Analysis: Gripping 25-21 win over Georgia Tech in Pop-Tarts Bowl was a microcosm of BYU’s special season

ORLANDO, Fla. — As if 13 tension-filled football games weren’t enough in the regular season and the Big 12 championship, the No. 12 BYU Cougars used the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday afternoon to show the country just who they are, for one final time in 2025.

In front of 34,126 onlookers at Camping World Stadium and a national television audience, the Cougars defeated No. 22 Georgia Tech 25-21 in roughly the same way that they won at least a half-dozen other games in this special season.

That is to say with incredible grit, a never-say-die attitude and belief in the culture that head coach Kalani Sitake has so masterfully installed in Provo.

Like the wins over Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Iowa State and UCF, the Cougars rallied when all seemed lost.

This particular victory — was it the best of the season, all things considered? — included a fast start, a mistake-filled middle stretch and then a spirited comeback for the ages — and a dramatic finish that went BYU’s way when it easily could have gone 9-4 Tech’s way.

Add it all up, and 2025 has to go down as one of the best seasons in school history, if not the best. BYU got its 12th win for the first time since 2001, and of course it had to be closely contested to the bitter end.

Trailing 21-10 at halftime Saturday, the Cougars (12-2) played a final 30 minutes for the ages, shutting out the explosive Yellow Jackets and watching a hobbled Bear Bachmeier and company make just enough plays to pull it out.

Then a defender, Evan Johnson, who had been beaten by a 66-yard bomb on fourth-and-15 deep in BYU territory just four plays prior, made the game-sealing interception, snagging a ball that almost certainly would have been caught for a touchdown.

This is mostly a Universal Studios town, but forgive us for calling it a Hollywood ending — at least for the Cougars.

“Great game, and just really proud of the guys. Proud of the leadership on our team. … Overall, I felt like we got in a rough spot, but we have been in that position before,” Sitake said.

On the other side of the field, after all the confetti had fallen and Pop-Tarts had been dumped on Sitake and even eaten by the colorful coach, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key just wondered what might have been.

“They made one more play than we did,” Key said.

Credit BYU’s defense, in what was quite likely defensive coordinator Jay Hill’s final game at BYU, for making that extra play — which ironically came after a play that would have been shown on every highlight show from here to Seattle.

After Georgia Tech’s Eric Rivers hauled in the 66-yarder from Haynes King to put the Yellow Jackets at BYU’s 18 — credit Johnson for tackling him after a misjudged swipe at the ball — Hill’s defense (playing without star linebacker Jack Kelly) forced three straight incompletions before the game-sealing interception.

“Coach Hill gave me a great call, and I got my opportunity to go make a play,” Johnson said.

BYU safety Tanner Wall said there wasn’t time to console Johnson after the 66-yard pass play but figured the redshirt sophomore was mature enough to overcome it, which he did.

“I think it is a great lesson for life that adversity might strike, but you can’t give up,” said Wall. “… I think the fight coming out in the second half was huge.”

Indeed, BYU shut out Georgia Tech in the second half after the Jackets had put up 198 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Of course, one of those TDs was a gift, as BYU fumbled a kickoff to set the designated visiting team up at its 5 yard line.

BYU also gave away points on its first possession of the second half, as Rodney Shelley intercepted Bachmeier at the goal line on third-and-4.

Take away that play that cost the Cougars four points, a turnover on downs at the Tech 1-yard line in the first quarter when Enoch Nawahine was stopped inches short and the botched kickoff, and this might have been a BYU rout.

But that wouldn’t be fitting for the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which bills itself as the “People’s National Championship.” That’s probably overhyped, but the 2025 game almost certainly will go down as one of the best of the bowl season.

It will also be remembered as the game Bachmeier gutted out after aggravating a left ankle sprain on BYU’s first possession. Bachmeier, who was named the game’s MVP, acknowledged that he was “banged up” going into the game, but wouldn’t put a percentage on it.

He also said he tweaked it again on a run two plays before the big Georgia Tech stop at the goal line.

“I just had to play for my brothers,” Bachmeier said.

The freshman completed 27 of 38 passes for 325 yards and a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chase Roberts for a passer rating of 146.3.

He carried the ball just once, for no yards. King, a senior who was the ACC Player of the Year, was also impressive, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns.

“I missed a throw. You gotta make those plays,” King said of an overthrow to an open tight end the play before Johnson’s interception.

Another key play by BYU’s defense: Keanu Tanuvasa got a hand on a field goal attempt by Aidan Birr when Tech was trying to make it a 24-10 game. Key inexplicably tried the field goal on 4th-and-2 after moving the ball with ease to the BYU 17.

After that, it was all BYU, as the Cougars drove 80 yards in 11 plays and got a two-point conversion run by Bachmeier to trim the deficit to 21-18 with 11:13 remaining.

The game-winning drive came with 5:44 remaining and BYU at its own 30.

Parker Kingston made a big catch on third and 10, and Jovesa Damuni capped the nine-play drive off with a 4-yard touchdown run, the first of his career.

A few calls went against BYU in the first half, but the Cougars also repeatedly shot themselves in the foot to fall behind by 11 points at the break.

Georgia Tech got away with a pick play at the goal line a few plays before its first touchdown, and a third-down pass to the end zone to Roberts fell incomplete as a defender got away with a hold.

On the drive that put Tech ahead 14-10, a phantom facemask penalty on Isaiah Glasker gave the Jackets 15 free yards.

Then again, there was no one to blame for Cody Hagen’s muff of a kickoff that gave the Jackets the ball at the BYU 5 and resulted on an easy TD pass the very next play.

The rest of the half, the Cougars struggled to make routine tackles, committed a costly pass-interference penalty on third and 8 that allowed the Jackets to get a touchdown instead of a field goal and started to get pushed around on the line of scrimmage as the half wore on.

Tech tied it with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, getting the score on fourth and 3 when Trelain Maddox stretched the ball over the goal line.

BYU put together another nice drive, but no flag came from the Big Ten officiating crew on the third-down throw to Roberts from the Tech 4, and BYU had to settle for a 22-yard field goal and 10-7 lead.

BYU’s defense started to crack, as the Jackets scored two touchdowns in the space of 13 seconds, to take the 21-10 lead.

BYU picked up 220 yards in the first half, and finished with 425.

“We have been in this position before,” Sitake said at halftime. “Let’s see how we respond.”

The Cougars’ answer: Check the half-dozen or so other games this season when BYU found itself in a hole.