BYU Lost Its Star QB This Summer. Now It’s One of the Best Teams in College Football

BYU had a storybook season in 2024 thanks in large part to quarterback Jake Retzlaff.

Retzlaff rose from the California junior college ranks to earn the starting job in Provo. Last season, he threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns In mid-November, the Cougars sat atop the Big 12 with an undefeated record, and the College Football Playoff awarded BYU a No. 6 ranking, its highest spot in any national poll since 1996. Affectionately dubbed “BY-Jew,” Retzlaff signed a name, image, and likeness deal with Manischewitz to promote their matzo around Hanukkah. The team capped the season with a win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.

Everything changed for BYU and Retzlaff in May. An unnamed woman from Salt Lake County filed a lawsuit against Retzlaff claiming he raped and strangled her in 2023 during his first year at BYU. (Retzlaff denied the woman’s sexual assault claims and was never charged with a crime.) The allegations would be serious at any school, but BYU has a strict honor code banning students from having premarital sex.

In late June, BYU told Retzlaff he would receive a seven-game suspension for violating its honor code. Retzlaff said in a court filing that he had participated in “consensual” sex with the woman, and she dismissed her case. Retzlaff told his coaches he would be transferring. In July, he made his decision public and announced he’d play for Tulane with his final year of eligibility. Tulane’s Title IX office reportedly vetted Retzlaff before accepting him.

With only weeks to go before the season, BYU needed to find a quarterback on its roster instead of plucking one from the portal, and coaches landed on true freshman Bear Bachmeier.

The Cougars and Bachmeier have thrived. They’re once again undefeated at the top of the Big 12 with a 7–0 record. Bachmeier has thrown for 1,386 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions. On the ground, he’s averaging 4.4 yards per carry and punched the ball across the goal line eight times himself.

The Cougars established their place as the team to beat in the Big 12 this weekend when they defeated rival Utah, ranked No. 23 heading into the game. After the 24–21 win, students stormed the field—and crowd-surfed school president Shane Reese—and one booster, Crumbl founder Jason McGowan, immediately promised to pay any fine from the conference. The conference hasn’t announced any fine for BYU yet.

BYU climbed to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 poll. The Cougars play Iowa State on Saturday, but will get their biggest test of the season in their next game against Texas Tech, currently ranked No. 14.

Down in the Big Easy, Tulane has only dropped one of its seven games and is unbeaten in American conference play.

Retzlaff has found his footing: He’s thrown for 1,428 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception, and run for 450 yards and eight touchdowns. On Saturday, he threw two touchdowns in the final two minutes to beat Army.

Retzlaff left Provo, but he still has plenty of ties to the school. He’s dating BYU softball player Jaelynn Lambert, and before the season, said he has “a lot of love” for BYU football, calling Cougars coach Kalani Sitake his “family.” As for Manischewitz, a spokesperson for the company told Front Office Sports this summer that his one-year deal ending in June had not been renewed, and he has not posted about the brand this season.

Tulane handled business against two of its three power conference matchups, beating Northwestern and Duke before falling to Ole Miss. The team even received 37 votes in the AP poll this week. They’re still a long way from making the expanded CFP, though, with undefeated Navy and No. 18 South Florida also in the AAC.