How Bear Bachmeier carried BYU past Iowa State and kept the Cougars perfect

BYU’s perfect season flashed before its eyes in Ames.

But the No. 11 Cougars found a way to stay unbeaten as they stormed back from 14 down to win 41-27 over Iowa State.

Quarterback Bear Bachmeier delivered his best performance as a Cougar, accounting for 358 total yards.

Here are three takeaways from BYU’s win to get to 8-0.

Bear Bachmeier’s masterpiece

BYU’s most dependable playmaker, LJ Martin, went out early in the first half with a shoulder injury. That left quarterback Bear Bachmeier on an island for the first time this year, forced to win a game by himself.

The freshman delivered to keep BYU’s College Football Playoff hopes very much alive.

Playing with essentially no running game, Bachmeier carried the Cougars with his arm as he accounted for 307 passing yards and three total touchdowns. Even when the Cougars were down 24-10 early, Bachmeier calmly brought them all the way back with a massive workload.

He hit Parker Kingston for a touchdown late in the first half, getting the ball just over the linebacker, to make the deficit manageable. In the third, Bachmeier dragged a few defenders into the end zone to give BYU its first lead of the game.

And in the fourth quarter, with the game tied, Bachmeier backpeddled away from pressure and lofted one up to Kingston, who made a contested catch for a touchdown.

Bachmeier did almost all of his work through the air with two targets: Kingston and Chase Roberts. Kingston had 133 yards and Roberts had more than 120.

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has never asked his quarterback to throw more than 29 times in a single game before this weekend. On Saturday, Bachmeier threw it 35 times.

For reference, former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff only threw it 35 times once last year (against Wyoming).

“So far, Bear Bachmeier has improved every week,” head coach Kalani Sitake said. “We keep asking him to do more. And he just keeps doing it and he keeps asking for more. So let’s just give him what he wants. Let’s get him to do more for us.”

Bachmeier added 12 rushing attempts for nearly 50 yards. It means he was responsible for 47 of BYU’s 64 plays. He accounted for 89 percent of BYU’s 410 yards.

Bachmeier was asked to do more for BYU than any other player in the last two years. The 19-year-old kept BYU perfect.

Defense struggles early, but finds an answer

Defensive coordinator Jay Hill has said opposing offenses often surprise him with their schemes early in games. There’s a discrepancy between what teams show on film versus how they attack the Cougars.

Coming off a bye week, Iowa State exploited that with two weeks to prepare for Hill’s unit. With a mix of tight end usage and a passing game that looked revitalized, the Cyclones put up 17 points in the first quarter to jump on BYU early.

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht accounted for 100 yards passing in his first three attempts and Iowa State opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown. Hill brought a blitz on the first play, leaving the back end of his defense out of place for a quick strike downfield.

But Hill found an effective counter yet again to stabilize BYU’s defense.

“I’m glad our guys were able to hold their composure and know that it’s a long game,” Sitake said. “Just keep playing and keep plugging away.”

BYU allowed 330 yards and 9.4 yards per play in the first half, but the Cyclones were held to three points after the intermission.

And Faletau Satuala, who was beaten on the first play of the game, delivered the dagger in the fourth quarter. He jumped Becht’s short pass and returned it for a 40-yard pick-six to give BYU a two-touchdown lead.

Hill’s unit intercepted Becht three times. Evan Johnson and Logan Latui had picks of their own to keep Iowa State out of the end zone.

The path forward

With a win, BYU’s path to the Big 12 title game looks more manageable now.

The Cougars must go on the road to Texas Tech on Nov. 8, but they’ll have a bye week to prepare for the Red Raiders.

After that, BYU has TCU and a top-25 game against Cincinnati on the road.

But the Cougars are the only unbeaten team left in the Big 12 and one of two without a loss in conference play.

Texas Tech, the favorite to win the conference, already has one loss. The Cougars beat Utah to get the tiebreaker over their rival. And Iowa State was effectively eliminated from Big 12 contention with Saturday’s loss.

That means BYU has some breathing room in the final month of the regular season. The Cougars don’t need to be perfect to get to Arlington.