BYU wide receiver Parker Kingston (11) evades UCF Knights as he returns a punt for a touchdown during a game held at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret NewsDave McCannSun, November 30, 2025 at 6:33 PM UTC·5 min readIt’s been 18 years since BYU last won a conference championship and with the last quarterback to do it, Max Hall, in attendance on Saturday, freshman Bear Bachmeier marched the Cougars another step in that direction.
BYU’s 41-21 victory against UCF completed the regular season with the same record as Texas Tech (11-1, 8-1). All that’s left to decide the Big 12 champion and automatic qualifier into the College Football Playoff is a rematch in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday (10 a.m., ABC).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“The next best thing to a 12-0 year is 11-1, which we are,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “Our only loss was to a top-five ranked Texas Tech (29-7), so we are looking forward to the rematch.”
The Cougars capped their first unbeaten season at home since 2020 with a 20-point win against the Knights. Desperate to keep their own postseason hopes alive, UCF charged out of the gate and scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions.
BYU’s response hinged on three key plays to produce the Cougars’ 22nd victory in the last 25 games.
Bear to Tiger
Facing third-and-6 at their own 39-yard line, Bachmeier dropped back to pass. BYU’s sluggish start already had them down 14-0 and the possibility of forcing another first-quarter punt had the Knights salivating.
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) and wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier (19) smile as they walk off the field after the game against the UCF Knights at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret NewsUCF brought pressure and hit Bachmeier just as he made his throw. Flailing off target, the ball fell into the arms of Tiger Bachmeier, who happened to be in the area. The older brother used a flashy spin move to elude the defense just enough to get the 6 yards needed for a first down.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was a heck of a play by Tiger because I wasn’t throwing it to him,” Bachmeier said. “I got hit and it was a lucky deal and Tiger ended up catching it. It was a good momentum swing, and we executed from there.”
The Cougars capped the nine-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by LJ Martin to trigger BYU’s 41-7 scoring spree the rest of the way.
To the house
With the Cougars leading 24-14 with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter, UCF punter Anthony Venneri booted the ball from the Knights’ 16-yard line. A sack by Jack Kelly on the previous play forced UCF to surrender the possession.
Parker Kingston waited for the 39-yard kick with big plans.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was a middle return, and I knew if I got a little help up front we would be able to take one back,” Kingston said. “We had talked about it all week.”
Kingston, who was dealing with the aftermath of food poisoning over the Thanksgiving holiday, got the help he was looking for. The shifty junior from Layton zigged and zagged and then bolted to the end zone to extend the lead to 31-14.
Hitting a jackpot
Sitake is no stranger to gambling on fourth down. Following a UCF touchdown to cut BYU’s lead to 10, the Cougars faced fourth-and-3 at the Knights’ 46. The head coach kept his punting unit on the sideline.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUCF braced for a run from either Bachmeier or Martin, the Big 12’s leading rusher. Instead, they got something they weren’t ready for.
“LJ was gashing them,” said Kingston, whose role in the offense was elevated when Chase Roberts was ruled out to rest his sore hamstring. “With our motions, (the Knights) weren’t able to follow and they’d get lost and we were able to open up the middle of the field.”
Bachmeier faked the handoff to Martin and patiently waited for Kingston to cross and then he hit him in stride for a 46-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 38-21.
Between running, returning and receiving, Kingston amassed a career best 181 all-purpose yards and became the first player in the Big 12 to have 100+ yards receiving, a punt return touchdown, and a receiving touchdown in the same game in nine years.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMax and Bear
Hall is the winningest quarterback in program history, amassing a 32-7 record over three seasons (2007-09). Bachmeier is the first true freshman to start a season opener at BYU and the first to go 11-1 in his debut.
With a victory against Texas Tech on Saturday, the gap between the young and the older will get smaller. Bachmeier was a toddler the last time BYU won a conference championship (2007) and Hall was the quarterback.
In addition, the only time the Cougars have won at AT&T Stadium in Arlington was a 14-13 upset against No. 3 Oklahoma in the 2009 season opener — and Hall was the quarterback.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBachmeier can accomplish both. As for catching Hall’s win total – time will tell, but the freshman is off to an unprecedented start.
BYU's No. 15 Max Hall looks for an open receiver as BYU and Oklahoma play at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Texas, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. | Scott G. Winterton, Deseret NewsDave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
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