\u201cIt was one of those games,\u201d Bachmeier said. \u201cLuckily we got out of there with a win. \u2026 We knew it was going to be rainy, and there was a little mist that Saturday, too, but yeah, circumstances arose and I am just proud of the team and how we bounced back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bouncing back meant Bachmeier put the outcome of the game on his legs<\/a>, and rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-sealer from 21 yards out with 2:06 remaining. <\/p>\n \u201cLike, we don\u2019t have gaudy stats right now, but they\u2019re blocking their butts off. They\u2019re doing a great job lining up right, doing what they\u2019re supposed to. They\u2019re just happy we\u2019re winning right now, but they also believe we will hit our stride in the passing game here soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 \u00a0BYU passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake<\/p>\n Bachmeier and Sitake both brushed back against suggestions that receivers and tight ends weren\u2019t getting open against TCU\u2019s heavy zone defense in the secondary.<\/p>\n \u201cThey found voids (in the coverage), but obviously circumstances arose and we had to adapt,\u201d Bachmeier said. \u201c\u2026 BYU football is hard-nosed, and we\u2019re going to run the ball and we\u2019re going to take shots, and be dynamic in the run game and in the pass game.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked Monday whether the receivers were struggling to get open against TCU and if that was a concern, head coach Kalani Sitake got right to the point.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, we will be fine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Certainly, BYU\u2019s run game has been dynamic, which is a major reason why the passing numbers have been pedestrian. As was the case last Saturday and in the second halves against Colorado State and Utah Tech, Roderick called plays designed to milk the clock and get the games over as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do whatever it takes to win here, and that\u2019s part of being a team, and it was a tough night. The weather was really bad,\u201d Roderick said, while also praising TCU\u2019s defense. \u201c\u2026 We did have some struggles that were self-inflicted. They were our own problems. That game got to the point where it was just (time to) hunker down and do what you have to do to get out of there with a win.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cougars are now 131st in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total passing yards (719) and 114th in passing yards per game (179.8). They are 132nd in pass attempts (89 passes) and 94th in passing touchdowns, with just six.<\/p>\n However, they are still among the more efficient passing teams in the country, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt (47th).<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been really pleased with the receivers,\u201d Fesi Sitake said. \u201cLike A Rod said, we haven\u2019t really had the opportunity to throw the ball a lot. We\u2019ve seen flashes, and we are excited for the chance to just let it go for four quarters.<\/p>\n \u201cLike, we don\u2019t have gaudy stats right now, but they\u2019re blocking their butts off. They\u2019re doing a great job lining up right, doing what they\u2019re supposed to. They\u2019re just happy we\u2019re winning right now, but they also believe we will hit our stride in the passing game here soon.\u201d<\/p>\n That could come as soon as Friday, as BYU is down to its third- and fourth-string running backs, Preston Rex and true freshman Journee Tonga. Roderick said freshman Devaughn Eka could also get some carries this week.<\/p>\n Top running back LJ Martin has been ruled out<\/a> with an ankle sprain. Martin is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and 86.0 yards per game. <\/p>\n Roderick said the receivers have handled the situation well, noting that nobody is grousing about not seeing the ball enough.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was not one long face on our team about our passing stats or who touched the ball or anything,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you see the final touchdown at the end of the game and the celebration in the end zone, it was a really good sign of what kind of team we have and how much the guys care about each other.\u201d<\/p>\n BYU\u2019s tight ends \u2014 starters Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga and reserve Keayen Nead \u2014 have combined to catch 13 passes for 131 yards. Saleapaga missed the CSU game and Nead is more of a blocking tight end.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just haven\u2019t been able to play that much yet,\u201d Roderick said. \u201cWe had two games where we played half the game and they both had an impact. \u2026 And then the Arizona game, I thought they both played well. Then last week that game did not go as planned with the weather.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re both doing a lot of good things, and you are going to see a lot of them the rest of the year,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u2018Committed to the process\u2019<\/p>\n Fesi Sitake has been saying since spring ball came and went without BYU making a move to replace Parker Kingston that he was happy with the makeup of his receivers room<\/a>. Through four games, he hasn\u2019t changed his stance on that, as freshman Legend Glasker and Kyler Kasper have emerged as BYU\u2019s top two pass-catchers.<\/p>\n Glasker has 14 catches for 279 yards and two touchdowns, and Kasper has 11 catches for 138 yards and two TDs. Returner Jojo Phillips is off to a slower start, with six catches for 45 yards and one TD.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mantra in our room is being committed to the process without being emotionally attached to the results,\u201d Sitake said. \u201cThe process right now is to do whatever we can to help the team win.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are going to be times where we have to throw for 400 yards, and then there\u2019s times like we have had this season where we have to run the ball a ton,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo, we\u2019re good. These guys have bought into that message. And they are very aware of the opportunity we have ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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BYU Cougars tight end Roger Saleapaga II (2) bobbles a pass during a football game against Arizona at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No power conference football team in the country has fewer passing yards this season than BYU, which has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":875162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,3125,99],"class_list":["post-875161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-news-feed-local","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}