College football’s preseason projections may have the usual favorites sitting near the top, but Josh Pate sees a team that could crash the playoff conversation: BYU.
On Josh Pate’s College Football Show, the analyst pointed to the Cougars as a real threat in the Big 12 and said he likes what BYU brings into the season.
“I am betting with this schedule, and that roster, (BYU) is a legitimate playoff threat,” Pate said. “I imagine the vibe out there, too.
Just picture them, regardless of what happened out there with Texas Tech, picture them in isolation, and the only team they couldn’t beat last year was Texas Tech, and otherwise ran the table. Then they kept most of their players, including their quarterback … I’d think the vibes are pretty high.”
That belief isn’t coming out of nowhere. BYU has won at least 11 games in each of the past two seasons, and last year’s run ended with a loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game. The Cougars also enter this year with much of the roster intact, including the quarterback Pate referenced.
The offseason only added to the sense that BYU could be positioned for another push. Kalani Sitake was reportedly a target for multiple major programs in the latest coaching cycle, but he stayed put and will keep leading the Cougars.
There’s also a wrinkle in the Big 12 race that could matter. Texas Tech lost its star quarterback because of a gambling-related issue, which opens the door a bit wider for the rest of the league.
Since joining the Big 12, BYU has gone 17-10 in conference play and is coming off an 8-1 mark in league games last season. If the Cougars can turn that into a Big 12 title, a College Football Playoff berth would almost certainly follow.
So the question hanging over BYU now is simple: can the Cougars knock off Texas Tech and finish the job in 2026?
In Other News...
Bear And Tiger Bachmeier Give BYU Fans A First Concert To Remember
Bear and Tiger Bachmeier traded helmets for guitars in American Fork, putting on a free concert at the Harrington Center for the Arts as part of a summer series that gave BYU fans a different kind of show. The football brothers were joined by their uncle Don and a handful of teammates, turning the event into something that felt less like a one-off novelty and more like a team gathering with a soundtrack, built around country and rock covers.
The night carried an added layer of familiarity for Cougar fans when Kalani Sitake showed up and took part in the final performance, underscoring how quickly the Bachmeiers have become part of the programs broader summer scene. With Bear and Tiger each taking a solo turn and the set moving through a BYU-friendly mix of songs, the concert ended with the kind of moment that usually belongs to the stadium, not a theater, leaving the crowd with one last singalong to remember. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Opens Camp With Major Offensive Jobs Still Up For Grabs
BYU opened fall camp with a familiar mix of optimism and unfinished business, even as the quarterback picture is already settled. The Cougars bring back enough experience on both sides of the ball to feel good about their foundation, but there are still important jobs to sort out before the season starts, especially along the offensive front and in the pass-catching group.
The most interesting camp conversations are likely to come on the edges, where the roster has depth but no clear final answer yet. Defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga pointed to defensive end as a particularly crowded group, with several players in the mix for snaps, while the offense is still sorting through who will line up at wide receiver and at left guard, two spots that could shape how smooth the unit looks once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Bronco Mendenhall Still Cant Get Over BYUs One Of A Kind Fanbase
Bronco Mendenhall spent a decade on the BYU sideline, long enough to see plenty of football highs and lows, but he still talks about the schools reach like it caught him off guard. Since his coaching days in Provo, BYU has only grown more visible as a Big 12 program, competitive enough to stay in the leagues mix even without a conference title yet, and the fan base remains a defining part of the job for anyone who takes it on.
Mendenhalls perspective helps explain why the Cougars keep feeling like a different kind of college football stop, especially with the programs momentum carrying into 2026. BYU is set up with a returning starting quarterback for the first time since 2022, LJ Martin back after earning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors, and a defense bringing back top-10 national production, all of which only adds to the buzz around a team whose supporters have a way of making their presence known everywhere. [Read more 🡒]