Arizona Wildcats look to ground BYU QB Bear Bachmeier in rematch

PROVO, Utah — During a recruiting trip in Los Angeles this offseason, Arizona’s offensive staff attended a camp to scout players and then went to a restaurant for dinner.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier spotted Arizona’s coaches and sparked a conversation. Bachmeier was very “complimentary of (defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales’) defense,” said Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege.

“He comes up and starts talking to us like we’ve been friends forever,” Doege said of Bachmeier. “He’s naturally a communicator. When he left the table, we were all like, ‘Man, that’s why he’s good.’ He’s confident, he’s himself, he’s tough and that’s what I value in quarterbacks. Can they be one of the guys? Can they be the toughest dude on the field? Can they find ways to win? That’s your quarterback. Sounds like that’s Bear.”

Arizona was introduced to Bachmeier last season, when the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns in BYU’s double-overtime win over the Wildcats, albeit the BYU standout quarterback had one of his worst passing performances of his career with a career-low completion percentage (41.4%) and two interceptions. Arizona and Texas Tech are the only defenses to intercept Bachmeier twice.

Bachmeier didn’t beat Arizona with his arm talent. BYU’s quarterback had an unflappable moxie. And his 6-2, 230-pound frame — the exact same size as Arizona middle linebacker Taye Brown — was tough to bring down, which is why he had a career-high 22 rushing attempts, while Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and BYU running back L.J. Martin had 25 carries for 162 yards and a touchdown.

The 258 rushing yards allowed to BYU was a season-high for Arizona’s defense — the most since allowing over 300 yards on the ground at UCF in 2024.

Bachmeier fumbled the ball on BYU’s final possession of the game inside the red zone, which was recovered by the Cougars. Multiple plays later, Bachmeier scored a rushing touchdown to send the game into overtime.

“He’s super efficient in everything he does,” Gonzales said. “He doesn’t get rattled. We intercepted him twice last year and he was still calm as can be on that last drive when they needed a touchdown. … He fumbles the ball and we don’t come up with it. It didn’t matter. It did not rattle him one bit. For a true freshman to play with that kind of composure, it’s unbelievable. … Everything he does when he runs the ball, he falls forward.

“That was the beginning of ‘Danny Gonzales can’t stop the quarterback power.’ We’re going to watch it and see it again over and over. Can we stop it or not?”

Added Gonzales: “There’s a reason he’s a really good quarterback. … I think Bear is elite, he’s tough and everything he does, he falls forward. … If we don’t give up 258 yards rushing, we have a chance to play in the conference championship game. That was my fail to our kids. That’s why I take it personal.”

The following week, Houston quarterback Conner Weigman and the Cougars rushed for 238 yards. In the final six games of the season, including Arizona’s loss to SMU in the Holiday Bowl, the Wildcats surrendered an average of 147.3 yards per game.

Arizona allowed minus-7 rushing yards to NAU last week, the fewest rushing yards allowed by the Wildcats since 2006. Arizona’s linebacker trio of Brown, Chase Kennedy and Georgetown transfer Cooper Blomstrom combined for 24 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two pass deflections and 2.5 sacks — and were the Wildcats’ top three tacklers in the opener.

BYU — and Bachmeier — is a different animal. The Cougars have rushed for 200-plus yards in six games since 2025 and were one of four Big 12 teams to rush for over 300 yards last week.

Bachmeier is in his second season under BYU head coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. Bachmeier, a Murietta, California native, was a highly touted recruit who signed to play at Stanford instead of Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon, Michigan, Utah and BYU. When Bachmeier was an early enrollee in 2025, Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was fired, which allowed Bachmeier to transfer. And he chose BYU, as did his older brother, Tiger Bachmeier.

The younger Bachmeier succeeded former quarterback Jake Retzlaff as the starter and led the Cougars to a Big 12 championship appearance and a 12-2 record. Bachmeier was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week seven times last season. Bachmeier has 3,231 yards, 18 touchdowns, seven interceptions, 557 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in his BYU career.

“He’s a versatile quarterback,” said Arizona linebacker Chase Kennedy. “He’s big, mobile, strong, so we gotta come at him physical and run to the ball with more than one body and just hit him.”

Bachmeier is one of the biggest reasons why Gonzales started preparing for the BYU game less than two days after the Wildcats’ 2025 season ended. Vacation didn’t start until BYU game prep was done.

Gonzales spent a hefty chunk of the offseason game-planning against Arizona’s scheduled opponents this season, especially BYU. Some people binge-watch TV shows. Gonzales breaks down film.

True story: Gonzales, while on a family vacation in the Bahamas, dreamt about West Virginia and Rich Rodriguez’s offense blowing out Arizona. The next day, Gonzales broke down West Virginia film on a Bahamian beach.

When Gonzales was named defensive coordinator in the offseason between the 2024 and ‘25 seasons, he circled Kansas State and dual-threat quarterback Avery Johnson, who had 110 rushing yards in a win over Arizona in Manhattan in 2024. The following season in Tucson, with Gonzales at defensive coordinator, Johnson had -16 rushing yards.

Like this season, Arizona had games before the Wildcats’ first major test. Gonzales acknowledged not looking over opponents like Hawaii and Weber State, but once it gets to game week of the game, “then you go back to your notes and break out your notes for Kansas State.”

Gonzales has eight months’ worth of game-planning and prep for BYU. Now that the NAU game is history, it’s bear-hunting season for the Wildcats. Limiting Bachmeier’s legs could be the deciding factor on Saturday.

“Bear Bachmeier is a freaking awesome football player,” Gonzales said. “He’s tough as hell. He’s a badass, he’s a great leader and there’s a reason they won so many games last year. ... He manifests a positive attitude for those guys and I think he’s unbelievable. It’s why they win so many games.”