BYU cruises to 28-7 win over Baylor behind Bachmeier's 4 touchdowns

PROVO — Needing a win against a surging Baylor team to keep postseason hopes alive, BYU controlled the game from start to finish en route to a 28-7 victory.

Bear Bachmeier was more poised Saturday night and put his four-interception performance from last weekend behind him. Bachmeier rushed for three first-half touchdowns and finished with 104 passing yards and a touchdown, with an additional 54 yards on the ground.

Bachmeier didn't have eye-popping numbers through the air, but his style of play matched what the Cougars were doing on the defensive side of the ball — limiting possessions and using up the clock as much as possible.

BYU controlled the ball for the majority of the first half, a total of 21 minutes compared to the Bears' 8:53. The Cougars took a commanding 21-point lead on Bachmeier's third rushing touchdown that capped off an 18-play drive.

"I think for us, just what worked in the first half is we were able to win on first and second down and make third down more manageable," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said.

Baylor found a little bit of life in the second half after forcing some punts and having some longer possessions, but the hole they dug themselves into was too much to overcome.

Sitake emphasized earlier in the week the importance of winning at all three phases — offense, defense, and special teams — and that if BYU could win at least two, they would be "in a really good spot."

The Cougars did much more than that and won all three phases on the way to the win. BYU outgained the Bears 312-238, won the turnover battle, and had a big special teams play thanks to a 44-yard punt return from Cannon DeVries.

"We got a good return back and I thought defensively, K-Pop and the defensive staff did a great job setting our offense up with shorter fields," Sitake said. "We were able to do some really good things with field position. Just overall happy with all three phases."

Baylor looked out of sync from the opening drive, with penalties and a sack on the Bears' opening drive that set the tone early for how their offense performed. Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway overthrew receivers multiple times, and Baylor couldn't find any consistency on offense.

Lagway was coming off one of his best collegiate performances in which he had 348 total yards and three touchdowns last week against Iowa State. The Cougars held Lagway in check, holding him to 21-of-37 passing for 159 yards and a touchdown and an interception.

BYU dialed up the pressure on Lagway and got him out of rhythm. Bodie Schoonover recorded two sacks for BYU while Viliami Po'uha picked up his first sack of the season. At a point in the game, Baylor nearly had as many penalty yards as they had total yards.

"I think a big focus was on stopping their slot receiver," defensive back Tommy Prassas said. "He's a stud, and we held him to his lowest average of the year. Their quarterback's obviously a dual threat, can make plays in the pass and the run game. I think those two were our biggest focuses, and I think we did a good job at that tonight."

Gavin Freeman, the Bears' slot receiver, was held to six catches for 37 yards and was called for a personal foul penalty for swinging at Therrian Alexander III after a play. The frustration from Freeman was something that seemed to affect Baylor as a whole. Negative plays plagued the Bears throughout the game, and it played into the Cougars' game plan.

Prassas picked off Lagway in the third quarter to give BYU its first interception since its week 5 win over TCU. The Cougars were unable to capitalize on the turnover as Matthias Dunn's field goal attempt sailed wide left.

BYU had a much more balanced rushing attack with multiple players contributing to the 189 yards on the ground. The ability to run the ball more consistently and protect the football complimented the team's defensive performance. LJ Martin carried the ball for 49 yards on just six carries, but he appeared to aggravate his ankle injury during the game.

"I think he could have gone," Sitake said. "There's a play where I think he just got stepped on and it kind of irritated his injury. I think we just have to be smart. I want him to be at a hundred percent."

The Cougars did not need to rely on Martin with the large lead in the second half, and the trio of Sione Moa, Preston Rex, and Devaughn Eka provided BYU with some good runs.

Despite his praise for how his offense ran the ball, Sitake was not pleased with how the passing game performed on Saturday.

"I think we weren't really accurate in the pass game, Sitake said. "Whether it's pass protection or routes or timing, that needs to be fixed. We can play better than that. Just not efficient enough. I feel like we had some momentum in this game, we felt like we were in control, so didn't have to do too much. It wasn't because the calls were trying to be conservative or anything like that."

BYU will travel to Lawrence, Kansas, next week to face Kansas (4-6) with the kickoff time still to be determined. The Cougars suffered a brutal loss to the Jayhawks two years ago that killed their College Football Playoff hopes.

When asked about the upcoming matchup, Schoonover — who was on that 2024 team — said, "It's exciting."

"A get-back's always fun, so it's going to be exciting to go back out there and play some ball."

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