BYU is reaching back into its history for the biggest home game of the season.
When No. 8 BYU meets No.
2 Notre Dame, the Cougars will be in their classic royal home look, the program announced Monday morning. That means royal jerseys, white pants, and the white helmet with a royal blue facemask - the same combination that defined BYU’s primary identity through the 1980s and much of the 1990s, when the program was at its peak.
It’s a fitting choice for a game with the kind of spotlight BYU rarely gets. The BYU-Notre Dame matchup could end up being one of the most viewed regular-season games in program history, and the Cougars are treating it like a stage to show exactly who they are. Those uniforms were tied to the LaVell Edwards era and the rise of BYU football, and this look remains part of the program’s brand.
There’s also recent evidence that this combination has worked well for the Cougars. The last time BYU wore it was in November in 2025 against TCU, when the Cougars delivered their best performance of the season in a blowout win over a nine-win TCU team.
That also stands in contrast to some of BYU’s previous big-game uniform choices. In 2022 against Notre Dame, BYU went with a blackout combination that did not fit the program’s brand and has not been worn since. Then in 2025 against Texas Tech, another nationally featured game on College GameDay, the Cougars changed the helmet by replacing the classic logo with a Sailor Coug logo.
This time, though, BYU seems to have settled on the look that best matches the occasion. Once the schedule came out, the Notre Dame home game stood out as the most important one on the slate, and BYU responded by selecting a uniform combination that reflects the program’s identity.
The Cougars have now worn six different uniform combinations in six games. They opened against Utah Tech in royal home uniforms with royal helmets.
In the first conference game against Arizona, they used a new combination with white helmets and all royal uniforms. On the first road trip to Colorado State, BYU wore all white with navy trim.
Against TCU, it was all white with royal helmets. Against Iowa State, BYU brought back the classic navy home uniforms for the first time since 2021.
In Other News...
BYU Gets A Clear Warning From UCF Before Provo Showdown
UCF left Stillwater with some encouraging signs on offense, even if the result was another familiar one on the road. Keyone Jenkins turned in his best performance of the season by throwing four touchdowns against No. 18 Oklahoma State, and linebacker Cole Kozlowski was back on the field after gaining an additional year of eligibility. But the Knights still came away with a 42-28 loss, a defeat that kept a long road skid intact and underscored how tough these trips have been.
Now comes a bye week before UCF turns its attention to No. 8 BYU, which will be waiting in Provo with a much different level of stakes. The Knights have shown enough on offense to suggest they can make things interesting, but the late-game mistake against Oklahoma State was a reminder that the margins get thin fast against ranked opponents. For BYU, it is one more sign that the next home test could feature a UCF team that is improving in spots, frustrated by its record away from home, and still trying to put a full game together. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs National Standing Just Got More Real Before Its Biggest Test
BYUs climb into the national conversation looks more legitimate after a weekend that shook up the top of the sport. With Texas falling to Oklahoma and Georgia handling Alabama, the latest Associated Press ballot had room for real movement, and the Cougars were part of that reshuffling alongside the likes of Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Indiana, UCLA, Utah and Ole Miss. For a team trying to prove it belongs in the upper tier, these are the kinds of results that matter as much as anything happening in Provo.
The next step is the one that will really define how durable that standing is. BYU is heading into its biggest test with the kind of ranking attention that can disappear quickly if the performance does not match the rsum, and this AP view of the landscape makes the stakes feel sharper. The Cougars have earned a place in the discussion, but now they have to protect it against an opponent that can change the whole conversation in one afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Got A Huge Win And A New Problem To Solve
BYUs 24-10 win over Iowa State gave the Cougars a sturdy all-around snapshot, and Brandon Gurneys postgame grades helped underline just how many parts were working. Bear Bachmeier earned top marks for the way he handled both the passing game and the run threat, while the defense drew especially strong reviews for the level of execution it showed across the front and at linebacker.
The encouraging part for BYU is that the win did not hinge on one narrow edge, but the grades also point to a familiar coaching challenge: finding more consistency from the pieces around the quarterback. The running backs and offensive line came away with lower marks because the offense did not always move with the same efficiency, leaving the Cougars with a clear area to clean up even after one of their better complete efforts of the season. [Read more 🡒]