BYU gets another shot at home on Saturday afternoon, and this one comes with a Halloween backdrop and a familiar opponent in Arizona State.
The Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season, a 39-31 double-overtime defeat at UCF on Oct. 24. Even with that setback, BYU enters the matchup at 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 play.
Arizona State also played on Oct. 24 and handled Kansas State at home in Tempe, winning 28-17. The Sun Devils arrive in Provo at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
History leans heavily toward Arizona State. The teams have met 29 times, with the Sun Devils holding a 21-8 edge in the series. Saturday’s game will be the 13th meeting between the schools at BYU.
Still, ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Cougars the edge, listing BYU with a 90 percent chance to win.
Kickoff is set for Sat. Oct. 31 at 1:30 p.m.
MT at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. The game will air on FOX.
The broadcast crew will be Connor Onion on play-by-play, Robert Griffin III as analyst and Alexa Landestoy on the sideline.
BYU Sports Nation GameDay will air at 11:30 a.m. MT on BYUtv and byutv.org, with a behind-the-scenes look before kickoff. The post-game edition of BYU Sports Nation GameDay will follow immediately after the final whistle on BYUtv and byutv.org, featuring player and coach interviews, game highlights and analysis.
In Other News...
BYUs UCF Win Looks Different After The Knights Ugly Reality Check
BYUs win over UCF suddenly carries a different kind of weight after the Knights followed that double-overtime thriller with a sobering 41-9 loss to Baylor. What looked at the time like a tough road result against a dangerous opponent now sits in a sharper light, especially with UCFs offense sputtering to a season-low output and failing to find the end zone at all.
Baylor also exposed just how much ground UCF still has to cover in the trenches, piling up 501 yards and seven sacks against the Knights offensive line. The blowout got worse when Keyone Jenkins left with an ankle injury, leaving UCF with more questions than answers heading into the next stretch and giving BYU a little more perspective on what that earlier matchup really meant. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Escaped A Scare And Now Everything Points To Utah
BYU got what it needed at LaVell Edwards Stadium, but not without a few tense moments along the way. The Cougars held off Arizona State 27-20 behind Bear Bachmeiers 236 passing yards and a touchdown, while Sione Moa powered the ground game with two rushing scores, a combination that helped BYU move to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play.
Now the focus shifts to a rivalry game that has a way of revealing exactly how far a team has come. BYU has banked another league win and kept its place near the top of the conference race, but the margin for error is shrinking as the calendar turns toward Utah and all the noise that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Could Finally Benefit From A Playoff Change Fans Will Debate
A proposed move to a 24-team College Football Playoff would stir plenty of debate, especially among fans who worry that a bigger bracket could water down the sports most meaningful stretch. But for programs like BYU, the conversation cuts the other way. A larger field would offer a clearer path into the postseason and reduce the kind of subjective selection drama that has so often left teams on the outside looking in.
The bigger picture is not just about more bids, but about making the postseason feel more inclusive without stripping away the urgency of the regular season. College football has long lived with the tension between access and exclusivity, and the expanded format is being framed as a way to ease scheduling headaches while keeping the stakes high. For BYU, that kind of change could finally turn a familiar frustration into a real opportunity. [Read more 🡒]