"This is a s/o to Jake Retzlaff": BYU's 69-0 win draws hilarious reactions win from CFB fans as Cougars thump Portland State

The BYU Cougars kicked off their 2025 season with a statement win. In their season opener against Portland State on Saturday, Kalani Sitake's team secured a 69-0 victory over the Portland State Vikings at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

After quarterback Jake Retzlaff left to join Tulane in July, the Cougars named freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier as the QB1 for the season, and he didn't disappoint. Bachmeier completed 7 of 11 passes attempted for 97 yards, with three passing touchdowns, while rushing for two more touchdowns.

Fans shared their reactions to BYU's dominating victory in their season opener.

"This is a s/o to Jack Retzlaff," one tweeted.

The Cougars were on an offensive roll in the first half as Portland State struggled to keep up with Kalani Sitake's team. Bear Bachmeier found Chase Roberts with a four-yard TD pass in the first quarter after Jack Kelly had opened the scoring for his team with a 54-yard blocked field goal return.

Sitake's relentless offense continued in the second quarter, resulting in their quarterback scoring two rushing touchdowns, along with a five-yard TD pass to Noah Moeaki and a 22-yard TD pass to Carsen Ryan. WR Cody Hagen also found himself on the scoreboard after a 57-yard rushing TD.

The Cougars put up a dominating 49-0 lead at halftime. Will Fern scored two field goals in the third quarter to further extend the lead. Dominique McKenzie and Charlie Miska found the endzone to rub salt in the wounds of Portland State in the fourth quarter.

BYU HC Kalani Sitake opens up about dominating season opening victory against Portland State

In the post-game interview, BYU coach Kalani Sitake opened up about starting his 10th season with the Cougars with a dominating victory.

He also said that despite the victory, there are still areas of improvement they will focus on with each passing day.

"Happy we got the win- proud of a lot of things I saw in the game," Sitake said as per BYUCougars.com.

"Obviously, I'm gonna be a coach and say it wasn't perfect. There are a lot of places I think we can improve on, but I was really proud of the entire team from beginning to end."

The Cougars next face the Stanford Cardinal on Sept. 6. It will be broadcast on ESPN at 10:15 p.m. ET. Can Sitake's team continue this winning momentum?

About the author

Priyam is a College Sports content executive at Sportskeeda with a master's in Advertising and Marketing Management and over two years of experience as a writer. When it comes to reporting, Priyam believes doing a technical deep dive is one of his biggest strengths and he loves to dissect plays on the field and factor out the strengths/weaknesses of players.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Priyam sees Nick Saban as the greatest coach of all time. He is also rooting for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milore after following his progress over the years. The Michigan Wolverines football team is another of his favorite programs and it will be interesting to see how both these teams perform in new coaching eras.

When he’s not reporting, Priyam is usually at the gym or indulging in music. He has been a guitarist and a drummer for the past 17 years and finds his time of peace when playing music.

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Edited by Bhargav