Kalani Sitake has cultivated quite a winning culture over at BYU. The team is in impeccable form this season, emerging as a contender for the Big 12 this season. While Sitake is the brains of the operation, his man on the pitch, Bear Bachmeier, has been causing quite the stir. While there has been a lot of talk about the man he replaced, Bachmeier has hardly looked out of place.

For those unaware, Sitake and the BYU Cougars previously had Jake Retzlaff under center. However, Retzlaff was embroiled in a sexual assault case earlier in May. While he has denied all allegations and has not been charged, the quarterback was suspended by BYU for seven games for violating their honor code regarding premarital sex. As a result, he switched to Tulane while Bear Bachmeier took over at Brigham.

Speaking on Wake Up Barstool, head coach Kalani Sitake gave a glowing review of his true freshman quarterback. Sitake has been impressed with Bachmeier’s improvement and his ability to learn quickly. “We saw something special in him right from the beginning and his ability to learn and study, get better every day. I’ve mentioned it before, he’s a learning machine.”

It helped Bachmeier that he didn’t have to do a lot in the first few games of the season. In Week 1, BYU beat Portland State 69-0, and all QB1 did was throw 11 passes and complete 7 of them. He still managed 97 yards and three touchdowns. Those were the signs of things to come. Even in the 27-3 win over Stanford, Bachmeier threw for 175 yards.

Deion Sanders’ Colorado got to see not only his passing prowess but also his ground game. He threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 98 yards in a close 24-21 encounter. Further, Sitake also spoke about his role and how he reminds players like Bachmeier to play their best.

“My role as a head coach is just to let these guys have fun. When it all comes down to it, it’s still a game that we all love, and if we’re going to get them to perform at their best, they need to go back to when they remember it being a fun thing and enjoyable and not really so worried and stressed out about the end result.”

The Cougars have been riding high with Bear Bachmeier under center. With their win over Iowa State last week, they are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12. The win also saw Bachmeier garner a lot of praise for his continued excellence on the gridiron.

Bear Bachmeier earns QB of the week after Iowa State masterclass

As Kalani Sitake explained, Bear Bachmeier has been rapidly improving week after week. The 6-2, 230-pound true freshman balled out in the 41-27 win against Iowa State. Bachmeier threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns while adding 49 yards and a rushing score. As a result, he made it into FOX Sports’ Gus Johnson’s “GOT IT” team as well.

“I’m putting this man on everyone’s radar,” Johnson said in his video on Bachmeier. “They said starting as the first true freshman in BYU history was impossible. Too complex a system. Too big of a stage. But the Bear doesn’t do fear, he hunts it.” Following the road win over the Cyclones, the Cougars are top of the Big 12 and ranked No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

“Bear Force One” also emerged as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. Bachmeier, along with seven others, earned the honors via the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s online fan voting contest. The other Manning Award Stars of the Week were Kyron Drones (Virginia Tech), Mason Heintschel (Pittsburgh), Haynes King (Georgia Tech), Brendon Lewis (Memphis), Arch Manning (Texas), Drew Mestemaker (North Texas), and Marcel Reed (Texas A&M).

Following a bye week, Bear Bachmeier and the Cougars will return in action against Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium on Nov.8.