People are still doubting BYU. Yes, thats right. Some people dont think that BYU was enough quality wins, event though they have beaten two teams in the current top 25. Vegas also doesn’t believe in BYU. BYU was a 2 point underdog to 3-4 UCF. I get that it was on the road, but thats straight up disrespectful to the #11 team in the nation, at the time.

But BYU beat UCF by 13. At one point, they were ahead by 24. Again, BYU beat the spread. This week, a lot of people are starting to recognize BYU as they are now in the top 10. They have now jumped up to #9 in the nation, are in sole first place in the Big 12, and projected to be the winner of the Big 12 and #4 seed in the CFP. That is INSANE. Top 10 and #4 seed! Who would have thought!

Game Recap vs UCF

BYU started this game off HOT. They were scorching from the kickoff. BYU got the ball first to start the game and went 75 yards in 4 minutes resulting in a TD. Retzlaff scored the touchdown on a 29 yard run. It was impressive and he showed a great burst of speed to score. UCF got the ball for their first drive and punted. BYU then got the ball back, went on a 69 yard drive in 8 minutes, but only came away with a FG. But they never looked back after that. The lead was in the double digits all the way to the end of the game.

At the half, BYU was leading 24-10. They came out for the second half and scored 10 straight points, giving them their largest lead, 34-10. Then BYU got super conservative. BYU made it 34-10 with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The rest of the game they only scored 1 FG while UCF scored 14 points. UCF did put another QB in and he gave them a huge boost that BYU couldnt stop. He scored two touchdowns for them. BYU still came away with the win, but it didn’t look as dominant as it could have.

Offense

BYU played well on offense. Retzlaff was 16/24 for 228 passing yards and 2 TDs with 0 INTs. That is now 2 of his last 3 games with 0 INTs. He has now accounted for 18 passing TDs on the season, along with 3 rushing TDs, 2 of which have come in the last 2 games.

LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati split most of the carries at RB. Martin had 15 carries for 101 yards and 1 TD. He was great with the ball and had his second consecutive 100 yard rushing game. Ropati also provided a nice change of pace going for 13 carries for 83 yards. It is SO nice to have both of these guys back. It has helped the offense A TON. And the run game and offensive line are much improved this season.

Roberts led the team in receiving yards with 75. He had a 62 yard touchdown, after breaking a tackle, that was amazing. Lassiter had 4 catches for 54 yards and Kingston had 4 catches for 37 yards.

BYU also did a great job at controlling the ball. They had 40 minutes and 28 seconds of time of possession. UCF had 19 minutes and 32 seconds. The offense was also much better on 3rd down than all of the games before. They converted at just under 50%, at 7-15.

Defense

This defense has not been the same beast that they were at the beginning of the season. And we do have to cut them some slack as the second and third stringers were in when they gave up the 2 touchdowns to UCF in the fourth quarter. But, this is still a good defense. BYU only had 1 sack on the game, but they had constant pressure in the backfield. They also had 2 tackles for loss and forced 2 interceptions. The first interception was by Glasker who is now starting to pick QBs off more?!?! And the second one was by true freshman and highly touted safety, Faletau Satuala.

Other Football News

BYU has a BYE this week so no game to preview, but there are some interesting games to watch this weekend:

• #4 Ohio St vs #3 Penn St – 10am MT FOX – does the loser fall below BYU at #9? If Penn St loses, they would no longer be undefeated.
• Duke vs #5 Miami – 10am MT ABC – if Miami loses, they should fall below BYU and another undefeated team falls from the ranks.
• #1 Oregon vs Michigan – 1:30pm MT CBS – Oregon has to go on the road to the Big House and if they lose, their undefeated season would be gone. Would they fall past BYU if they lose to an unranked team albeit Michigan?
• Florida vs #2 Georgia – 1:30pm MT ABC – if Georgia loses, they would have 2 losses. Do they fall below BYU after losing to an unranked team?
• Texas Tech vs #11 Iowa St – 1:30pm MT ESPN – if Iowa St wins this, they would be tied with BYU for first in the Big 12 conference…again. If they lose, BYU stays in sole possession of first place. It would also knock off another undefeated team in Iowa St.
• Kentucky vs #7 Tennessee – 5:45pm MT SEC Network – BYU needs teams above them to lose, especially on a BYE week.
• #18 Pitt vs #20 SMU – 6:00pm MT ACC Network – This is a huge game. BYU needs SMU to win this game to make sure they stay in the top 25. It would also knock off another undefeated team in Pitt.

BYU Basketball News

BYU had Chamberlain Burgess visit over this last weekend. He is a top 150 recruit and 4 star PF from Lone Peak High School. He made official visits to BYU and Illinois and was debating between these two teams.

Just this morning, he announced that he committed to BYU! You can read a more detailed breakdown here from Robby McCombs of Vanquish the Foe, but this is what his dad said on why he chose BYU: “He’s choosing BYU over Illinois because of the relationship he has with the coaching staff and the fit he sees with style of play. He loves what Kevin Young is doing so far and the culture he is establishing there.” Thats a pretty high compliment for BYU and the coaching staff, who havent even coached their first game yet. Kevin Young is really good at connecting with recruits, creating a good relationship, and showing the recruits the vision of them at BYU.

Chamberlain Burgess’ mom and dad both played basketball at BYU and his uncle, Chris Burgess, is the current assistant coach. Burgess can play either the PF or C positions. He plays good defense inside, can shoot and space the floor, and is a good passer. Burgess needs to bulk up and add some weight, but he will have plenty of time to do that. He will serve a mission, first, and then join the program and enroll in school to start the 2027 season. You can check out some of his highlights here.

Other Basketball Recruiting News

In some other recruiting news, BYU has picked up the crystal ball prediction, for AJ Dybantsa, the #1 recruit in the nation for 2025. Meaning that AJ is now predicted to go to BYU according to 24/7 sports analyst Travis Branham. He made his prediction this morning after talking to multiple people about AJ.

If you want to know how accurate Branham has been, its super accurate. For the 2025 class so far he is 12/12, 100%, on his predictions. He gets his info from coaches, media, and friends and family of the recruits. His all time prediction success is 93% correct. So, I am NOT saying that its a done deal, but I AM saying, that it now seems VERY LIKELY, 93% sure, that AJ is going to be a BYU Cougar!!!!

Lastly, Xavion Staton, the top 25 recruit, Center, from Las Vegas, has been making official visits this past month or so to Michigan, UNLV, Stanford, and USC. He has his last visit this weekend, to BYU. Staton will visit with BYU and be in Provo on Nov 2nd. He is then going to announce his college decision on Nov 4th, Monday.

I think it bodes well that BYU is his last visit. Similar to AJ Dybantsa, who has BYU as his last visit too. It gives the recruit, the last impression and when they think about their visits, BYU is the most recent and fresh in their mind. There are no crystal ball predictions yet for Staton. But BYU is definitely in the mix.