BYU enters Week 11 with its season suddenly on shaky ground, but this matchup with Baylor gives the Cougars a chance to steady things fast. A few weeks ago, BYU was sitting at No. 2 in the country. Now it has dropped two of its last three and is staring at the possibility of missing both the Big 12 Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
The path back starts with a win over Baylor, and the Cougars should like the way this game sets up. Baylor is coming in off victories against UCF and Iowa State, but the Bears’ offense has been a mess. They rank 125th in EPA per rush and 114th in overall offensive success rate, numbers that make it hard to trust them against a stronger opponent.
For BYU, the biggest storyline is Bear Bachmeier. He’s been the engine of the Cougars’ offense, leading the team in both passing and rushing yards, but the turnovers have become a real problem.
Bachmeier has thrown at least one interception in four straight games, and last week against Utah he was picked off four times, a stretch that ultimately swung the game the other way. If BYU is going to keep its playoff hopes alive, that has to stop now.
The Cougars should still be able to move the ball against this Baylor defense, and if Bachmeier takes care of it, BYU should be able to build enough separation to get the win. Baylor can beat lesser teams, but this looks like a tougher ask against a BYU group that needs a response and has the firepower to deliver one.
In Other News...
BYU Is Suddenly At The Center Of A Big 12 Playoff Push
The Big 12s playoff picture has started to look a lot different, and BYU is right in the middle of it. During a recent discussion, Josh Pate and Joel Klatt pointed to Utah, BYU and Texas Tech as teams building strong College Football Playoff cases, with the league suddenly drawing more respect for what its top contenders have done on the field.
For BYU, that matters because the conversation is no longer just about staying relevant in the conference race. The bigger question is whether the Big 12s collective resume can stack up with the nations best, and whether the league could land as many as three playoff bids. In a selection process increasingly driven by resumes rather than brand names, BYU finds itself in a spot where every week can reshape both its own path and the conferences ceiling. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Defense Has A Turnover Problem At The Worst Time
BYUs defense has been doing plenty of the hard part this fall, getting hands on passes and forcing quarterbacks to fit the ball into tighter windows. The Cougars still lead the nation in pass breakups, but the turnover column has not followed, and the secondary has now gone five games without an interception as the 2026 season has worn on.
Injuries to Raider Damuni and Evan Johnson have thinned out the back end, and Mississippi State transfer Jayven Williams has been asked to help steady things while also adding his own pass breakups. Coaches and players know the frustration is in finishing those plays, not just contesting them, and they remain confident the interceptions will come if the defense keeps putting itself in position. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Faces A Bigger Baylor Test Than Fans Might Think
The loss to Utah was frustrating enough on its own, but it also offered a reminder that BYU can still be pulled into the kind of tight, mistake-heavy game that leaves little margin for error. Utah made the most of red-zone chances and turned four Bear Bachmeier interceptions into the difference in a 28-20 result, even as BYU stayed in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings and moved on to the next challenge on the schedule.
Baylor is the kind of follow-up opponent that can make that Utah game feel even more relevant. The Bears bring a defense that deserves real attention, and BYUs offensive picture is still shaped by the impact of LJ Martins injury, which adds another layer to a game that already asks plenty of the Cougars. If BYU wants to avoid letting one loss turn into a broader wobble, this is the sort of matchup that will show whether the response is immediate or still a work in progress. [Read more 🡒]