BYU is picking up some real steam. They jumped up to #13 in the AP Poll, have now won 6 in a row, and are 6-0 at the midpoint of the season. There are some questions about the AP Poll. Most people dont like how its put together because its just media voters casting their votes, which allows for some biased opinions. Take BYU for instance. They only went up 1 spot last week from 14 to 13. Lets look at a couple of questionable teams ahead of BYU in the AP Poll.

• #12 Notre Dame: (5-1) two top 20 wins but one loss to unranked Northern Illinois at home
• #11 Tennessee (5-1) two top 25 wins but one loss to unranked Arkansas
• #9 Iowa St (6-0) has one top 25 win against Iowa on the road

BYU should be #10 or #11, right next to Iowa St. BYU hasn’t lost and have now beaten two teams in the top 25. How is Iowa St, who has a top 25 win on the road and is also undefeated, that much better than BYU who has two ranked wins and is also undefeated? But they are separated by 4 spots in the AP Poll? Some people dont put too much weight into the AP Poll, and I think we shouldn’t either, until the real rankings come out. The CFP rankings are first unveiled on November 5th. Thats when we get to forget the AP Poll and solely focus on the CFP rankings.

Until then, we just get to voice our opinions and problems with the AP Poll. Just look at ESPN’s power rankings for this past week. BYU is ranked #10, right next to Iowa St, who is ranked #9. Hmm. If you also want to see what ESPN’s college football playoff predictions as of this last week, here they are. Out of the 13 analysts they asked, 10 of them have BYU in the playoff. Wow, I never thought I would say those words!

Game Recap vs Arizona

I expected this game to be A LOT closer. My prediction for this game was a 28-24, BYU win. It ended up being a 41-19, BYU win. BYU forced 4 turnovers, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble. They also played very complimentary football. They had 250 passing yards and almost 150 rushing yards.

BYU Offense

On offense, BYU looked pretty good. They havent been lighting it up by any means, but they just do the job and get it done efficiently. Retzlaff had 218 passing yards and 2 TDs with 0 INTs, and Kingston had a 33 yard trick play pass for a TD. Ropati and Martin both came back from injury and were a huge boost to the running game.

They got the majority the carries with Ropati rushing 9 times for 65 yards and Martin rushing 11 times for 49 yards and 1 TD. Martin also had 3 receptions for 46 yards and 1 TD. He was the player of the game, in my eyes. Almost 100 total yards and 2 TDs was great to have back as another weapon.

Lassiter led the team in receiving with 86 yards on 5 catches. Roberts had 61 yards and 5 catches and 1 TD. Hill had 3 catches for 29 yards. Kingston had 1 catch for 20 yards and 1 TD. Lassiter and Roberts are still the top options for Retzlaff but getting the ball to Hill, Kingston, and Martin helped opened up Roberts and Lassiter.

BYU Defense

Where do I even start with this defense? They forced 4 turnovers. They made Noah Fifita have his worst QBR in his whole career. BYU got a lot of pressure on him and made him have to make quick decisions that he didnt want to make. The Cougars only had 1 sack for the game, but the constant pressure was great and threw off the timing of everything. BYU also had 5 tackles for loss.

The interceptions came by Glasker at the end of the game, which he returned for a TD, Robinson, which he tipped to himself. One of the best interceptions that I have ever seen, and Wall who intercepted Fifita on a pass in the end zone. Another great interception as well flew across the whole right side of the field to intercept it. It was a great overall game.

Game Preview vs Oklahoma St

This game was one of the hardest games for BYU entering the season. But things have changed since then. BYU went from unranked to #13, 6-0, and 3-0 in the Big 12 and Oklahoma St went from #17 to unranked, 3-3, and 0-3 in the Big 12. These teams are going opposite ways right now. But that doesnt mean that this game isnt going to be hard. This team can still play, I believe.

