BYU’s rise in the Big 12 has created a pretty good problem: there are several wins that can make a strong case as the one that changed everything.
Over the last two seasons, the Cougars are 23-4 overall, their best back-to-back run since 1984-85, when they went 24-3, rolled through the WAC and won the national championship. In conference play, Kalani Sitake’s teams are 16-4, and they’ve done it while showing up on national television and staying in the hunt for the Big 12 title again this fall.
So which win stands out as the one that best legitimized BYU as a Big 12 force?
Deseret News sports writer Jay Drew weighed in on the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week, and he leaned toward the Cougars’ 22-21 win over Utah last season.
“That’s a good question. I’ve got to go back to beating Utah last year,” Drew said.
“That game turned out to be huge. Utah only lost two games all season - to BYU and Texas Tech.
I hope that’s not recency bias, but that game stands out as absolutely huge.”
That game came down to the final seconds in Salt Lake City, where Will Ferrin drilled a 44-yard field goal with three seconds left. The kick finished off an 11-play, 65-yard drive and included a defensive holding call against Utah that helped extend the winning march.
There’s also a strong argument for BYU’s 38-9 rout of No. 13 Kansas State on Sept.
21, 2024. The Cougars poured in 31 unanswered points over a stretch that began with the final 2:10 of the second quarter and ran through the first 4:15 of the third, turning a tight game into a blowout in Provo.
That win pushed BYU to 4-0 and into the AP Top 25 at No. 22.
Drew pointed to another eye-opening moment, too: BYU’s 36-14 win over No. 23 Colorado in the 2024 Alamo Bowl.
“It was. Especially with all the publicity on Deion (Sanders) and his team,” Drew said.
“I think sometimes we tend to forget bowl games because there are always excuses: ‘Well they weren’t motivated or didn’t want to be there’ and so on. There were a lot of eyeballs watching that game.”
That night, LJ Martin ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns while BYU’s defense shut down Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. The game drew an Alamo Bowl record 8 million viewers on ABC, and the No. 17 Cougars finished the season 11-2.
BYU kept stacking wins in 2025, and Drew mentioned the 41-27 comeback at Iowa State as another one that mattered. The Cougars trailed 24-10 before rallying in Ames, where junior receiver Parker Kingston caught seven passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore safety Faletau Satuala finished it with a 40-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter, keeping BYU unbeaten at 8-0 and pushing the Cougars into the top 10.
“That was a big one, too,” Drew said. “I don’t know if you have ever been to Ames and how difficult it is to win in that stadium and just how rabid that fan base is. That was really an impressive win for BYU.”
The Cougars’ 2025 run also included a 33-27 double-overtime win at Arizona, where Bear Bachmeier ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then scored on a 7-yard run in the second OT before BYU’s defense stopped the Wildcats on downs. There was also a 24-21 win over No.
23 Utah in Provo, sealed when Martin rushed for 122 yards and Bachmeier powered 22 yards through the Utah defense for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the No. 15 Cougars ahead 24-14.
And BYU closed the 2025 season with a 25-21 Pop-Tarts Bowl win over No. 22 Georgia Tech, even without a fully healthy lineup.
Bachmeier was slowed by a sprained ankle, Martin was out after shoulder surgery, and junior cornerback Evan Johnson ended it with an interception in the end zone with six seconds left. The No.
12 Cougars finished 12-2.
In the end, Drew said the answer depends on what you value most, but he made it clear BYU belongs in the upper tier of the league conversation.
“I think BYU deserves to be in the conversation. There is a lot that goes into it.
I think you have to put BYU at or near the top,” Drew said. “Texas Tech may beg to differ.
They did win the conference championship last year in football and they are as good as BYU in basketball, or they have been, which are the two marquee sports. I would say it’s either Texas Tech or BYU.
I think you could make a case for either. As far as TV ratings go, I think BYU is probably No. 1 in that way.”
Drew also offered his preseason Big 12 top five, putting Texas Tech first, followed by BYU, Utah, Arizona and Houston.
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