‘He’s a Tough Kid,’ ‘It Felt Good’ — Kalani Sitake, Bear Bachmeier React After QB’s 109-Yard Rushing Night Carries BYU Over Iowa State

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Bear Bachmeier threw for 329 yards and ran for a career-high 109 on Friday night as No. 8 BYU beat Iowa State 24-10 at LaVell Edwards Stadium to improve to 5-0.

The sophomore quarterback accounted for 438 of BYU’s 506 total yards with the Cougars playing without running back LJ Martin, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He became the first BYU quarterback since Taysom Hill to top 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game, and only the third in program history, per the Cougar Football Archive.

The win made BYU 5-0 for a third straight season, a first in program history.

Bear Bachmeier Powers BYU Past Iowa State With Career Rushing Mark

Bachmeier completed 22 of 30 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and his 329 yards were the most Iowa State has allowed in a game this season. It was his fourth career 300-yard passing game.

Under pressure late in the second quarter, he escaped the pocket and hit tight end Roger Saleapaga II for 63 yards, setting up Kyler Kasper’s 5-yard touchdown catch. In the third quarter, he found true freshman receiver Legend Glasker in stride for a 75-yard score.

He also led BYU in rushing. His nine carries included a career-long 39-yard run in the fourth quarter that set up Matthias Dunn’s 38-yard field goal, and his 109 yards topped the career high of 98 he set at Colorado last season.

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“Yeah, it felt good just playing the game that you love with the guys that you love,” Bachmeier said.

ESPN College Football noted that he is “only the second BYU QB in the past 30 years with 300+ pass yards and 100+ rush yards in a game.”

BYU needed his legs. Without Martin, Preston Rex ran six times for 21 yards, and Journee Tonga gained 19 yards on eight carries, including the 6-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake praised his quarterback’s toughness but questioned the workload. “He ran the ball quite a bit today and took some shots, but he’s a tough kid. I don’t know if we want to keep depending on him to get yards for us,” Sitake said.

Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers said Bachmeier’s running was no surprise. “We knew that he could use his legs. We expected him to run the ball, we just didn’t stop them,” Rogers said.

Bachmeier Draws Praise as BYU Goes 0-for-3 on Fourth Down

Deseret News BYU beat writer Jay Drew called it a “Big 12 Player of the Week type performance from the BYU QB.”

Iowa State never sacked Bachmeier, and he averaged 11 yards per pass attempt as BYU improved to 3-0 in Big 12 play.

One fan went further, calling Bachmeier “the best QB in the conference” outright.

Pro Football Network’s grades don’t put him at the top of the conference yet. Entering Friday’s game, Bachmeier’s PFN Impact grade of 85.1 ranked 22nd of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks. Two Big 12 rivals ranked ahead of him, West Virginia’s Michael Hawkins Jr. at ninth and Houston’s Conner Weigman at 12th, while Kansas State’s Avery Johnson ranked just behind at 25th.

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The night was not clean for BYU’s offense. The Cougars went 0-for-3 on fourth down, two of those tries near the goal line, and Sitake said the offense was not efficient enough. The Deseret News counted three dropped passes.

Looking Ahead in Week 7 to Notre Dame

BYU hosts No. 3 Notre Dame on Oct. 17 in a Week 7 game on ABC. If the rankings hold, it will be the first meeting between two top-10 teams in Provo in program history.

PFN’s College Football Playoff Meter gives BYU a 32.6% chance to beat the Fighting Irish and a 55.3% chance to make the playoff. A win would raise the Cougars’ playoff odds to 70.0%, while a loss would drop them to 48.2%.

Sitake said BYU would learn from Friday’s mistakes. “If we can keep getting better and keep progressing, I’ll be really excited about what we can accomplish next week and ready for the game by the time Notre Dame comes into town,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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