Bear Bachmeier leads BYU past Baylor with three rushing touchdowns
Bear Bachmeier rushed for three touchdowns as the No. 10 Cougars built a big halftime lead and held on for a 28-7 victory.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) celebrates a cougar touchdown BYU Cougars lineman Bruce Mitchell (63) with BYU Kyle Sfarcioc (64) , in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
By Sean Walker | Special to The Tribune
| Nov. 14, 2026, 8:33 p.m.
Provo • For 30 minutes against Baylor, BYU’s offense looked like the No. 10-ranked team in the country, as signed off by the latest College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings.
But the search for an elusive complete game continued Saturday night.
Bear Bachmeier threw for 104 yards and a touchdown and ran for 54 yards and three first-half scores before the No. 10 Cougars held off the Bears, 28-7, in front of an announced crowd of 63,008 fans on a chilly night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
LJ Martin ran for 49 yards on six carries in the first half before exiting after an opponent appeared to accidentally step on his injured ankle while getting up from a tackle.
Sione Moa also ran for 49 yards on six carries but appeared to be dealing with an injury of his own after grabbing at his knee. He briefly returned in the second half before exiting again.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)BYU running back Preston Rex (12) runs the ball for the Cougars, as Baylor Bears wide receiver Jayden McGowan (15) defends, in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)BYU running back Preston Rex (12) runs the ball for the Cougars, as Baylor Bears wide receiver Jayden McGowan (15) defends, in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)BYU running back Preston Rex (12) runs the ball for the Cougars, as Baylor Bears wide receiver Jayden McGowan (15) defends, in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)m BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) scores his third touchdown of the night for the Cougars, in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47)lands in the end zone for a cougar touchdown, in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) celebrates a cougar touchdown BYU Cougars lineman Bruce Mitchell (63) with BYU Kyle Sfarcioc (64) , in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars linebacker Nusi Taumoepeau (5) celebrates a sack by BYU Cougars defensive end Bodie Schoonover (48), in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars linebacker Nusi Taumoepeau (5) celebrates a sack by BYU Cougars defensive end Bodie Schoonover (48), in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougar quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) runs the ball in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars running back LJ Martin (4) runs the ball in BIG 12 football action between the BYU Cougars and the Baylor Bears at Lavell Edwards Stadium, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
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But with Martin in the backfield for a second-straight game, Bachmeier leaned on the run game — and ran, and ran, and ran some more.
The sophomore quarterback ran for 51 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Cougars ran for 220 yards en route to a 21-0 halftime lead.
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No drive was more impressive than the Cougars’ third, when Bachmeier took over after Baylor’s Palmer Williams boomed a punt to the 4-yard line. The Cougars then rumbled 96 yards on 18 plays over nine minutes.
Run right, run left, run center? More like: run Martin, run Bachmeier, run Moa, Preston Rex and Devaughn Eka.
BYU ran with them all in the first half and held Baylor to just 54 yards of offense, including 31 on the ground and a sack by Bodie Schoonover on the opening drive of the game.
Martin and Moa both left around halftime with apparent injuries, and BYU’s offense ground to a halt.
The defense, though? Not so much.
The Bears averaged just 2.7 yards per play, and Tommy Prassas’ interception of DJ Lagway with 3:09 left in the third quarter kept Baylor below 100 yards of offense until the final quarter.
After Matthias Dunn opened the fourth quarter by pulling his 45-yard field-goal attempt wide left, Lagway capped a 73-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Klopfenstein for the Bears’ first score with 11:18 remaining.
But Viliami Pouha drove Lagway back to the 6-yard line with a sack on third-and-15 on Baylor’s following drive, and Cannon DeVries’ 44-yard punt return set up Bachmeier’s 23-yard touchdown toss to Jojo Phillips with 6:43 remaining to help BYU put away the win.
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