How BYU QB Bear Bachmeier Stacks Up Against Big 12 Peers After Career Night Against WVU

BYU true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier is growing up before our eyes. Bachmeier has improved week after week, and now he is getting ready for a six-game gauntlet that will determine whether BYU is a Big 12 title contender or not.

The goal was for Bachmeier to avoid losing games to start his career. He is starting to make the transition from that first step to being able to win games for BYU. There will still be growing pains and his progress won't always be linear, but he is clearly heading in right direction. In this article, we will compare Bachmeier's stats to those of his Big 12 peers after his first five career starts.

Yards Per Attempt

Since the number of pass attempts varies so widely across the conference, we will look at passing yards per attempt. After a career night against the Mountaineers, Bachmeier is one of the top five quarterbacks in the league by this metric. He is among the most veteran quarterbacks in the Big 12 at 9.1 yards per attempt, and he ranks 17th nationally among qualified quarterbacks (minimum 80 dropbacks).

10.1 - Behren Morton (Texas Tech)
9.7 - Jalon Daniels (Kansas)
9.4 - Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati)
9.1 - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
9.0 - Josh Hoover (TCU)
8.4 - Rocco Becht (Iowa State)
8.2 - Sawyer Robertston (Baylor)
8.1 - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
7.6 - Kaidon Salter (Colorado)
7.6 - Conner Weigman (Houston)
7.3 - Tayven Jackson (UCF)
7.2 - Nicco Marchiol (WVU)
6.8 - Devon Dampier (Utah)
6.8 - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
6.6 - Sam Leavitt (ASU)
4.9 - Zane Flores (Oklahoma State)

Accuracy & Aggressiveness

Bachmeier currently ranks fifth in terms of accuracy rate among Big 12 quarterbacks. 76% of his passes have been accurate which ranks 40th 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 limited sample size and the varying levels of competition, here's a look at Big 12 quarterbacks.

Big 12 quarterbacks by accuracy and agressiveness | BYU Photo

Sam Leavitt and Sawyer Robertson are the biggest surprises on this list. Leavitt and Robertson rank 110th and 115th, respectively in accuracy and the average depth of their targets is low. In other words, they should be way more accurate than they have been this season. Both ASU and Baylor will underperform preseason expectations unless those two quarterbacks improve.

First Downs per Dropback

Jake Retzlaff was good in some areas and bad in other areas. The one area where Retzlaff was elite in 2024? Getting first downs with either his arm or his legs. That was the biggest void for BYU to fill with Retzlaff's departure.

Bachmeier hasn't replaced the Retzlaff level of production in this regard, but he has been above average nationally at racking up first downs both through the air and on the ground. Bachmeier ranks 40th nationally in first downs accounted for per dropback, ranking sixth in the league.

42.6% - Jalon Daniels (Kansas)
42.4% - Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati)
39.2% - Josh Hoover (TCU)
36.7% - Behren Morton (Texas Tech)
36.1% - Kaidon Salter (Colorado)
35.9% - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
34.% - Rocco Becht (Iowa State)
33.5% - Sam Leavitt (ASU)
33.5% - Sawyer Robertston (Baylor)
33.2% - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
32.9% - Devon Dampier (Utah)
32.6% - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
29.5% - Conner Weigman (Houston)
26.7% - Nicco Marchiol (WVU)
26.3% - Tayven Jackson (UCF)
23.% - Zane Flores (Oklahoma State)

Bachmeier's production has been more impressive if you dig one level deeper. A lot of quarterbacks are given credit for quick screen passes that turn into first downs. If you exclude short throws (less than 10 yards), Bachmeier picks up a first down on 48% of dropbacks which ranks second in the conference and 19th nationally.

Turnover-Worthy Plays

One area where Bachmeier has been great is taking care of the football. Traditionally, that's an area where true freshmen struggle, but that hasn't been the case for Bachmeier. Bachmeier has thrown one interception through five games and PFF considered only a few of his throws as "turnover worthy."

Bachmeier ranks fifth in the Big 12 in turnover-worthy play rate and in the 41st nationally. If Bachmeier takes care of the football in conference play, BYU will be in every game.

1.2% - Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati)
1.5% - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
1.9% - Behren Morton (Texas Tech)
2.0% - Rocco Becht (Iowa State)
2.2% - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
2.2% - Devon Dampier (Utah)
2.3% - Jalon Daniels (Kansas)
2.5% - Nicco Marchiol (WVU)
2.7% - Sawyer Robertston (Baylor)
3.3% - Conner Weigman (Houston)
3.9% - Sam Leavitt (ASU)
4.2% - Zane Flores (Oklahoma State)
4.5% - Kaidon Salter (Colorado)
5.0% - Tayven Jackson (UCF)
5.0% - Josh Hoover (TCU)
6.0% - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)

Average Time to Throw

If you have watched Bear Bachmeier and thought that he looks decisive, your eyes are not deceiving you. Bachmeier has the fastest time to throw (ATT) in the Big 12 and he is seventh nationally. Bachmeier is processing quickly.

2.39 - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
2.50 - Josh Hoover (TCU)
2.58 - Tayven Jackson (UCF)
2.58 - Sawyer Robertston (Baylor)
2.59 - Rocco Becht (Iowa State)
2.59 - Nicco Marchiol (WVU)
2.61 - Behren Morton (Texas Tech)
2.69 - Devon Dampier (Utah)
2.73 - Zane Flores (Oklahoma State)
2.73 - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
2.83 - Conner Weigman (Houston)
2.85 - Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati)
2.96 - Jalon Daniels (Kansas)
3.09 - Sam Leavitt (ASU)
3.12 - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
3.34 - Kaidon Salter (Colorado)

NFL QB Rating

The 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 has a QB rating of 113.8 through five games. That is 22nd in college football and fifth in the Big 12.

127.5 - Jalon Daniels (Kansas)
122.2 - Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati)
121.4 - Behren Morton (Texas Tech)
115.6 - Josh Hoover (TCU)
113.8 - Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
108.2 - Noah Fifita (Arizona)
107.7 - Sawyer Robertston (Baylor)
106.5 - Devon Dampier (Utah)
104.2 - Rocco Becht (Iowa State)
95.1 - Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
93.9 - Kaidon Salter (Colorado)
92.8 - Conner Weigman (Houston)
91. - Tayven Jackson (UCF)
90.7 - Sam Leavitt (ASU)
86.6 - Nicco Marchiol (WVU)
59.2 - Zane Flores (Oklahoma State)