PROVO - BYU opens the 2026 season with the kind of matchup that can turn into a showcase if the Cougars want it to.
Utah Tech comes to LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN+, and on paper this is a massive mismatch.
BYU is coming off a 2025 season that pushed the program into rare air: an 11-1 regular season, a loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock, another defeat to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, and then a Pop-Tarts Bowl win that gave the Cougars 12 victories for just the fifth time in school history. It was also the hardest schedule BYU has ever faced, and still the Cougars kept winning.
That followed the 2024 breakthrough and turned into something bigger in 2025: proof that BYU’s rise was not a one-year flash. Kalani Sitake’s two-year record now sits at 23-4, the second-best stretch in program history, trailing only the 1984 national title run. Big 12 coaches noticed, too, voting BYU as the preseason league favorite at media days.
My preseason magazine Pick Six Previews slotted BYU second in the Big 12 race and No. 17 in the country, and that ranking matches the broader sense around this team: expectations are no longer about whether BYU belongs, but how high it can climb.
Utah Tech, meanwhile, is coming off a rough 2025 in a coaching transition year. The Trailblazers finished 2-10, which ended a three-year run of FCS playoff appearances, and Lance Anderson is entering his third season after they were picked last in the 13-team Big Sky Conference. Last week, they were beaten 54-0 by defending FCS national champion Montana State.
On offense, BYU has every reason to expect fireworks. The Cougars scored 31.4 points per game in 2025, good for 32nd in the FBS and 27th in opponent-adjusted offense.
Bear Bachmeier, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, became the only true freshman in America to top 3,500 total yards and turned a preseason question into a strength. His 22-yard touchdown run to beat Utah was one of the season’s signature moments, and the call matched the play: "there's a Bear on the loose in Provo!"
Bachmeier is back, and so is the usual second-year-starting bump that often comes with a quarterback settling in. He’ll have help from All-Big 12 running back LJ Martin and three returning starters on the offensive line - Bruce Mitchell, Kyle Sfarcioc, and Andrew Gentry - all of whom landed on the East-West Shrine Bowl NFL draft watch List.
BYU also worked the transfer portal for more firepower, bringing in USC co-starter Walker Lyons at tight end, former four-star receiver Kyler Kasper, and lineman Paki Finau, who started games at Washington.
The numbers say the Cougars should have no issue moving the ball. BYU finished just outside the top 25 in opponent-adjusted offense last year, and there’s every reason to expect that group to move into the top 20 in 2026. Utah Tech’s defense gave up 29.3 points per game in 2025 and was ranked 83rd in FCS, and Montana State jumped out to a 40-0 lead before clearing the bench.
The other side of the ball looks even sturdier for BYU. Retention was the priority this offseason, especially after coordinator Jay Hill left for Kyle Whittingham’s new Michigan program, but not a single defensive starter transferred out. Kelly Poppinga was promoted from within and focused on keeping the two-deep together.
Seven starters return, along with nose tackle Justin Kirkland after an injury season. Isaiah Glasker already gives the linebacker room an All-Big 12 playmaker, and the staff added another with All-ACC linebacker Cade Uluave from California.
Keanu Tanuvasa is back at defensive tackle, one of the reasons BYU earned the No. 3 spot in my Big 12 defensive line rankings. BYU and Texas Tech are the only Big 12 defenses to place in the top three at each position unit.
The secondary is loaded as well, with Evan Johnson back at corner and All-American Faletau Satuala returning at safety. That’s why this still profiles as a top-25 defense nationally in 2026.
Utah Tech’s quarterback situation is still unsettled after a three-man competition over the summer, and that uncertainty did not disappear after the shutout loss to Montana State. Against BYU, it would take more than a field goal or two for the Trailblazers to string together long drives, no matter whether the Cougars are facing the starters or the backups.
This one has all the makings of a pick-your-score game for BYU. The Cougars should jump out quickly, then the real question becomes how long the starters stay in and how much the coaching staff wants to keep the offense plain before next Saturday night’s Big 12 opener against Arizona in Provo.
In Other News...
Former BYU Transfers Are Popping Up In Some Uncomfortable Places
BYUs transfer list for the 2026 season has already started to leave a few familiar names scattered around the college football map, and not all of those destinations will feel neutral to Cougar fans. McCae Hillstead, once part of BYUs quarterback room, has landed at Utah State and has already won the starting job there, while Jake Griffin is set to suit up for Arizona. Around them, other former Cougars have spread out to UCLA, Iowa State, UAB and Duke, giving BYU followers plenty of chances to run into old personnel in new colors.
The broader picture is even more interesting because the ex-Cougars are not just moving to random outposts. Some have shown up at places like Utah, Michigan, Arizona State and Oklahoma State, which adds an extra layer of familiarity and, in a few cases, a little edge to future matchups and scouting chatter. For a program that is always balancing roster turnover with recruiting momentum, seeing former players pop up in so many corners of the sport is a reminder that the transfer era keeps turning every exit into a potential subplot. [Read more 🡒]
BYU May Have Found A Bigger Role For Tausili Akana
Tausili Akana arrived at BYU with the kind of pedigree that makes people wonder when the production will finally catch up. A former Texas edge prospect and consensus four-star recruit, he came to Provo after two seasons to chase the ceiling that made him such a coveted player in the first place, and the early signs of fall have been encouraging. Akana has added weight, looked better against the run and emerged as the top option at field backer on the initial depth chart, which suggests the Cougars may have found a much larger role for him than the one he carried coming in.
Akana has also sounded comfortable with where he is off the field, pointing to BYU's culture and the development he has gotten from the coaching staff. For a player whose upside has long been part of the conversation, that combination matters, because it often takes both physical growth and the right environment before a gifted transfer turns into a real defensive factor. BYU is hoping this latest version of Akana is closer to the one it envisioned when he first made his way to campus. [Read more 🡒]
USC Fans May Not Love This Name In The Next Coaching Cycle
With the college football season just getting started, the usual early whisper campaign around the next coaching cycle is already taking shape. A new look at the market points to three names that could surface if Power Four jobs open up, with Kliff Kingsbury, Mike Norvell and Kalani Sitake all mentioned as possible fits depending on how the fall unfolds.
Sitakes inclusion is the one that should matter most to BYU fans, even if nothing is imminent and nothing is decided. He has built enough credibility to keep showing up in these kinds of conversations, which is a compliment as much as a warning, because the more successful the Cougars look under him, the more often his name figures to appear whenever a major program starts casting a wide net. [Read more 🡒]