This will be Bear Bachmeier's first appearance in Rice-Eccles Stadium. Can he handle it?
So far in his young career, Bachmeier has shown remarkable resolve and poise. He's competitive, driven, confident and efficient. His worst performance came at Texas Tech, when he was injured early in the game. He also struggled in the Big 12 championship game in Arlington last year when the Red Raiders' defense swarmed the Cougar offense.
In Saturday's 27-20 win over Arizona State at home, Bachmeier led the Cougars to their longest drive of the season in the fourth quarter to seal the win late. It was a must-have touchdown. He was the captain of getting it done with two fourth-down conversions, one from his own 14, and a 53-yard pass to Legend Glasker.
He's a gamer.
But is he ready to play at Utah?
At Rice-Eccles, we saw Houston's storied former Texas A&M five-star quarterback Conner Weigman look good before he melted down in the second half. He looked bewildered, shocked and a little stunned in the fourth quarter.
Utah pressured Weigman, chased him and knocked him down on a safety blitz, which caused a fumble on a critical game-winning try possession at the end.
Atmosphere matters.
We saw the same deer-in-the-headlights thing happen to Notre Dame's star quarterback CJ Carr at LaVell Edwards Stadium. In that environment, he struggled against a fired-up BYU defense. He overthrew passes, he rushed things. On his face, he looked, well, a little shocked.
I saw that same thing on the face of Miami quarterback Craig Erickson in Provo back in 1990. He was the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy and his team was ranked No. 1 and defending champs. He struggled. On the sidelines in the second half, his teammates were deriding him. He looked like a lost lamb.
Such things can happen to quarterbacks under pressure on the road, and the Utah and BYU home fields are prime real estate for visiting quarterbacks to feel the heat — even at 10 a.m. kickoffs.
This is the setting when No. 7 BYU meets No. 3 and undefeated Utah for leadership of the Big 12, where the Utes sit alone atop the standings before kickoff.
One quarterback who knows this situation is former Cougar John Beck.
He stepped into this rivalry game and felt the heat back in the day. At the end, he found a way to connect with tight end Johnny Harline with no time left on the clock for a historic play and victory in a hard-fought, passionate, emotional game, where neither team deserved to lose and either could have won.
Most of these games go that way.
This one could be no different.
Utah is favored to defeat BYU at Rice-Eccles on Saturday.
"I think the big road games are one of the things that make college football so exciting," said Beck, now a QB whisperer with 3DQB in Southern California. At 45, Beck remains a BYU favorite and has tutored the best quarterbacks in the NCAA and NFL in his current job.
"The challenge it presents (road games), the way the crowd can be silenced when you hit a big third-down play, there are definitely things you have to prepare for. But it also makes it such a fun atmosphere."
Beck said the challenges are real for a quarterback like Bachmeier, Carr or Weigman.
"From a mental and emotional standpoint, you have to play the game like any other game," said Beck.
"That's how you keep yourself relaxed and be able to play with poise. But you also have to expect the crowd to try to sway the momentum and have an impact on communication at the line or in the huddle.
"For a lot of players, once the ball is snapped, the crowd and its noise kind of disappear until that ball is caught or a player is making a play; then the crowd comes back into vision and hearing."
The focal point Saturday will be QBs Bachmeier and Devon Dampier. The position always draws so much attention from the gallery.
But experts will tell you the game will be won or lost in the trenches.
Bill Parcells: "I don't care how good or bad your QB is. If your O-line is getting their (expletive) whipped in the trenches, all bets are off. Games are won in the trenches."
BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) warms up with his team before a game against Arizona State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
