- Bear Bachmeier made a significant impact in BYU's 24-21 win over Utah.
- Several BYU seniors, including Tanner Wall, celebrated never losing to Utah.
- The rivalry game drew 64,794 fans, marking a memorable victory for BYU.
PROVO — Around this time last semester, Bear Bachmeier was a newly enrolled freshman at Stanford, taking reps with a soon-to-be deposed head coach and figuring out the playbook with his older brother, Tiger.
Now, he's putting himself into the lore of a rivalry that is over 100 years old, no matter whose recounting of the series you believe.
Just seven games, eight weeks or two months into his BYU career, Bachmeier has already written a whole chapter on his role in the BYU-Utah rivalry. That chapter includes a hurdle, a few darts and a 22-yard touchdown run where he seemingly carried the whole of the Utes' defense into the end zone en route to a 24-21 win Friday night in front of 64,794 fans.
The weight and acknowledgement of his role in that chapter will come soon enough, or perhaps not. But for a generation of BYU seniors, the chapter has already been written.
And it ends with one sweet phrase: Never lost to Utah.
The win creates a handful of BYU seniors who have never lost to Utah. The list includes Chase Roberts, who caught two passes for 43 yards including a 17-yard touchdown after which he flashed the Y. in front of the visiting Utah fan section, and Talan Alfrey, who had a critical muffed punt recovery.
It could also include players like Jack Kelly, who had a sack, and starting left tackle Isaiah Jatta, though both players were only involved in two wins after transferring from Weber State and Colorado, respectively. Same with Will Ferrin, the Boise State transfer from Kaysville who was kicking (and punting) on blue turf in 2021.
Then there's a player like Tanner Wall. The fifth-year senior from Arlington, Virginia, grew up a diehard BYU fan, passed on scholarship offers to walk-on for the Cougars, and has become a co-captain on a team whose leadership rises above his stats — though those have been pretty good, too.
He pulled down his second interception of the season off Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, in a moment when Bachmeier had just led a resurgent response to re-take the leader in the fourth quarter.
With fans politely rushing the field all around him, Wall couldn't help but think of his upbringing, of the kid in NoVa who dogpiled on his grandpa when John Beck hit Johnny Harline in 2006. To be part of a group of BYU players to have never lost to Utah flushed him with emotion.
"I grew up loving BYU; I bleed blue," said Wall, who also had 10 tackles and a tackle for loss. "I've watched a lot of these games. ... These moments are the ones I grew up watching over and over and over again.
"To be a part of a stretch here in my career where I've never lost to them, it feels really good. I don't want to make that about me, at all. It's a huge shout out to Kalani and the way he's running this program. There's been a great shift, even amongst recruiting in the state, and I think we're seeing that. ... I believe that this is a start of an even longer streak of wins for us and our program over them."
He thanked his coaches, his teammates and especially the fans — "the best fans in the world" — for the moment, too.
"The atmosphere tonight was unreal," Wall said moments after most of the 64,794 fans invaded LaVell Edwards Stadium, save for a thousand or so red-clad visitors who started leaving before the clock struck zero. "As LJ said, I'm just grateful to get another win and be one step closer to our goal."
That last part was a reference to LJ Martin, who ran for 122 yards on 26 carries in the win. The El Paso, Texas, product didn't grow up a BYU fan — he barely knew the school before the Cougars started recruiting him, and he's not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that sponsors the institution.
"You want to win every game, whether it's Utah or Portland State or whatever," Martin said. "Just to go out there and compete, and win three in a row (in the rivalry) feels really good."
Still, this one? The rivalry game, the one which both schools can't even agree on how many times they've played (BYU says 97, Utah says 103)?
The one where Utah won nine straight as recently as 2019 and then put in brief hiatus to split a home-and-home series with Florida? The one that was on full display Saturday night with the largest crowd since the Notre Dame game in 2004?
This one was extra meaningful.
"It's been fun playing Utah over the past 4-5 years, and it's my favorite game. The energy, the atmosphere; it's unlike anything else," Roberts said. "To be 3-0 against them is pretty special, and something that I'll cherish for the rest of my life, for sure."
