How Bear Bachmeier Stacks Up Against Big 12 Peers Going Into 2026

During the 2025 season, BYU true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier grew up before our eyes. Bachmeier went from being limited in his knowledge of the playbook against Stanford, to leading BYU to a win over Georgia Tech in the Pop Tart's Bowl when LJ Martin was sidelined due to injury.

Going into 2026, Bachmeier is expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12. In this article, we'll look at the advanced stats from 2025 and how Bachmeier stacks up against his Big 12 peers. Quarterback turnover was the story of the offseason in the Big 12. 9 of 16 teams are expected to have new quarterbacks under center.

Some quarterbacks, like Isaiah Marshall (Kansas), Michael Hawkins (WVU), and Jaden Craig (TCU), didn't log enough FBS dropbacks to qualify for this article. Other quarterbacks like Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State) and Alonzo Barnett III (UCF) are transferring up from the G6 ranks to play in the Big 12. As such, the level of competition has skewed their production slightly.

Additionally, the Texas Tech quarterback situation is firmly up in the air. As of this writing, no decision has been made on Brendan Sorsby's eligibility. Therefore, we have included both Sorsby and backup Will Hammond in this analysis.

With those caveats in mind, let's dive in.

Yards Per Attempt

Since the number of pass attempts varies so widely, we will look at passing yards per attempt. After a his freshman year, Bachmeier is top three in returning yards per attempt. About halway through the season, Bachmeier was in the top 20 nationally in yards per attempt. Two games against Texas Tech's vaunted defense dropped Bachmeier in the rankings, but he did finish inside the top 50 as a true freshman.

9.4 - Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State)
8.3 - Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech)
7.8 - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
7.6 - Alonza Barnett III (UCF)
7.6 - Conner Weigman (Houston)
7.5 - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
7.5 - JC French IV (Cincinnati)
7.3 - Devon Dampier (Utah)
7.1 - Cutter Boley (ASU)
6.9 - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
6.7 - Jaylen Raynor (Iowa State)
6.7 - DJ Lagway (Baylor)
6.2 - Julian Lewis (Colorado)
6.2 - Will Hammond (Texas Tech)

Accuracy & Aggressiveness

Bachmeier ranks third in terms of accuracy rate among Big 12 quarterbacks. 75% of his passes were accurate in 2025 which ranked 44th nationally.

However, accuracy rate is typically a function of how aggressive a quarterback is. The more they push the ball down the field, the more inaccurate balls they will throw. While the data is still a little skewed given the varying levels of competition, here's a look at Big 12 quarterbacks.

Big 12 quarterbacks going into 2026 | BYU On SI

Reigning Big 12 first-team All-Conference selection Noah Fifita stands out. Fifita is one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the country despite his willingness to stretch the field.

First Downs per Dropback

It's a quarterback's job to lead the offense and move the chains. One of our favorite quarterbacks measures is first downs accounted for per dropback. This includes first downs both through the air and on the ground. Bachmeier accounted for first downs on 1/3 of his dropbacks, good enough for 50th nationally. This is one area where Bachmeier can improve going into his sophomore year.

41.3% - Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State)
37.6% - Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech)
35.9% - Conner Weigman (Houston)
33.9% - Devon Dampier (Utah)
33.8% - Cutter Boley (ASU)
33.4% - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
33.4% - JC French IV (Cincinnati)
32.3% - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
31.5% - Jaylen Raynor (Iowa State)
30.9% - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
30.7% - Alonza Barnett III (UCF)
28.3% - DJ Lagway (Baylor)
27.4% - Will Hammond (Texas Tech)
20.3% - Julian Lewis (Colorado)

Turnover-Worthy Plays

To start his freshman year, Bear Bachmeier was very good at protecting the football. He didn't have his first turnover until the West Virginia game. As the season progressed, Bachmeier started to make the turnover-worthy plays that you would expect a true freshman to make. Bachmeier finished the 2025 season ranked 122nd in turnover-worthy play rate.

If there is one area where Bachmeier needs to improve the most, it's here. After nine turnover-worthy plays in the first eight games of the season, Bachmeier had 11 over the last six games of the season. Bachmeier had five turnover-worthy plays in two games against Texas Tech. Tech converted on all five of those opportunities, creating five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles).

1.7% - Julian Lewis (Colorado)
1.8% - Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech)
1.9% - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
2.3% - Alonza Barnett III (UCF)
2.6% - Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State)
2.6% - JC French IV (Cincinnati)
2.8% - Devon Dampier (Utah)
3.4% - Jaylen Raynor (Iowa State)
3.9% - Conner Weigman (Houston)
3.9% - Will Hammond (Texas Tech)
4.3% - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
4.5% - DJ Lagway (Baylor)
4.6% - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
4.9% - Cutter Boley (ASU)

NFL QB Rating

NFL QB rating is "a statistic that measures a quarterback's overall passing performance based on completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage." Bear Bachmeier had a QB rating of 93.6 in 2025. That ranked 68th in college football and 8th in the Big 12 going into 2026.

114.8 - Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State)
107. - Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech)
103.6 - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
102.4 - Devon Dampier (Utah)
100.9 - Conner Weigman (Houston)
94.4 - JC French IV (Cincinnati)
94.1 - Alonza Barnett III (UCF)
93.6 - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
90.6 - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
89.7 - Will Hammond (Texas Tech)
88.7 - Julian Lewis (Colorado)
88.2 - Jaylen Raynor (Iowa State)
85.9 - Cutter Boley (ASU)
81. - DJ Lagway (Baylor)

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