BYU has a chance to make another statement in Week 2, but the Cougars won’t be climbing the AP Poll in a vacuum.
After rolling past Utah Tech in the opener, BYU still slid one spot to No. 15.
That leaves plenty of room to rise if the Cougars handle Arizona at home and a few teams ahead of them stumble elsewhere on Saturday. Arizona has already drawn votes and sits just outside the top 25, so this is no throwaway matchup for AP voters either.
The good news for BYU is that the teams sitting 5-10 spots ahead of it are all favored this week. The catch is that SP+ says the slate is far from clean, giving those five teams only a 35% chance to go 5-0. That means at least one upset is more likely than not, and that kind of shake-up could open the door for the Cougars.
One of the biggest games to watch is Arizona State at Texas A&M. It matters for BYU, but it also matters for the Big 12 as a whole.
If the conference wants more national respect, it needs wins over the Big Ten and SEC, and the Sun Devils get that shot on Saturday. SP+ gives Arizona State just a 13% chance to pull it off.
Michigan is another team hovering near BYU’s neighborhood in the rankings. After a rough showing in Week 1, the Wolverines host No.
11 Oklahoma, and SP+ gives them a 33% shot to win. If Michigan gets the upset, the Wolverines could jump right back into the top 15 and move ahead of BYU.
On the flip side, a ranked SEC loss would still help the Cougars’ cause.
No. 12 Alabama is also on the road, visiting Kentucky. SP+ says the Crimson Tide have a 71% chance to win, and that matchup will be competing with BYU-Arizona for attention.
Texas Tech is another team to keep an eye on. The Red Raiders are heavily favored, but they didn’t look as sharp as expected in Week 1, and Oregon State pushed Houston on the road. Upsets happen in games like that, and a Texas Tech loss would help BYU climb, even if it would also be a hit to the Big 12’s standing.
Then there’s one of the wildest possibilities on the board: Oklahoma State hosting No. 6 Oregon. After an ugly opener, the Cowboys would need a miracle, but if they pull it off, it would help BYU and the Big 12 as a whole.
BYU still has to do its part against Arizona. But with a few ranked teams in danger and several matchups carrying real upset potential, this weekend could give the Cougars a path upward in the AP Poll.
In Other News...
BYU Showed Something Different In The Second Half At Arizona
Down at halftime in Tucson, No. 15 BYU came out of the break looking like a different team and finished with a 28-17 win over Arizona. The Cougars leaned on a strong rushing drive to open the second half, got meaningful production from players such as Kyler Kasper and Tausili Akana, and began to tilt the game with a steadier, more physical approach after the intermission.
Arizona still had a chance to flip the pressure back onto BYU before the Cougars defense shut the door with a key fourth-down stop. From there, BYUs pass rush started to squeeze the Wildcats late, and the Cougars spent the final stretch controlling the flow instead of chasing it, a meaningful shift for a team that had to answer a few questions after the break. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Keeps Winning Big Games Even When The Start Looks Familiar
For a while, it looked a lot like one of those nights when BYU would have to grind through familiar frustration before finding its footing. The Cougars still came away with a Big 12 win over Arizona, and the familiar part of the story was how much the game changed after halftime. Kelly Poppingas defense settled in and Aaron Rodericks offense found better answers after a slow start, giving BYU the kind of second-half control that has started to define these bigger nights.
Tommy Prassas also ended up in the middle of the decisive sequence late, when a key fourth-quarter tackle helped seal the result. It was another reminder that BYU keeps finding a way in these matchups, even when the opening stretch suggests the game might go another direction. The win was Kalani Sitakes sixth straight over Arizona, which says plenty about how often the Cougars have been the team making the right adjustments when these teams meet. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Arizona Win Put A Promising New Core On Display
BYUs win over Arizona offered a useful snapshot of how the Cougars are starting to piece together a new-look core on both sides of the ball. The second-half surge was powered by a defense that kept tightening the screws, with Tausili Akana making his presence felt, Uluave and Cannon DeVries adding key support, and the offense finding enough balance to pull away. It was the kind of performance that suggests the roster is settling into a clearer identity early in the season.
The more interesting part for BYU is how many different names are starting to matter in meaningful spots. Isaiah Glasker emerged as a steady target in the passing game, and Kyler Kaspers scoring impact showed how quickly the receiving group can tilt a game when it gets rolling. Akanas production up front only adds to the sense that this team may have more emerging pieces than expected, which makes the next stretch of games worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]