BYU’s 3-0 start has the Cougars sitting in a spot that looked very real in the preseason and even more real now: inside the College Football Playoff conversation.
The latest bowl projections are all over the map, but they all point to the same big picture. BYU is being slotted into the CFP by multiple national outlets, with several projections sending the Cougars into matchups that would put them right in the thick of the sport’s biggest stage.
SI’s Bryan Fischer is the boldest of the bunch. He projects BYU to host LSU in a first-round playoff game, a setup that would bring Lane Kiffin and the Tigers to LaVell Edwards Stadium. That would be quite a scene.
Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach also have BYU in the playoff, and both land on Alabama as the opponent. Bonagura has the Cougars as the 9-seed heading to Alabama, while Schlabach puts BYU in the 8-seed and hosting the Crimson Tide. Either way, it’s a heavyweight draw.
On3’s Brett McMurphy has BYU opening the CFP on the road at reigning national champion Indiana. The Hoosiers are described as strong defensively, though TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover has not yet gotten that offense rolling at the same level.
USA Today is the most optimistic outlet on BYU’s path. Its projection has the Cougars hosting Penn State and winning that first-round game, then moving on to face Notre Dame again in the quarterfinals.
CBS Sports takes a different route, sending BYU to Ohio State as a 10-seed in the College Football Playoff.
Bleacher Report also has BYU matched up with Alabama in Tuscaloosa in the first round. In that bracket, the winner would move on to face Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
However the bracket shakes out, the common thread is clear: BYU’s fast start has put it in the mix for a playoff berth, and the projections are starting to treat the Cougars like a real postseason threat.
In Other News...
BYU's Hot Start Just Got Overshadowed By A Very Strange Bear Bachmeier Story
BYUs undefeated start has been one of the early college football stories worth watching, with sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier helping keep the Cougars on track after a successful previous season. The attention should have stayed on the field during Week 2 against Arizona, where Bachmeier continued to be part of the reason BYU has opened so strongly and now heads into a Week 4 matchup with TCU still unbeaten.
Instead, a very odd off-field story followed him out of that game and into the national conversation. During the Fox Sports broadcast, Robert Griffin III referenced a bizarre family anecdote involving Bachmeier that reportedly came from the quarterback himself before kickoff, and the comment quickly became the kind of unexpected detour that can overshadow even a hot start. For BYU, the football matters most, but this is the sort of strange footnote that lingers until the Cougars get back on the field. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Holy War Dream Could Rise Or Fall On One Early Test
BYUs 2026 Holy War is already drawing plenty of attention, but the path to that November matchup being truly special is a narrow one. For both BYU and Utah to arrive unbeaten and ranked among the nations best, each team would have to clear a difficult opening stretch, and the numbers suggest the Utes are much more likely to get there than the Cougars. Utahs odds of sitting at 8-0 before the meeting are estimated at about 32.5 percent, while BYUs are closer to 6 percent.
For BYU, the biggest early hurdle may be the Notre Dame game, which stands out as both a major threat to an undefeated start and an important piece of any College Football Playoff resume. Put those chances together, and the dream of a November 7 showdown with both rivals unbeaten shrinks to roughly 2 percent, which is why the seasons first big tests could end up shaping the stakes of the Holy War long before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
LJ Martin Is Giving BYU A Breakout Fans Need To See
LJ Martin has already put himself in rare company early in the 2026 college football season, and BYU has reason to pay attention. The ranking of the nations top rushing leaders is still taking shape, but Martins recent work has been enough to put him on the same page as several of the countrys most productive backs, including players who have delivered career-best outings and carried a major share of their offenses.
For BYU, the bigger point is what Martins surge means for a team that can use steady ground production to keep its offense on schedule and take pressure off the rest of the unit. The early numbers suggest this is not just a hot week or two, either, and the question now is whether Martin can keep stacking those performances as the schedule settles in and the competition tightens. [Read more 🡒]