Bear Bachmeier did more than help BYU beat Notre Dame on Saturday night. He gave the BYU quarterback conversation a new name to consider.
In a game against the then-second-ranked Irish, the 20-year-old Bachmeier helped BYU build an 11-point lead in the first half and then finished the job with a winning-drive touchdown pass to Walker Lyons. He also scored three touchdowns before halftime, with two on the ground and one as a receiver, in a performance that fit the moment and the matchup.
That is why the discussion has turned so quickly toward the long line of BYU quarterbacks who have defined the program. Virgil Carter, Gary Sheide, Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, Steve Sarkisian, Max Hall, Taysom Hill and Zach Wilson are all part of that standard. Bachmeier is being mentioned in that company this early because he has played only 20 games at BYU, which makes the debate both premature and impossible to ignore.
Why the comparison is already happening
Gordon Monson captured the tension well: one game does not make a career. But he also noted that there was evidence of the kind of stuff that makes a quarterback eminent, and that Bachmeier still has much more time ahead of him.
The Notre Dame win was not just a good night for BYU. It was the kind of result that changes how a quarterback is viewed, especially when it comes against a national contender and includes the final drive that decides the game. Monson also pointed out that the victory against the Irish was bigger than what many of the greats accomplished in individual moments, and that it never would have happened without Bachmeier’s grit, talent and savvy.
Bachmeier’s final throw was the kind of play that sticks in memory. Monson called it a perfect pass at the perfect time, and that is what made the closing sequence so important. It was not simply that BYU won. It was how the quarterback delivered when the game was there to be finished.
What it means next
The larger historical question is still open. Bachmeier has not played nearly enough games to be placed alongside the program’s all-time greats with any certainty. But the Notre Dame performance gave the discussion real substance, because it was not a highlight in an easy game or a statistical outburst in a loss.
It was a win over the then-second-ranked Irish, powered by a quarterback who produced three touchdowns in the first half and then led the winning drive. For BYU, that is the kind of showing that invites big comparisons. For Bachmeier, it is the kind of performance that gives those comparisons a legitimate starting point.
