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<\/p>\nBYU football is the surprise story of 2025 \u2013 so far.<\/p>\n
Armed with a true-freshman quarterback, the Cougars are 7-0 and ranked No. 11 in the country. Ahead of Saturday\u2019s game at Iowa State (1:30 p.m., FOX), BYU is now the team to beat in the Big 12 and has the best odds to reach the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n
Cougars on the air<\/p>\n
No. 11 BYU (7-0, 4-0) at Iowa State (5-2, 2-2)<\/p>\n
Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MDTAt Jack Trice StadiumTV:\u00a0FoxRadio:102.7 FM\/1160 AM<\/p>\n
Winning keeps the wheels turning, but even with a loss or two, the Cougars are in prime position to contend down the stretch.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”<\/p>\n
Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.<\/p>\n
Their current standing is mind bending, but it doesn\u2019t hold a candle to the path that brought them here \u2014 an improbable quest that began with an announcement at Stanford, 810 miles away from Kalani Sitake\u2019s football office. <\/p>\n
The moment the Cardinal fired coach Troy Taylor on March 25, at the conclusion of spring practice, the Cougars\u2019 good fortune started to turn. Taylor beat Sitake in the recruiting battle for Bear Bachmeier<\/a> and the true freshman was expected to start for Stanford in the fall.<\/p>\n With Taylor out \u2014 Bachmeier was out too \u2014 and Sitake was back in. Sitake just didn\u2019t know at the time how badly he would need him.<\/p>\n BYU cruised through spring drills with senior quarterback Jake Retzlaff. Fresh off an 11-2 run, including a decisive win in the Alamo Bowl and a No. 13 final ranking, optimism was high for the Cougars to do even better in 2025.<\/p>\n However, just as Stanford was stunned by their coaching change, a bombshell staggered BYU, too. <\/p>\n On May 21, allegations of sexual assault<\/a> became public after a woman filed a civil case against Retzlaff. The case was eventually dropped<\/a>, but collateral damage to the quarterback and the Cougars remained. <\/p>\n On May 25, Bachmeier transferred to BYU. His initial plan was to spend a year learning the offense with the intention to compete against McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet for the starting job in 2026.<\/p>\n On July 11, facing a multi-game suspension for violating BYU\u2019s honor code, Retzlaff withdrew from school and transferred to Tulane. <\/p>\n With the starting job suddenly open, Bachmeier intensified his summer workouts with Cougar alum and quarterback guru John Beck in Southern California.<\/p>\n BYU reported to fall camp on July 30 and on Aug. 19, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick announced Bachmeier would become the program\u2019s first true freshman quarterback to start in the season opener against Portland State. <\/p>\n For the 19-year-old who hardly had a history \u2014 the rest is history. <\/p>\n Bachmeier won his debut 69-0 and with the older players rallying around the new kid in town, he has kept an imperfect team perfect through seven games. The Cougars are already bowl eligible and knocking on the door of the top 10 in the national rankings.<\/p>\n Learning on the job hasn\u2019t been without mistakes, but the ups have dwarfed the downs as the 6-foot-2, 230-pound former running back\/linebacker has thrown for nine touchdowns while running for eight more \u2014 and all with just four turnovers.<\/p>\n
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BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) watches as a play unfolds during the opening day of BYU football spring camp held at the Zions Bank Practice Fields of the Student Athlete Building on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News <\/p>\n