At least one familiar face will be waiting for Stanford when the Cardinal play at BYU on Saturday night.
Less than five months after battling for a starting job in spring camp at Stanford, Bear Bachmeier will start at quarterback for the Cougars in the non-conference game in Provo. (Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m. and the game is being broadcast on ESPN.)
Bachmeier, a Riverside County native, was ranked as the 11th best QB prospect in the nation by ESPN and split first-team reps this spring with Cardinal redshirt freshman Elijah Brown.
But Bachmeier entered the transfer portal before the end of camp in the wake of Stanford’s dismissal of head coach Troy Taylor before spring practice. He transferred to BYU in May, and after initially being projected as a backup this season, won the starting job after returning starter Jake Retzlaff withdrew from the school in July.
Last weekend Bachmeier became the first true-freshman quarterback to ever start a season-opener for BYU, a 69-0 rout of Portland State. Stanford had a bye last weekend after a season-opening 23-20 loss at Hawaii.
Stanford University football head coach Frank Reich during practice on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
“My impressions of him were very positive,” Cardinal interim coach Frank Reich said of Bachmeier. “Just looking at the film and watching the game, he’s an explosive athlete, has a strong arm, and is a threat to run the ball.”
Bachmeier’s brother, junior wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier, also transferred from Stanford to BYU during the offseason and is expected to play on Saturday.
“It’s a pretty unique opportunity to play them,” Cardinal senior safety Scotty Edwards said. “Two guys that obviously we know quite well and think they’re both great players and excited for them and their opportunities, but I think our team is going to be ready to go.”
Stanford Cardinal safety Scotty Edwards (21) reacts after making an interception in the third quarter against the Sacramento State Hornets during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Lachlan Cunningham)
Despite the first-hand knowledge on both sides – the Bachmeiers’ familiarity with Stanford’s system, and Stanford’s experience facing the Bachmeiers in practice — Reich said there won’t be an advantage to either team.
“My experience with that kind of thing is that it usually gets overrated,” Reich said. “I’m not particularly worried about what they’re telling them about what we do because honestly we’ve changed a good bit from when they were here. And, you know, they run a different scheme than we run. And so I think right now, we’re early in the season. I think both teams are focused on our players and what we do more than anything else.”
Bear Bachmeier was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week for his debut performance against Portland State. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also had five carries for 32 yards and two rushing touchdowns despite playing just one half.
Bear Bachmeier #47 of the Brigham Young Cougars takes a selfie with fans after their win against the Portland State Vikings at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
But Saturday’s game will be his first against an FBS opponent. While Stanford suffered a disappointing 23-20 loss to Hawaii in Reich’s debut, it did hold up well against Hawaii’s run-and-shoot offense. The Rainbow Warriors gained 210 yards on 40 pass attempts. `
“Even though we were banged up in the secondary, I was really happy with how we covered,” Reich said. “And then we still had four sacks and they’re a team that gets the ball out quick. Still able to hold them to five yards an attempt, so I think that was a strength in week one.”
However, Stanford’s passing attack was even worse than Hawaii’s. Sixth-year Ben Gulbranson, who transferred in from Oregon State in April and beat out Brown in fall camp to become the starting QB, completed 15 of 30 passes for 109 yards, with an interception.
Stanford University running back Champ Hampton (34) and quarterback Ben Gulbrandson (15) take part in football practice on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Now he must face a blitz-happy Cougars defense with much more talent than Hawaii had.
“As heartbreaking as any loss is, certainly a week one loss after a whole offseason of working hard and all the anticipation and excitement around what we were doing and how we were feeling, and then for it not to go well, we just have to learn from that and move on and stay the course,” Reich said. “So that’s really the message to Ben and that’s the message to the whole team. Continue to believe in what we’re doing, continue to believe in yourself and we just have to focus on executing our schemes.”
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If Stanford has any advantage as an almost three-touchdown underdog, it’s that it has an extra week of rest after playing on Aug. 23. But BYU has the most votes of any team not in the AP Top 25, and will have the benefit of an electric night atmosphere.
Edwards grew up in Holladay, Utah, rooting for BYU, where his mom teaches and his brother is a student.
“I have a lot of family ties so I’m pretty tapped in with BYU, so I know there’s going to be a lot of people there, it’s going to be loud,” Edwards said. “This is the first week with school back. It’s going to be an exciting environment to play in and I can’t wait.”
