BYU

2-0AP #11
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Big 12 · Kalani Sitake, year 11 (86-45) · LaVell Edwards Stadium · 63,470 · 64,243 avg in 2026

The nationAP #11 · Coaches #13up 4 from last week
The model#10 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #18 (+16.8) · FPI #18
The marketBYU by 17.5at Colorado State · our model 78% BYU · a number, not a pick

LastW 28–17 vs Arizona · Sat Sep 12 · Tausili Akana 2.5 sacks, 2.5 TFL, 4 tackles

Nextat Colorado State · Sat Sep 19 · 7:30 pm ET · Canvas Stadium · BYU by 17.5 · series 39-27-3, won the last 7 · Game preview

Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2

Zeitgeist statureNational Program I#42 all-time– holding
one line from Power Program III
The era · 2014 through 2025

The CFP Era

12 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.

Era record 100-53 12 seasons
Best season 12-2 2025
TRAJECTORY · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program Quality AP Rank (inverted) CFP Appearance
'14'16'18'20'22'24NOW
CHAPTERS · 12 seasons · tap to open the archive
'14 8-5 '15 9-4 '16 9-4 '17 4-9 '18 7-6 '19 7-6 '20 10-1 '21 10-2 '22 8-5 '23 5-7 '24 11-2 '25 12-2

BYU's 2014–2025 record is 100-53. The era is still being written; the CFP line is the one the program is arguing for.

Era win %
.653
Ranked seasons (AP)
8/12
Best AP finish
#12
THE RIVALRY · BYU × UTAH

Holy War

97 meetings since 1922 See the whole history →
ALL-TIME 34-59-4 since 1922 · .350 win rate
STREAK W3 BYU rolling
TROPHY The Rivalry Itself No trophy — the season is the argument
NEXT 2026 season date set by conference
Heat trajectory

Week-by-week rivalry heat isn't tracked yet for this matchup — check back as the 2026-27 season approaches and real fan-intel signal accumulates.

Fan Heat Index

Who's more worked up right now

Cross-fanbase rivalry sentiment for this matchup hasn't been measured yet this week — both sides show as neutral until real signal comes in.

BYU
Awaiting
Utah
Awaiting
BYU —
Utah —

THE LAST 5 · year-by-year

  1. W 2025 Win 24–21
  2. W 2024 Win 22–21
  3. W 2021 Win 26–17
  4. L 2019 Loss 12–30
  5. L 2018 Loss 27–35

Program outlook

BYU won a national title in 1984 from outside the traditional power structure, spent four decades in conference exile, and in 2025 went 12-2 in the Big 12 before a 34-7 title-game loss to Texas Tech ended the Playoff dream in the same night. The patience is not quite paid yet.

Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs

LaVell Edwards threw the ball when the rest of college football ran it. He built a passing dynasty in Provo — Ty Detmer's 1990 Heisman, Steve Young, Jim McMahon's Miracle Bowl, the 1984 national championship from outside the WAC's supposed ceiling — and gave BYU an identity inseparable from its faith: disciplined, principled, unconventional, patient. LaVell Edwards Stadium bears his name. The program he built is the reason 'Quarterback U' is a phrase. The LDS Church has a worldwide following, and the football team carries a recognizable place in it — 'Rise and Shout' rings in venues far from Provo, because returned missionaries end up everywhere.

Kalani Sitake, a BYU alum, turned down Penn State to stay in Provo after winning Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2025. That decision moved belief in the fanbase more than any recruiting class could. The 2025 Cougars went 12-2, finished 8-1 in the Big 12 in the regular season, and reached the conference championship — where a 34-7 blowout by Texas Tech ended the Playoff run before it started. Freshman QB Bear Bachmeier returns alongside Sitake, making the 2026 roster one of the youngest with the most upside in the league.

The 2026 question is the same one the Big 12 move was always going to ask eventually: can BYU win a Power-conference title outright, not just go 12-2 in the regular season? The drought since 1984 is real. The credentials to end it are the most legitimate they have been in forty years. The schedule will say whether 2025 was a near-miss or a preview.

On the field

The passing tradition, evolved: Sitake runs a pro-style framework rooted in Edwards' principles — quick reads, designed space for the QB, a philosophy that trusts the quarterback to distribute rather than overwhelm. Bear Bachmeier operates within structured dropback concepts with motion-generated openings. The Honor Code is structural to roster management; BYU recruits differently and doesn't apologize for it. Continuity and faith are the competitive advantages the program points to when asked why it plays on its own terms.

program outlook · as of 2026-06-14

All-time record · BYU

BYU has won 58% of its games since 1922 — 68% at home, 49% on the road.

