Bear Bachmeier completed 19 of 27 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 98 yards to lead No. 25 BYU to a 24-21 victory over Colorado in its Big 12 opener on Saturday night in Boulder, Colo.
Chase Roberts had two touchdown catches and Cody Hagen added a rushing score for the Cougars (4-0, 1-0).
BYU went into its bag of tricks as Hagen scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 32-yard reverse that featured a pair of fake handoffs before his scamper into the end zone gave the Cougars a 24-21 fourth-quarter lead.
Kaidon Salter completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards and an interception. Salter also rushed 17 times for 49 yards and a touchdown for the Buffaloes (2-3, 0-2).
Dre’Lon Miller had a rushing and receiving touchdown for the Buffaloes.
The Cougars outgained the Buffaloes 387-291. BYU held a 3-0 edge in sacks as Jack Kelly, Faletau Satuala and Isaiah Glasker each had one. Glasker’s interception with 50 seconds left sealed the win for BYU.
Bachmeier found an open Roberts for a 4-yard touchdown on fourth down that gave the Cougars a 17-14 lead — their first of the game — with 5:26 to play in the third quarter.
On the next Colorado drive, Salter hit Miller for a touchdown on a 19-yard grab and the Buffaloes were back on top at 21-17.
The Buffaloes opened the game with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with Salter’s 3-yard rushing score.
Later in the first quarter, Miller’s 5-yard plunge gave Colorado a 14-0 advantage. A Will Ferrin field goal cut the Colorado lead to 14-3 with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
After a quiet second quarter, Bachemier hit Roberts for a 5-yard score 46 seconds before halftime and BYU trailed 14-10 heading into the locker room.
