In the pursuit of comparing the two quarterbacks, the two most important players, in the rivalry game this Saturday between BYU and Utah, the individuals who will have the greatest impact on the contest’s outcome, it’s wholly fitting to try to ascertain which team has the advantage there, which quarterback — BYU’s Bear Bachmeier or Utah’s Devon Dampier — is the more advanced player.
To do so, let’s go straight to the head coaches for the Utes and the Cougars and consider what they have to say about the QB they’re facing. After all, they’re the ones who’ve studied the film with expert eyes. They’re in a better place, they’re the ones with the most acute acumen and the better minds, better than yours or mine or Joe the barber’s or Sam the bartender’s, to evaluate and comment on the talents and tendencies of the other guy.
When Kyle Whittingham was asked on Monday about Bachmeier, he … he … he clammed up, big-time. He shut the whole thing down, declining to make any comment. He offered nothing, not a word, not a peep, nada, nichts, nil.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) runs the ball for the Cougars, in Big-12 football action between the BYU Cougars the West Virginia Mountaineers at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, on, in Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.
“You have to ask [their coaches] what they think of Bear,” he muttered.
It was as though he had been asked to blurt out and spill on the most secret, the most classified, the most sensitive info in the world, as though someone had asked him for the nuclear codes, as though he had been handed a verbal cache of heated nitroglycerin and he had to handle it from mind to mouth to ear with the greatest of care. Best, he figured, to pretend the question had never been uttered.
On the other hand, Kalani Sitake, when asked about Devon Dampier, he started talking and couldn’t stop. It was like he was dumping out a 10-gallon jug of water to a parched world.
Said Sitake: “Super talented, and he’s tough, man. He has great vision in the passing game and the running game. He’s an efficient player. When you look at the stats, he knows where to go with the ball. And he’s well coached. I think [offensive coordinator] Jason Beck’s done a great job tutoring him, mentoring him. There’s a reason they brought him with him. And so, I think he looks really comfortable out there. Whatever you need him to do, he’s willing to do it. Super tough. A lot of attention will go to his legs because he can run, but he can throw, too. I like his overall presence on the field. Definitely respect what he does. And he’s going to be dangerous. He’s got our attention. I know coach [Jay] Hill and the rest of the coaches are trying to find ways to try to see if we can disrupt his timing, and disrupt everything he can do positive on the field. But that’s easier said than done. He’s a really good player, he’s tough. And then, you compliment that with a really talented offensive line …”
Asked again for further elaboration on Dampier, Sitake doubled down: “There’s a reason why he’s one of the most efficient quarterbacks in college football. And so, we’ll have to figure out a way to slow him down. I don’t know if you can stop him, but we’re going to try our best. Super talented kid. I like his presence. I like his leadership. You can tell they respond really well to him, to him being on the field.”
Maybe the coaches’ separate, divergent reactions to the question says more about them — personally and professionally — than it does either of the quarterbacks.
Whittingham’s refusal to respond might indicate a mix of the seriousness and paranoia with which he approaches playing BYU, his alma mater turned longtime adversary. He easily could have breathed out a couple of brief sentences. Perhaps he didn’t out of some twisted respect for Bachmeier. Perhaps he doesn’t think the 19-year-old freshman is all that good, and he didn’t want to say it. Perhaps he didn’t say anything because he’s being defensive. Whatever, he’ll leave it up to us to make our own judgments on the kid.
As for Sitake, his effusive praise could be the unabashed truth or it might be a slathering up of an opponent that he’d prefer to come into the game all fatheaded, a quarterback who has no firsthand knowledge of how intense this rivalry really is, a dude Sitake has every intention of putting the hammer on.
Who knows?
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) runs the ball during the game between the Utah Utes and the Arizona State Sun Devils at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
Based on what’s been available for every observer to see, at least against other competition, Dampier is dangerous. He possesses the kind of foot speed that traditionally has caused BYU defenses a lot of pain, and that specifically this season has done likewise. He likes to run and does so with abandon.
Whittingham has publicly and privately complimented his quarterback, his command on the field, enjoying that Dampier can make plays with his feet, sometimes by design and sometimes when everything else breaks down.
And, just like Sitake said, he can spin the ball, too. Dampier’s diminutive in size, so he has to find his lanes through which to throw, but he seems to have adapted to that with relative comfort. There are times when he haphazardly bloops the ball to designated spots, especially when he feels pressure. But his teammates like him, like his approach to leadership, and are willing to follow him through rough situations. He played poorly against Texas Tech, but reasons regarding his being banged up for that game have been given as either excuses or explanations, you decide.
Either way, Dampier plays with determination, like a man who’s battling the whole world. The way he put it, “There’s always a chip on my shoulder. I got something to prove every time I’m out there.”
His season stats go like this: 118 completions in 165 attempts for 1,131 yards and 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. On the ground, he’s carried the ball 65 times for 378 yards and 5 scores.
In this quarterback comparison, Dampier does get the nod. The guess here is that he will play well against the Cougars, and cause Hill’s defense difficulty on the ground and in the air.
As for Bachmeier, he’s played at times like a seasoned vet and he’s played at others like he’s a few months out of high school. The teenager clearly has skills and savvy, beyond his age, and as Sitake has said on more than a few occasions, even when his QB has struggled, he’s tough, physically and mentally.
He’s helped his team back from deficits on the road and he’s committed blunders that have caused those deficits. It’s all part of the growth of a young quarterback. But he has yet to taste defeat as a starter in FBS football after six starts, so, at what juncture does the label of a “freshman” quarterback fade into something more distinguished?
The attention paid to Bachmeier’s wearing the number 47 might be overblown, but he does carry himself like a fullback and runs like one on the field. Trouble comes when he throws like one, as well. But the Cougars have effectively used him like that, calling on him repeatedly to pick up tough yards in key situations both across the field and in the red zone. He’s also had some sweet throws to his targets when he’s properly read and recognized their advantage downfield.
All told, Bachmeier has completed 91 passes in 144 attempts for 1,220 yards and 8 touchdowns, 3 interceptions. He’s also run for 295 yards and 7 scores.
After blowing through his first four games without throwing a pick, Bachmeier has struggled in that regard in recent weeks, and he’s fumbled the ball.
Sitake said without varnish, without minding to speak the obvious, after Bachmeier’s three-turnover game against Arizona: “I can do without him throwing interceptions and fumbling the ball.”
If he does that against a stout Utah defense, BYU will have a long night. If he doesn’t … well, then maybe Whittingham will have something to say when asked about the Cougars’ quarterback.