641-447-26 all-time · 102 seasons · 1922–2026

Home 358-151-20
Away 260-267-5
Neutral 23-29-1
35% 1920s
55% 1930s
32% 1940s
34% 1950s
42% 1960s
62% 1970s
79% 1980s
68% 1990s
65% 2000s
59% 2010s
75% 2020s

Coaching Era · BYU

Kalani Sitake

Kalani Sitake into year 11 — a multi-decade era by modern CFB standards.

Era Kalani Sitake · 2016–presentPrev: Bronco Mendenhall (2014–2015)OC: Aaron RoderickPrev OC: Jeff Grimes (2018–2020)DC: Kelly PoppingaPrev DC: Jay Hill (2023–2025)
The full CFP-era story →The full coaching lineage →
11 years · era

Program memory

What this program never forgets

Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.

1980

Hail Mary vs SMU

Jim McMahon's 'Miracle Bowl' comeback caps a 46-45 Holiday Bowl win

Miracle

1984 national championship

A 13-0 season ends with the title — a non-blue-blood out of the WAC wins it all

1990

Detmer's Heisman

Ty Detmer wins the Heisman, the crown of the QB-U lineage

Moment of the season — so far · BYU · 2026

Won 63-7 vs Utah Tech

Week 1 of 2026. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.

Decisive Margin

NFL Draft Pipeline

2022–2026

BYU has sent 7 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — none in the first round.

Developing. Pipeline emerging.

7 picks · 0 in round 1
#63 Kingsley Suamataia Offensive Tackle · 2024 · Kansas City
#106 Blake Freeland Offensive Tackle · 2023 · Indianapolis
#151 Tyler Allgeier Running Back · 2022 · Atlanta · #6/315 final season
#60 all-time · 10 first-round picksthe talent factory →

More in this tab

Ladder finishHow far up the ladder this season got.

Season standing · 2026 · 2-0 · AP #11

BYU is 11th in the AP poll at 2-0 — a top-15 team.

Top 15 nationally. NY6-bowl conversation.

Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
ConferenceWhere this team sits in this season's conference standings.

Big 12 standing · 2026

1st in the Big 12

BYU sits at the top of the Big 12 at 1-0. Everyone else is chasing.

#ProgramRecord
1BYU1-0
–Arizona State0-0
–Baylor0-0
–Cincinnati0-0
–Colorado0-0
–Houston0-0
–Iowa State0-0
–Kansas0-0
–Kansas State0-0
–Oklahoma State0-0
–TCU0-0
–Texas Tech0-0
–UCF0-0
–Utah0-0
–West Virginia0-0
16Arizona0-1
Coaching historyEvery hire and departure on record, not just the current era.

Coaching history

  • Hired Kalani Sitake2016
  • Bronco Mendenhall departs99-43, 11 seasons
  • Hired Bronco Mendenhall2005
  • Gary Crowton departs26-23, 4 seasons
  • Hired Gary Crowton2001
  • LaVell Edwards departs257-101-3, 29 seasons
  • Hired LaVell Edwards1972
  • Tommy Hudspeth departs39-42-1, 8 seasons
Coordinator lineageOffense and defense under each coordinator.

Unit lineage

BYU’s offense and defense, by coordinator

FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.

Offense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014–2015 · Robert Anae2016–2017 · Ty Detmer2018–2020 · Jeff Grimes2021–2026 · Aaron Roderick
Defense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014–2015 · Nick Howell2016–2022 · Ilaisa Tuiaki2023–2025 · Jay Hill2026 · Kelly Poppinga
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customsThe gameday customs unique to this program.

Rituals

Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.

Rise and Shout

since 1947

more

The fight song. The whole stadium stands and shouts on the chorus. Originated 1947, but the 1984 national-title run made it permanent. BYU fans on the road sing it louder than the home crowd.

Cosmo the Cougar

since 1953

more

Cosmo (1953-) became a viral mascot in the 2010s via gymnastic halftime routines and choreographed dance numbers. The most-followed CFB mascot on Instagram. Marketing department mostly carries the brand.

Honor Code Adherence

since 1949

more

BYU's Honor Code (no alcohol, no premarital sex, dress code, weekly church attendance for LDS students) shapes who recruits, who transfers in, and the program's national identity. Inseparable from the football product.

Cultural identityWhat college football loses if this program didn't exist.
BowlsEvery bowl this program's played, and how it did.

Bowl / Postseason Ledger

Recent postseason (2014-2025): 6-4

Most recent: 2025 — win 25-21 (home). Last 5 postseason: 4-1.

20252024202220212020
Reddit blowupsThe plays that blew up on r/CFB.

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