BYU’s road trip to UCF will come with a small but notable change in the look.
When the No. 2 Cougars take the field in Orlando on Saturday, they’ll wear a royal blue helmet with a white facemask, paired with a white uniform and white pants.
On the surface, that might not jump out to most people. But for BYU uniform watchers, this is a first for the program.
The difference is the white facemask on the royal blue helmet. That combo has never been paired with a white jersey and white pants before.
It also pushes BYU to seven different uniform combinations in seven games this season.
The Cougars have leaned into variety throughout 2026, starting with an all-royal look against Utah Tech in a 63-7 win. They followed that with an all-white setup at Colorado State, then rolled out “Royal Sitake” at TCU, where they won 17-10. After that came a white helmet, navy blue uniform and white pants against Iowa State, then a white helmet, royal blue uniform and white pants in a 28-24 win over Notre Dame.
Saturday’s game at UCF is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MT, and BYU’s next slate of uniform choices is already there on the calendar: Arizona State on October 31 at 1:30 p.m. MT, then trips or home dates with Utah, Baylor, Kansas and Cincinnati still ahead.
For context, BYU has been just as willing to mix things up in recent seasons. In 2025, the Cougars opened with a navy blue helmet, navy blue jersey and white pants in a 69-0 win over Portland State. They wore white helmets with royal blue decals against Stanford and East Carolina, went all-white at Colorado, and used everything from all-Royal Blue against Utah to the Sailor Coug logo at Texas Tech.
That year also included the Big 12 Championship against Texas Tech in all-white helmets and facemasks with royal blue decals, plus the Pop-Tarts Bowl against Georgia Tech in a white helmet with royal blue decals and sprinkle stripes and bumpers, royal blue jersey, and white pants.
The 2024 season brought its own set of looks, including throwback uniforms against Kansas State to honor BYU’s 100th season as a program, all-white at Baylor, and all-Royal Blue at Utah. The Cougars also wore a white jersey and royal blue pants at UCF, where they won 37-24.
A year earlier, the 2023 season featured everything from a royal helmet and white pants against Sam Houston to “Royal Rush” versus Cincinnati and “Royal Sitake” at Oklahoma State.
In Other News...
Rece Davis Turns BYU Win Into Bigger Officiating Fight
The fallout from BYUs win over Notre Dame kept moving well after the final whistle, with ESPNs Rece Davis taking aim at the officiating mistake that ended the game with the Irish out of time for one last snap. The Big 12 later acknowledged the error, saying one second should have remained on the clock and promising a review of the replay officiating process, which only added to the sense that the finish was about more than just one result.
Davis also tied the episode into a broader conversation that has been simmering around the College Football Playoff expansion debate, using the clock mishap as another example of why the sport keeps getting pulled into bigger questions about fairness and control. For BYU, the win stands, but the way it ended has ensured the discussion will linger well beyond one Saturday night. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Got The Statement Win Fans Dreamed About
Bear Bachmeier gave BYU the kind of all-around performance that can change the way a season feels, helping the Cougars outlast Notre Dame in a 28-24 win that should resonate well beyond one Saturday. The sophomore quarterback was effective as a passer and a runner, and the offense found another steady presence in tight end Walker Lyons, who kept showing up as a reliable target when the game tightened up.
The result pushed BYU all the way to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25, a sign of how much national respect the Cougars earned with the victory. For a team trying to prove it belongs in the top tier, the bigger question now is how this performance carries over, because statement wins only matter if they become part of a pattern. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Turned The Big 12 Race Into Something Much Bigger
A wild Saturday across college football sent the AP poll into a spin, and BYU found itself at the center of it. Five of the top seven teams lost on the same day for the first time in the history of the poll, a shakeup driven by results all over the country as Miami moved to No. 1 after a double-overtime win against Florida State and the Cougars climbed to No. 2 after upsetting Notre Dame.
The bigger picture for BYU is how much larger its season has suddenly become. What had been a strong run inside the Big 12 now comes with national relevance, especially after a slate that also saw Ohio State beat Indiana, Tennessee knock off Alabama, Florida upset Texas and Auburn topple Georgia. The rankings changed fast, and with them the spotlight on a BYU team that has turned a conference race into something far more consequential. [Read more 🡒]