BYU didn’t just get mentioned on College GameDay’s first show before Week 1 - the Cougars got real championship support.
With the season set to kick off Saturday against Utah Tech, the GameDay crew weighed in on the Big 12 race and came away split. BYU picked up a few votes, while Texas Tech also drew strong backing in a prediction segment that centered on the league’s top contenders.
Desmond Howard went with BYU to take the Big 12 title. “Give me some Bear Bachmeier of BYU. Go Cougs,” Howard said.
Nick Saban framed the conference as a two-team battle, but still leaned away from the Cougars. “I think it's kind of a two-team race in that league,” Saban said.
“But BYU couldn't beat Texas Tech last year. I don't think they will beat them this year.”
Pat McAfee, a West Virginia alum, backed his own school. “Anything can happen in the BIg 12,” McAfee said.
That drew a quick jab from Kirk Herbstreit. “We're trying to pick winners here, what are we doing?” Herbstreit said.
Lainey Wilson also landed on BYU. “Give me BYU,” Wilson said. “Cause they're the Cougars and I'm a Cougar - I married me a young man.”
Herbstreit then made his own pick, siding with Texas Tech. “I'm going with Texas Tech,” Herbstreit said.
“Will Hammond, remember Sorsby all the noise about that. Will Hammond's healthy.
I like Texas Tech. They're going to have a big year.”
The Cougars and Red Raiders are the only Big 12 teams starting the season in the top 15, and that matters in a conference that has never sent two teams to the playoff in the same season. The league’s preseason favorites haven’t exactly carried the load lately, either.
In 2024, Oklahoma State and Utah were the two favorites to win the league, and neither team even reached a bowl game. In 2025, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Arizona State also fell short of preseason expectations.
That’s why the pressure sits squarely on BYU and Texas Tech to justify the hype. If both teams handle it, the Big 12 could be setting itself up for a real playoff path in 2026.
In Other News...
BYU Defense Suddenly Faces A Bigger Question After Opening Win
BYUs season started the right way on the scoreboard, but the opener against Utah Tech left the Cougars with an immediate test on defense. Veteran safety Raider Damuni went down with a leg injury and had to be carried off the field, a sobering sight for a unit that was otherwise trying to establish its footing in the first game of 2026. Coach Kalani Sitake said the team is waiting on an MRI to get a clearer read on the injury, which means the full picture is still coming into focus.
The uncertainty lands at a tricky time because BYU was already managing its depth with linebacker Isaiah Glasker held out as a precaution so he could be rested for the next matchup against Arizona. For a defense looking to build momentum off a win, the immediate concern now is how quickly it can get healthy enough to keep its plans intact. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Is Back In The Playoff Debate For A Bigger Reason
Takeo Spikes has put BYU back into the Big 12 playoff conversation, and not just as a team trying to hang around the league race. In a discussion about where the conference is headed, Spikes said he expects the Big 12 to land two College Football Playoff teams in 2026 and singled out BYU and Texas Tech as the programs most likely to get there. It is the kind of endorsement that gets attention in Provo because it frames BYU not as an outsider hoping for a break, but as a legitimate piece of the conference's ceiling.
The wider debate around the Big 12 is only getting more interesting because other voices still see Utah as a serious contender, even with coaching changes in the picture, which underscores how crowded the league's upper tier could become. For BYU, the appeal of Spikes' prediction is less about the exact year and more about the larger message: the Cougars are being mentioned in the same breath as teams with playoff-level ambition. Whether that translates into a real path through the conference will be the question hanging over the next few seasons. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDay Just Gave BYU Fans A Big 12 Reason To Believe
ESPNs College GameDay season kickoff offered BYU fans a little extra juice before the Big 12 race even got rolling. The panel spent part of the conversation sizing up the conferences best path to the title, with teams like Texas Tech and West Virginia also getting attention in the discussion about prospects and matchups.
For BYU, the encouraging part was seeing the Cougars surface in a room full of national voices as a legitimate contender. Different analysts leaned in different directions on the champion pick, and the split alone says plenty about how open the Big 12 picture looks heading into the season. [Read more 🡒]