Oklahoma St Offense

Oklahoma St’s offense, coming into the year, was supposed to be very good. They had Alan Bowman staying for his senior year after throwing for almost 4,000 yards last year and Ollie Gordon was a running back preseason all first team Big 12. Bowman has thrown fro 12 TDs and 8 Ints this year and in his last game, he wasnt very good. He had 2 INts, 1 TD, and only 116 passing yards.

Oklahoma St has talked about wanitng to make a QB change this week against BYU. And it looks like it could be more than just a 2 QB race. Three QBs are going to get the chance to start.

Meanwhile, Gordon has still be good, but not given the ball a lot in the last 3 games, due to Oklahoma St falling behind early. In his first 3 games, he had 62 carries, 216 rushing yards, and 4 TDs. In the last 3 games, he had 39 carries, 168 rushing yards, and 0 TDs. He is their focal point on offense. Especially with them possibly making a QB change, they are going to rely on Gordon. BYU has to be ready to stack the box and stop Gordon.

Oklahoma St Defense

The defense hasnt really been that bad, other than the last two weeks. In the last two weeks, they have given up 42 and 38 points. Kansas St put up 559 total yards and 42 points on them. West Virginia put up 558 total yards and 38 points. Where both Kansas St and West Virginia made their living was the running game. West Virginia rushed the ball for 389 yards and Kansas St rushed for 300 yards. Look for BYU to try and run the ball early to establish that and see if they get any big plays that may open up the passing game.

The defense is ailing right now, but they do have some playmakers. 6 of their 11 sacks so far this year have come LBs or Ss. BYU has to be prepared to block those guys who are not on the line coming and blitzing. They also have 6 INts on the year, which isnt too shabby. Their corners are great at pass deflections and intercepting the ball, so nothing has to be forced. Retzlaff has to be smart with the ball.

Prediction

Each game is making me more and more nervous. Especially games like this, where it WAS a good team, who is capable of beating BYU, they are just on a 3 game losing streak. ESPN Analytics givers BYU at 63% chance to win and Vegas has them favored by 9. BYU offense should be able to put up some big numbers if they follow West Virginia and Kansas St’s suit. Add that to the defense being incredible for BYU and Oklahoma St possibly having a QB change all while this game is at home in Provo at 8:15 pm, give me BYU. I think BYU wins this game by 13. I think itll be 27-14, BYU.

BYU Basketball News

BYU basketball hosted JJ Mandaquit and AJ Dybantsa over the weekend. Both top 75 recruits and AJ being the #1 recruit in the nation for 2025. That was huge to have both of those guys come. They were able to talk with Puka Nacua, Steve Young, and others while there and they got to run out with the football team. I hope that BYU made an impression on these guys because they would be a great duo here.

Preseason AP Poll

In other basketball news, we are just under 3 weeks now till the first BYU basketball game!! I am pumped. The basketball preseason AP poll was released this week. BYU did get some votes, 14, putting them at #35 in the nation. I think thats a good starting spot for them. Still enough room for them to prove people wrong just like what the football team is doing.

The Big 12 had 5 teams in the top 10 in #1 Kansas, #4 Houston, #5 Iowa St, #8 Baylor, and #10 Arizona. Its the most teams EVER by a conference to have in the top 10 of the preseason poll. This basketball season is going to be bonkers! BYU will have 10 ranked games possibly with the earliest being an exciting tournament over Thanksgiving.

BYU is in a tournament with #24 ranked Ole Miss and #14 ranked Purdue. The Cougars start off the tournament against #24 Ole Miss, and if the win, could play #14 Purdue, if Purdue wins their first game. It could be a fun tournament for sure!

For conference top 25 play, BYU will start with #4 Houston in Houston, #20 Cincinnati in Provo, #8 Baylor in Provo, #10 Arizona in Provo, #20 Cincinnati in Cincinnati, #1 Kansas in Provo, #10 Arizona in Arizona, and #5 Iowa St in Iowa. Thats a possible 10 games in the top 25 play! A third of BYUs season could be against top 25 teams, that is crazy! Out of 20 conference games, 8 will be in the top 25, with 4 on the road, and 4 at home.

Thank you for reading! Please share with all of your family and friends! Go Cougs!