BYU is walking into 2026 with a label that would have sounded ambitious not long ago: Big 12 favorite.
That’s where the Cougars landed in a coaches poll conducted by the On3 Sports Network at Big 12 Media Day, with BYU finishing ahead of defending champion Texas Tech, Utah and Houston. For a program that entered the league just four years ago, it’s a striking place to be. It also says plenty about how far Kalani Sitake’s team has come since a rough 2023, when BYU took its lumps against most conference opponents.
The rise has been real. BYU outperformed expectations in both 2024 and 2025, and now the conversation has shifted from surprise success to whether the Cougars can actually handle the weight of the hype.
On paper, there’s plenty to like.
Bear Bachmeier is back after an enormously successful 2025 season, and the sophomore dual-threat quarterback should be even better this fall. He’ll have to do it without his top three targets from a year ago - Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston and tight end Carsen Ryan - but BYU has pieces around him.
LJ Martin returns at running back, several notable offensive linemen are back, and the Cougars added help at tight end with Oregon transfer Roger Saleapaga and USC transfer Walker Lyons. Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper joins the receiver room as well.
The defense brings back a lot, too. BYU lost linebacker Jack Kelly, defensive end Logan Lutui and safety Tanner Wall, but the return of linebacker Isaiah Glasker, cornerback Evan Johnson, defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa and safety Faletau Satuala gives the Cougars a strong base on that side of the ball.
That’s why the preseason respect makes sense. It’s also why the expectations are so heavy. The assumption now is that BYU can turn all of this into a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth, with the hope of doing better than Texas Tech did after its quarterfinal loss to Oregon last season.
But the path is a lot messier than the ranking suggests.
BYU’s 2025 season was full of narrow escapes, and that matters when projecting forward. The Arizona game in October is the clearest example: Bachmeier had to score in the second overtime to win it, after another run just to force overtime, and offensive lineman Kyle Sfarcioc came up with a crucial fumble recovery that could easily have gone the other way. The Cougars also had to rally against Colorado and Iowa State before reaching the Big 12 championship game, where Texas Tech handed them another ugly loss.
That’s the caution flag. Even with a 12-2 finish, BYU’s margin for error was still thin, and a few different breaks could have left the record looking much less impressive. There’s no guarantee those same bounces show up again.
There’s another issue, too, and it starts on the back end of the defense.
Tanner Wall was the kind of safety who made everything look cleaner than it really was. He was the last line of defense, the security blanket, the player who seemed to be in the right place when BYU needed one more stop.
His departure matters, and replacing that kind of experience and instinct won’t be easy. Satuala returns, but he plays more like a linebacker than a traditional safety, so the pressure falls on Raider Damuni and sophomore Tommy Prassas to help fill the void.
And the coaching changes only make that task tougher. Defensive coordinator and safeties coach Jay Hill is gone, along with cornerbacks coach Jenaro Gilford, which adds another layer of difficulty to preserving BYU’s strong long-pass defense.
There’s also the question of whether the Cougars can recreate the threat they had on the outside. Roberts and Kingston weren’t pure deep-ball burners, but they forced defenses to pay attention. Replacing that kind of coverage stress is no small thing, and it’s not clear BYU has an easy answer there.
So yes, the preseason billing is deserved. The roster explains it.
The results explain it. But the gap between being favored and actually finishing first is where this season will be decided.
In Other News...
BYU Suddenly Has A Major Defensive Question Before Camp
As the Big 12 wrapped up its annual media days and preseason buzz turned toward the 2026 college football season, BYU found itself dealing with a reminder that summer storylines can change fast. The Cougars were already looking ahead to a defense that was supposed to lean on Faletau Satuala after Tanner Walls departure for the NFL, making the safety one of the more important pieces on the roster heading into camp.
Satualas presence matters because BYU is trying to build on a 12-2 season and keep the momentum from one of the programs best recent runs. Any uncertainty at a spot that was expected to anchor the back end of the defense adds a little more intrigue to August, especially with camp approaching and the Cougars still sorting out how their new-look defense will come together. [Read more 🡒]
AJ Dybantsa Faces A Familiar Problem On His Biggest Stage Yet
The NBA Summer League is about to put a familiar matchup back in the spotlight, with Washington and Utah set for a primetime meeting that will also serve as AJ Dybantsas debut for the Wizards after he went first overall in the 2026 NBA Draft. On the other side, Darryn Peterson has already looked comfortable in summer action for the Jazz, giving the game a little extra edge for anyone who has followed the two young stars from the start.
Peterson has had the upper hand every time these two have crossed paths before, a detail that hangs over this one even without needing much explanation. Their history stretches back through high school and college, and now the stage is bigger, the stakes are louder, and the next chapter arrives with both players trying to establish themselves in front of a national audience. [Read more 🡒]
BYU May Already Have Its Next Freshman Breakout In Camp
Spring camp gave BYU a fresh look at a rookie class that already seems to have a few players pushing for real roles, even if most of the group is still in the early stages of development. Wide receiver Jaron Pula and Legend Glasker are among the newcomers drawing attention on offense, while the defensive line has its own cluster of intriguing bodies in Braxton Lindsey, Nusi Taumoepeau and Ulavai Fetuli. Add in offensive tackle Bott Mulitalo, and the Cougars have a freshman group that looks more like a long-term pipeline than a class waiting quietly in the wings.
The most interesting part for BYU is how quickly some of those names are forcing their way into the conversation. Spring observations and coaching comments suggest there are already freshmen who look capable of helping sooner than expected, especially on the edges and in the trenches where depth charts can change fast. The question now is which of these first-year players can turn camp momentum into actual playing time once the season starts, and which ones will keep building toward a bigger role down the road. [Read more 🡒]