Five "What ifs" for the 2025 BYU Football Season

Casey Lundquist | Jun 18, 2025

Jake Retzlaff takes a snap in the third quarter against Southern Illinois / BYU Photo

In 66 days, Big 12 play will kickoff when Iowa State and Kansas State face off in Dublin. As the BYU football season approaches, now's that time to ask: what if? Here are the five biggest "what ifs" of the 2025 BYU football season.

1. What if Jake Retzlaff can't go?

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff against Arizona / BYU Photo

The most obvious of the "what ifs" so we'll get it out of the way first: what if starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff can't go?

BYU has not made any public statements about Jake Retzlaff's status for the 2025 season. Until his status is made public, this storyline will dominate the attention of BYU fans.

So what if Retzlaff can't go? The Cougars would lose a senior quarterback, something that's always a premium in college football. The production of 2024 Jake Retzlaff is certainly replaceable. What may not be replaceable is the anticipated jump that we were expecting him to make coming out of Fall camp. If BYU misses out on that version of Jake Retzlaff, they would face an uphill battle to contend for the conference title. If Retzlaff is available, BYU should compete for a Big 12 championship again in 2025.

Behind Retzlaff, there are three quarterbacks that BYU could turn to: McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet, and Bear Bachmeier. Should this situation turn into a quarterback battle in Fall camp, it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.

On one hand, you have two players in McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet that are entering their second season with the program. They have knowledge of the playbook, but they have never taken first-team reps. When there was a quarterback battle during Fall camp of 2024, the first-team reps were evenly split between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon. Hillstead and Bourguet split reps with the third-team offense.

During Spring camp a few months ago, Jake Retzlaff took all the first-string reps. Hillstead and Bourguet were battling for the backup quarterback job at the time, but Spring camp ended without the backup quarterback battle being decided. Both Hillstead and Bourguet would compete for the starting job if Retzlaff is unavailable.

After Spring camp, BYU added Stanford transfer and true freshman Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier, a former four-star recruit, spent just a few weeks at Stanford. Shortly after signing with Stanford over competing offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, Alabama, Miami, Michigan, and Oregon among others, Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was fired.

That prompted Bachmeier to enter the transfer portal. Bachmeier was recruited by BYU out of high school, and he signed with the Cougars as the potential quarterback of the future after Retzlaff exhausted his eligibility.

Bachmeier has the highest ceiling of the three quarterbacks that would compete for a starting job, but he is the least experienced. It's uncommon for true freshmen to be ready to start right away, but it's not unheard of. Perhaps Bachmeier could be ready to go earlier than anticipated.

2. What if BYU establishes a dominant pass rush?

BYU defensive end Viliami Pouha against Arizona / BYU Photo

BYU's defense took a massive step forward in 2024 and was arguably the best defense in the conference. Still, the Cougars struggled to consistently pressure the quarterback. BYU ranked 108th in sacks per game last season.

Pressuring the quarterback and stopping the run (at times) were the only two deficincies of the 2024 BYU defense.

The Cougars brought in a lot of new talent along the defensive line. What if those new faces help BYU establish a dominant pass rush? BYU will have more talent across the board, so a better pass rush should be the goal.

A dominant pass rush would create even more havoc. A dominant pass rush would help BYU's young cornerbacks. A dominant pass rush would take BYU's defense from good to great. A dominant pass rush would, perhaps, prevent BYU from needing to win as many close games as they did a year ago.

3. What if LJ Martin has the breakout season he is capable of?

BYU running back LJ Martin against Arizona / BYU Photo

LJ Martin has made an impact for BYU since he stepped on campus. He was the go-to guy heading into last season, but he was limited due to a nagging injury and he suffered an ankle injury in week two. It wasn't until later in the season when he started flashing his full potential. In the Alamo Bowl against Colorado, Martin was the best player on the field and he was named offensive MVP. Martin had 121 total yards and 2 touchdowns in that game.

Martin showed glimpses of his potential, but his potential wasn't fully realized due to injury.

What is LJ Martin stays healthy and has the breakout season he is capable of? A consistent rushing attack would open up so much for the BYU offense. Most people forget that Jake Retzlaff was BYU's leading rusher through the first half of last season. The Cougars were winning despite their inconsistent rushing attack to start the 2024 season.

A steady, consistent rushing attack would make life much easier for either Jake Retzlaff or the quarterback that replaces him.

4. What if BYU's young cornerbacks aren't completely ready?

BYU cornerback Evan Johnson against Arizona / BYU Photo

BYU lost veterans Jakob Robinson and Marque Collins to graduation after the 2024 season. The Cougars bet on their young returning cornerbacks to fill the void left by Collins and Robinson in 2025. Instead of turning to the transfer portal for immediate contributors, the BYU staff opted lean on young guys like Tre Alexander, Jonathan Kabeya, and Evan Johnson.

The talent is there but the experience is not. What if BYU's young cornerbacks aren't completely ready? On paper, that could be the downfall of the 2025 defense.

Monitoring the progression of the young cornerbacks will be a top storyline in Fall camp.

5. What if BYU cruises through a "lighter" schedule?

A problem that every BYU fan would love to have: what if BYU cruises through a "lighter" schedule? BYU's strength of schedule ranks second to last among P4 schools. How would the College Football Playoff committee view an 11-1 or 10-2 BYU team?

Last year, BYU was 10-2 with a road win over a team in the CFP field. Still, the Cougars got no respect from the playoff committee and were dinged for the unquantifiable "eye test". Unless BYU's schedule turns out to be much more difficult than it looks today, BYU fans should brace for impact when the committee unveils the rankings again.

History suggests the committee will do BYU, or any other Big 12 team for that matter, a favor.