Provo • In less than two years since arriving on BYU’s campus as a midsummer transfer from Stanford, Bear Bachmeier has already ignited his rising star with the No. 2 Cougars.

With 5 minutes, 43 seconds remaining and 55 yards and a 4-point deficit against Notre Dame in front of him, he ignited his legend.

The sophomore from Murrieta, California, threw for 224 yards, a touchdown and an interception; ran for 45 yards and two scores; and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to spear the Cougars’ 28-24 win over the Fighting Irish that will long live among the biggest wins in program history.

But before any of that, Bachmeier stared at one drive, one deficit.

Gut-check time? Bachmeier is nothing if not gutsy.

“He’s a competitive football player,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said of Bachmeier. “He’s smart. He’s tough. You can hit him, but you won’t break him.

“He does well on the run and in the passing game,” he added. “And in crucial moments, the ball will be in his hands.”

Indeed, the ball was in his hands on the final drive as BYU scrambled to regain a lost lead against the Fighting Irish. But before he left the field, the ball found the hands of another former Golden State standout, as well.

Lyons makes his mark

Tight end Walker Lyons was coming off his best game in a BYU uniform, a 61-yard effort in a 21-10 win over Iowa State last Friday night that set up the Cougars’ megashowdown with Notre Dame that brought ESPN’s “College GameDay,” dozens of national media members, and thousands of Irish fans to Provo for one of the biggest games on the college football slate in Week 7.

But for Lyons, it was just another chance to get better alongside teammates like Oregon transfer Roger Saleapaga II, Keayen Nead and Noah Moeaki, his position coach told The Salt Lake Tribune.

“There’s a lot of talent, but collectively, they’ve been continuing to get better,” BYU tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride said leading up to the game. “That goes back to the process, and not worrying about results, about stats, or anything but what you’re doing to get better at whatever that particular task that you’re asked to do.

“My guys have had a good approach to that, and because of it, I think they continue to get better. I don’t see that slowing down.”

On Saturday night, it didn’t.

With reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year LJ Martin sidelined with a leg injury, the 6-foot-4, 245-pound junior has become one of Bachmeier’s most reliable targets on a team with Big 12 title aspirations and — if not before Saturday night, certainly now — much, much more.

The Cougars rose to No. 2 when the Associated Press Top 25 was released Sunday, earning 20 first-place votes. It’s the kind of heady development some fans may need time to process, much like Lyons has had to adjust to shouldering a key leadership role after two seasons of underutilized play at USC.

“I was really impressed that the more he played at USC, the better and better he got,” Gilbride said of Lyons. “It’s fun to see a guy who continuously improves, and that’s what I like to see.”

A drive to remember

Bachmeier was dealing in the first half, throwing for 128 yards, running for a touchdown and hauling in another from Kyler Kasper on a 15-yard double reverse to help the Cougars jump out to a 21-10 halftime lead over the formidable Irish.

But after the break, the Cougars’ offense sputtered.

Facing the top-rated total defense in the country in Notre Dame, Bachmeier led BYU to just 36 yards on 13 plays in the third quarter before the Irish fought back to retake a 24-21 lead on Jonaz Walton’s 3-yard touchdown run with 9:31 remaining.

It could’ve been much more, too. But Notre Dame could only turn a pair of special-team gaffes — a muffed punt by Cannon DeVries and a failed fake punt by Fuller Shurtz — into two field goals to inch back from the 11-point deficit.

The Cougars opened the second half with two punts, a turnover on downs and an interception Bachmeier threw to Jayden Sanders with just over eight minutes remaining.

Still, relying on his defense, Bachmeier made a promise: Get the ball back, and he’d do the rest. So, leading tackler Cade Uluave and BYU’s defense forced a three-and-out moments later. Then Bachmeier went to work.

The sophomore went 3-for-5 for 40 yards and ran for 16 yards en route to the 2-yard line with two minutes remaining.

And it almost ended there.

Bachmeier was mostly stopped for a 1-yard gain, and Trevin Ostler drew a false-start penalty that pushed the Cougars back to the 6-yard line on third down with 1:53 remaining.

That left plenty of time for Bachmeier to take advantage of a Notre Dame timeout, relay the play from offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and drop back before zipping a pass over the middle to Lyons for the tight end’s first touchdown in a BYU uniform.

What a way to open his scoring account for the former four-star recruit from Folsom, California, who signed with USC after a church mission in Norway.

“I was very confident in the play call,” Bachmeier said of the signal he received for a pass play to Lyons that the Cougars “were executing well” in practice all week. “They brought the house, and Walker made a great play. Touchdown.”

‘Stay humble’

BYU has had plenty of big games and big moments in program history, including the “Miracle Bowl” win over SMU in 1980, the 28-21 victory over then-No. 1 Miami in 1990, and the entirety of the undefeated 1984 campaign that led to the first (and only) football national championship in school history.

Saturday night’s win over Notre Dame could be another program-defining moment for a university that supporters once called a “quarterback factory.”

But it could just as easily be a footnote for head coach Kalani Sitake, who has now led his alma mater to a 6-0 start for the third straight year and the fourth time in his 11 seasons.

“We’ve just got to stay humble, and keep working,” he said. “This is one game that we’re really proud of, and really excited for. But we’ve got to get ready for the next one, too.

“We’ve got to be humble, be hungry and find ways to get better and improve.”