieces around them, too, which only adds to the buzz around what this group can do.
“The ceiling is very high,” Bachmeier said. “We got the potential to do something really special this year. We’ve got a lot of veteran players coming back up front, on the perimeter, and in the backfield.”
For BYU, though, the bigger question is how far Bachmeier can take the offense in his second season. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound quarterback arrived from Stanford before fall camp and quickly became a force with his physical running style and efficient passing.
He threw for 3,033 yards and 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions while completing 65% of his passes. On the ground, he added 527 yards and 11 scores, finishing second on the team in both categories.
As the season went on, Bachmeier settled in more and more with offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s system. Over his final 10 starts, he produced three 300-yard passing games, and he said he expects more of that kind of production now that he has a full offseason in the program.
“I know my running ability kind of overshadows the passing,” Bachmeier said. “I’m not an arrogant guy, but I did throw for 3,000 yards last year.
I had multiple games over 300. Again, it’s a testament to the team.
It’s a testament to the receivers. A testament to A-Rod and the scheme.”
BYU coach Kalani Sitake sees the same thing: a quarterback who is no longer learning on the fly.
“It’s what you would imagine. He’s a veteran now. He knows what he’s doing,” Sitake said.
Martin gives the Cougars a different kind of problem for defenses. In his third season, he ran for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and finishing as the Big 12’s leading rusher. He did it with a punishing style that kept defenders on their heels and often dragged extra yards out of contact.
“He can run the ball like no other back,” Bachmeier said. “I’ve said it a multitude of times: I truly believe he’s the number one tailback in the country.”
Martin’s climb has been steady. He rushed for 518 yards as a freshman and 718 as a sophomore while dealing with injuries in both seasons before finally breaking through in a big way as a junior.
“I understand the defense a lot more and just understand what’s going to happen,” Martin said. “I kind of already know where I’m going to run the ball before it happens because I understand the blocking scheme now.”
That familiarity could put him in range of some major BYU milestones if he stays healthy. He needs 1,361 yards to pass Jamaal Williams as the school’s career rushing leader, and 1,607 to break Tyler Allgeier’s single-season record.
Martin has also been working his way back after shoulder surgery kept him out of the 2025 Pop Tarts Bowl, and he said he has put in extra time to sharpen the details that could fuel another big year.
“I put in a lot of extra time,” Martin said. “I wouldn’t be able to put a number on it but, yeah, I spend plenty of time just going over little things. Just understanding the defense and stuff like that.”
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BYU Is Suddenly At The Center Of A Real Playoff Debate
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