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3 Areas Where Bear Bachmeier Can Take the Next Step Statistically

Casey Lundquist|
BYU QB Bear Bachmeier against Iowa State
BYU QB Bear Bachmeier against Iowa State | BYU Photo

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BYU Cougars

Bear Bachmeier is enjoying his first full offseason at BYU. Bachmeier was thrust into the starting role in 2025 after Jake Retzlaff left the program in July. Bachmeier not only became the first true freshman to start a season opener at quarterback for BYU, he also led the Cougars to 12 wins and an appearance in the Big 12 championship game.

No matter how you slice it, Bachmeier's true freshman season was a success. Still, there are a few areas where Bachmeier can improve going into his sophomore campaign. In this article, we'll take a data-driven look at the three areas where he can improve the most.

1. Stretch the Field with Deep Throws

Bear Bachmeier was one of the better intermediate passers in college football last season. PFF defines an intermediate throw as a ball that travels 10-20 yards downfield. Bachmeier ranked 19th in accuracy rate on intermediate throws and 46% of his yards came from intermediate throws, the second highest rate among qualified college quarterbacks (minimum 190 dropbacks).

When Bachmeier tried to stretch the defense with throws beyond 20 yards, his productivity dropped off. Bachmeier was accurate on 39.5% of his deep throws, ranking 79th among FBS quarterbacks. Only 14% of his passing yards came from deep throws which ranked near the bottom of college football at 128th.

Deep throws near the sideline were particularly ineffective for Bachmeier in 2025. Between the numbers, Bachmeier completed 11/20 throws beyond 20 yards. He was 2/23 on deep throws outside the numbers and only 4/23 were accurate throws.

The first step to completing more deep throws will be to attempt more deep throws. Only 11% of Bachmeier's throws were deep throws, ranking 115th nationally.

BYU's struggles to stretch the field impacted both games against Texas Tech. In two games against the vaunted Tech defense, Bachmeier attempted just two throws beyond 20 yards. In Tech's only loss of the regular season to Arizona State, Sam Leavitt attempted six deep throws, connecting on two of them for 94 yards. Those two deep throws changed the course of that game.

The only way to beat the Texas Tech defense was to beat them over the top. BYU was unable to do that. That's not unique to BYU, most teams were unable to effecitvely moved the football against the Red Raiders.

Bachmeier showed signs of improvement in this area in Spring Camp. In one portion of practice that the media was permitted to watch, Bachmeier found Tei Nacua for a touchdown 40 yards downfield. Bachmeier, on third down, threw a perfect ball to Nacua who dragged his toe inbounds.

2. Turnover-Worthy Play Rate

For a true freshman, Bachmeier protected the football at a high level. Still, like most freshmen, that's an area where Bachmeier could improve as a true sophomore. Bachmeier ranked 99th in turnover-worthy play rate. PFF defines turnover-worthy play rate as "a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling."

Bachmeier showed the ability to protect the football against some good defenses. He had just two turnover-worthy plays in four games against Iowa State, Utah, Colorado, and TCU. There were a few games, however, where those turnovers snowballed and hurt BYU's chances. Bachmeier had three turnover-worthy plays against Arizona, and he had five turnover-worthy plays against Texas Tech.

The Texas Tech and Arizona defenses were good enough to capitalize on those turnover-worthy plays, creating 7 turnovers out of 8 turnover-worthy plays.

If BYU is going to achieve its goals this season, Bachmeier will need to keep multi-turnover games to a minimum.

3. Big-time throw rate

A big-time throw is defined as a "a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window." The best quarterbacks in college football are able to be good defenses with great throws.

That's a lot to ask from a true freshman, and frankly, it's a lot to ask from a sophomore as well. Bachmeier ranked 118th in big-time throws per dropback in 2025. If BYU is going to take the next step as a team and beat some of the best teams in the country, Bachmeier will need to beat defenses, at least on occasion, with big-time throws.

Bachmeier showed flashes of his potential to make big-time throws last season. He had a season-high four big-time throws against Iowa State. BYU's back was against the wall in that game, and LJ Martin was sidelined due to injury. It was Bachmeier's right arm that willed BYU to victory in Ames.

Bachmeier also had a big-time throw in BYU's rivalry win over Utah. On that play, Bachmeier connected with Chase Roberts for a touchdown on a perfectly-placed ball in the endzone. One or two big-time throws can be the difference between a win and a loss. A few more big-time throws could take BYU's offense to the next level.

Bachmeier made a few big-time throws during Spring Camp as well. On one play, Bachmeier threw a perfectly-placed ball to Walker Lyons for the score. Bachmeier fit the ball over Evan Johnson in coverage. This was an example of Bachmeier beating good defense with a great throw.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of BYU On SI. He has covered BYU athletics since 2020. During that time, he has published over 3,500 stories that have reached millions of readers.

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