If you think this might be a bit premature, you somehow missed what Bear Bachmeier did against Notre Dame on Saturday night. One game does not a career make, but Bachmeier’s performance here, seasoned alongside his other showings to date, added elasticity to the stretch of that rather far-fetched notion.

BYU’s sophomore quarterback was nails in that game. His stats weren’t preposterous. They didn’t blow anybody away. But his body of work, the way he utilized his abilities in victory, did. He’s done that before, but not against this level of competition.

Doubters wondered if he could spin the ball downfield, if he could layer throws into tight spaces against one of the best defenses in the country. He could. But there was more than just that. There was evidence of the stuff that makes a quarterback eminent.

So it is that Bachmeier has maneuvered — fought and finessed — his way into being favorably compared with the other Cougar QB greats who preceded him.

Yeah, already.

And the notable thing about that maneuvering is this: He’s got much more time ahead of him still. Could he backslide? Possible, but improbable.

The 20-year-old quarterback has played just 20 games thus far at BYU. Stacking up his career numbers and manifestations against the stats and showings of Virgil Carter, Gary Sheide, Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, Steve Sarkisian, Max Hall, Taysom Hill and Zach Wilson might seem to be unfair or uncalled for, a kind of comparison in a hurry, but consider this:

How many of the aforementioned led their teams to better win-loss records and steered their team to a bigger win than Bachmeier’s against the then-second-ranked Irish?

The list shrinks considerably.

That win never would have happened without Bachmeier’s grit, talent and savvy. The Cougars on offense and defense — almost all of whom contributed in significant ways — rallied around their leader throughout, especially on BYU’s final winning drive, after the Cougars fell behind in a game they led most of the way.

It was the late, great Mike Leach who reminded me that leadership is a quarterback’s finest quality, and that many attributes build into that captaincy and command. That was all on display on that last drive, one that has been closely examined, and it’s worthy of every part of such study and review.

BYU managed three touchdowns in the first half, building an 11-point lead over that span. During it, Bachmeier scored TDs, twice via the run, once on the receiving end of a double pass. He had one more method of scoring in his bag — on the biggest touchdown BYU has scored in as long as anyone can remember — by his vision and his arm.

Bachmeier subsequently dropped back and calmly ripped a throw low and outside to diving tight end Walker Lyons, who was being tightly covered, the ball spiraling just over a ducking referee, for the score. It was a perfect pass at the perfect time.

There’s something about a quarterback who can deliver a clutch move across the field in that manner that not only inspires confidence among his teammates, but, more importantly, it makes them also rise up to the moment, to the moments.

The greats did that, too, whether it was McMahon throwing his bomb to Clay Brown in the 1980 Miracle Bowl or Young catching his TD pass against Missouri in the 1983 Holiday Bowl or Detmer shocking college football with his win over No. 1 Miami in 1990. They all did their thing in their own way.

Carter and Sheide were the trailblazers, reshaping the way offenses operated. Nielsen and Wilson turbo-blasted the college pass game. McMahon might have been the best of the bunch, at least in college. He once said the Cougar attack was “the best offense I ever ran,” including his time in the NFL. Young was the best running quarterback college football had seen and his passing percentages were elite. Bosco won a national championship. Detmer put up ridiculous numbers, threw a boatload of touchdowns and interceptions and won a Heisman. Sarkisian quarterbacked one of the best BYU teams ever and won a Cotton Bowl. Hall won more games than any other Cougar quarterback. Hill was as versatile an athlete as any college QB. Wilson threw just shy of four touchdowns for every one interception.

They all had their day.

It is Bachmeier’s day now.

It might be the brightest one yet.

The current BYU quarterback has done what he’s done straight out the gate as a freshman, and now halfway through his sophomore season, and he’s achieved it against mostly superior opposition to what the others faced. He’s getting better as he goes, with a whole lot left yet to go.

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick says his QB is improving game by game, emphasizing that “time is a great teacher.” And Bachmeier is a great student. Moreover, time is on the QB’s side.

Point is, Bachmeier belongs.

Where Bachmeier’s numbers and grades go from here, over a time when the Cougars’ attack is more balanced than it was in previous decades, should be evaluated slightly differently. As he’s demonstrated on numerous occasions, he is a brutish runner, a deft passer, a smart dude, a wicked competitor and a self-assured, but unassuming boss in the huddle.

OK, OK, we’ve used up the superlatives here.

Bachmeier needs to go on proving he can get the ball downfield, making the right read with the right throw for the right reason at the right time, particularly when BYU’s run game struggles and when defenses hurry him up with pressure. He needs to avoid unwise passes like the one he chucked into coverage, getting picked, against Notre Dame. He could be more prolific statistically in future games. And he needs to protect himself to avoid injury without canceling out what makes Bear, Bear.

Can he be the greatest QB ever at BYU? It’s a tall order. This much is certain: Bachmeier won’t unlearn what he’s already grasped. As Roderick says it, time is a teacher.

It’s worth wondering and watching where the quarterback will go from this point forward.