Bear Bachmeier's 5 TDs lift BYU to 69-0 romp over Portland State

PROVO — Tougher days will come during Bear Bachmeier's college football career, but the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in BYU history certainly passed his first test.

And he ran some, too.

Bachmeier completed 7-of-11 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 32 yards and two scores as the Cougars did everything they wanted — and then some — against hapless FCS foe Portland State 69-0 Saturday night in front of a standing room-only crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

LJ Martin poured in a career-best 131 yards on eight carries, also all in the first half, as BYU (1-0) poured in 606 yards of offense through Charles Miska's 5-yard touchdown run with 1:55 left to hang 69.

But perhaps that was to be expected, with a third-year starting tailback and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick adamant during the offseason that the Cougars "would be able to run the ball really well."

Still, plenty of attention was on Bachmeier, who made program history with his first snap, punted the ball away after five plays and 21 yards on his first drive, but settled in with help from his teammates — on offense, defense and special teams.

"I thought he did a great job," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said of the recent Stanford transfer. "Once he started getting hit a little bit, then he was able to settle down.

"I think it's hard when you get into this environment," the 10th-year head coach added of the capacity crowd of 64,494, the highest single-game attendance since 2009. "I don't know if they were ready for the stands to be that packed. It's a huge credit to our fans; they're awesome — and we're not even in school yet. It was a packed house, and they were excited to watch BYU football."

Eventually, he settled in — and maybe there's something to Sitake's theory that a quarterback needs to take a hit or two to find his rhythm.

"It's football, and you want to get hit," said Bachmeier, who estimated he had around 15 family members in Provo during his collegiate debut, including mother April and oldest brother Hank, the former starting quarterback at Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest. "You kind of just settle in."

Bachmeier scored his second rushing touchdown and fifth overall on a 12-yard run with 49 seconds left in the half, leaving the rest of backup signal callers McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet with a 49-0 lead.

Martin's 131 yards were part of 267 on the ground before the break for BYU, which held Portland State to minus-2 rushing yards a week after a 42-0 loss to Tarleton State as part of "Week Zero."

The rest was gravy, with the turkey finishing when Will Ferrin tied Owen Pochman's 25-year-old school record with a 56-yard field goal to end the third quarter up, 55-0.

But like most of last season's 11-2 campaign, the eruption started with defense and special teams.

After a slow start that included Parker Kingston's unusual fumble on a punt return, Choe Bryant-Strother had a 9-yard sack that forced the Vikings into a 57-yard field-goal try in the first quarter.

Former American Fork standout Bodie Schoonover and Snow College transfer John Taumoepeau (or more accurately, his facemask) blocked the attempt, and fifth-year senior Jack Kelly rumbled 62 yards for BYU's first blocked field goal return touchdown since Ryan Denny in 2001.

The Cougars weren't done, though.

Martin set up the first offensive touchdown with a 49-yard spurt — his longest run from scrimmage since Oct. 21, 2023 against Texas Tech — and Bachmeier found Chase Roberts for a 4-yard touchdown to open his own account and give BYU a 14-0 lead to end the first quarter.

Bachmeier wasn't done, adding a pair of touchdowns to Noah Moeaki and Carsen Ryan during a 35-point second quarter that included Cody Hagen's 57-yard score on a reverse that helped the Cougars to a 49-0 halftime advantage.

The second half was less dramatic, with Hillstead, Bourguet and walk-on Cole Hagen all taking snaps under center and Dominique McKenzie and Miska both breaking the seal on their BYU scoring campaigns with a touchdown that led to BYU's nice win.

"That's going to help our depth," Sitake said. "I'm proud of the team, and looking forward to next week. You can make a lot of improvement from week one to week two."

The Cougars host ACC foe Stanford next Saturday, Sept. 6 at 8:15 p.m. MDT.

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