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SALT LAKE CITY — With rival Utah looking to get a vital stop on third-and-11 on their 22-yard line, BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier called his own number.
The freshman quarterback sprinted up the middle on a QB draw, looking to pick up a momentum-building first down late in the game deep in Utah territory. But as he approached the first-down marker, there was no need to stop there.
Bachmeier bulldozed his way forward and used his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame to drag several Utah defenders with him into the end zone for a touchdown that gave the home Cougars a 10-point lead with just 4:22 left to play in the tight battle between rivals.
The Utes ended up scoring a late touchdown to make it a 3-point game, but the Bachmeier score was enough to top a visiting Utah team looking to end a two-game winning streak for the Cougars. Bachmeier and the BYU offense was simply better Saturday night.
The freshman quarterback turned in a solid overall performance — passing for 166 yards and one touchdown, while adding 64 yards and another score on the ground — to help lift the Cougars to a 24-21 win, and to stay undefeated on the season.
It was enough to move BYU up in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings to No. 11 in a week where nine ranked teams dropped a game — five of which were to fellow ranked opponents. It was a four-spot jump from last week's previous standing at No. 15.
The Cougars remain one of six undefeated teams left in the country and the only remaining team from the Big 12 who hasn't lost a game after Texas Tech fell to unranked Arizona State Saturday afternoon.
With the rivalry win, the Cougars now own the top ranking in the Big 12, with Texas Tech dropping to No. 14 from No. 7. Cincinnati, which was ranked No. 24 last week, moved up to No. 21 and Arizona State jumped back in at No. 24 after a win over Texas Tech.
Utah, which was No. 23 going into the rivalry game, dropped back out of the rankings after a one-week trip inside the top 25. The Utes, however, still received votes despite taking on their second loss of the season and are unofficially No. 27 as the second team out of the poll
Houston and TCU are also receiving votes from the Big 12 this week.
Ohio State was the near unanimous pick at No. 1 this week after a 34-0 win over Wisconsin to remain undefeated. The Buckeyes received 60 of the possible 66 first-place votes this week, which is the highest of the season.
Behind Ohio State is Indiana — who received the other six first-place votes — Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia. Miami, who was previously No. 2, dropped seven spots to No. 9 this week.
To see the full rankings see below, or click here.
