1980
Hail Mary vs SMU
Jim McMahon's 'Miracle Bowl' comeback caps a 46-45 Holiday Bowl win
Miracle
Program prestige
Zeitgeist staturePower Program IIIHoly War
97 meetings since 1922 See the whole history →No fan reading for this rivalry yet this week. The heat trend and each side’s mood appear when fans start talking about it.
The last 5 · year-by-year
- W 2025 Win 24-21
- W 2024 Win 22-21
- W 2021 Win 26-17
- L 2019 Loss 12-30
- L 2018 Loss 27-35
Program outlook
Program outlook
BYU won a national title in 1984 from outside the traditional power structure, spent four decades in conference exile, and in 2025 went 12-2 in the Big 12 before a 34-7 title-game loss to Texas Tech ended the Playoff dream in the same night. The patience is not quite paid yet.
Since Oct 28: W 27-20 vs Arizona State. 7-1 this season.
Read the full essay — 4 more paragraphs
LaVell Edwards threw the ball when the rest of college football ran it. He built a passing dynasty in Provo — Ty Detmer's 1990 Heisman, Steve Young, Jim McMahon's Miracle Bowl, the 1984 national championship from outside the WAC's supposed ceiling — and gave BYU an identity inseparable from its faith: disciplined, principled, unconventional, patient. LaVell Edwards Stadium bears his name. The program he built is the reason 'Quarterback U' is a phrase. The LDS Church has a worldwide following, and the football team carries a recognizable place in it — 'Rise and Shout' rings in venues far from Provo, because returned missionaries end up everywhere.
Kalani Sitake, a BYU alum, turned down Penn State to stay in Provo after winning Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2025. That decision moved belief in the fanbase more than any recruiting class could. The 2025 Cougars went 12-2, finished 8-1 in the Big 12 in the regular season, and reached the conference championship — where a 34-7 blowout by Texas Tech ended the Playoff run before it started. Freshman QB Bear Bachmeier returns alongside Sitake, making the 2026 roster one of the youngest with the most upside in the league.
The 2026 question is the same one the Big 12 move was always going to ask eventually: can BYU win a Power-conference title outright, not just go 12-2 in the regular season? The drought since 1984 is real. The credentials to end it are the most legitimate they have been in forty years. The schedule will say whether 2025 was a near-miss or a preview.
Update (Oct. 28, 2026): BYU is 6-1. Its one loss, 39-31 at UCF on Oct. 24, came as a 7.5-point favorite.
On the field
The passing tradition, evolved: Sitake runs a pro-style framework rooted in Edwards' principles — quick reads, designed space for the QB, a philosophy that trusts the quarterback to distribute rather than overwhelm. Bear Bachmeier operates within structured dropback concepts with motion-generated openings. The Honor Code is structural to roster management; BYU recruits differently and doesn't apologize for it. Continuity and faith are the competitive advantages the program points to when asked why it plays on its own terms.
BYU has won 1 national title since 1936
1984
How titles are counted
The final AP poll from 1936 and the Coaches poll from 1950 through 2005, then the winner of the BCS and College Football Playoff title games. A program may claim others, named by selectors we do not count.
- 1984: AP poll and Coaches poll
BYU has won 58% of its games since 1922 — 68% at home, 49% on the road.
646-448-26 all-time · 102 seasons · 1922–2026
Home
361-151-20
Away
262-268-5
Neutral
23-29-1
35%
1920s
55%
1930s
32%
1940s
34%
1950s
42%
1960s
62%
1970s
79%
1980s
68%
1990s
65%
2000s
59%
2010s
75%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
BYU’s 2014–2026 record is 108-55.
Kalani Sitake
Kalani Sitake is in year 11, longer than most head coaches stay at one school.
Era Kalani Sitake · 2016–presentPrev: Bronco Mendenhall (2005–2015)OC: Aaron RoderickPrev OC: Jeff Grimes (2018–2020)DC: Kelly PoppingaPrev DC: Jay Hill (2023–2025)
11
years · era
BYU and Utah, meeting by meeting
Utah leads the series 59-34-4 (since 1922); BYU has won the last 3
2025: BYU won 24-21. After this game, Utah led 59-34-4.
Last 25 meetings: ▲ BYU won, ▼ Utah won, by how much
Each step is one meeting: up when BYU wins, down when Utah wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1922. Tap the line for any season.
Biggest stories
The stories fans talked about most for BYU.
- BYU fans storm field with baby Oct 25, 2026 · Talked about · Short note
- BYU upsets No. 2 Notre Dame Oct 18, 2026 · Talked about · Short note
BYU in History
- The Big 12 adds BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCFConference change · Sep 10, 2021
Moments in BYU history
- BYU 26, Baylor 20Sep 10, 2022
- Kansas 17, BYU 13Nov 16, 2024
- Boise State 26, BYU 17Oct 9, 2021
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
1984 national championship
A 13-0 season ends with the title — a non-blue-blood out of the WAC wins it all
1990
Detmer’s Heisman
Ty Detmer wins the Heisman, the crown of the QB-U lineage
Moment of the year · 2026
Won 28-24 vs Notre Dame
Week 7 of 2026. Beat a top-2 opponent on the field. It turned on one snap in Q4 — CJ Carr to Jaden Greathouse, a 49-point win-probability swing.
2022–2026
BYU has sent 7 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — none in the first round.
Developing. Pipeline emerging.
7
picks · 0 in round 1
#63
Kingsley Suamataia
Offensive Tackle · 2024 · 
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
#106
Blake Freeland
Offensive Tackle · 2023 · 
Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
#151
Tyler Allgeier
Running Back · 2022 · 
Atlanta Falcons · #6/315 final season
Atlanta Falcons · #6/315 final season
#60 all-time · 10 first-round picksthe talent factory →
More in this tab
Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 7-1 · CFP #9 / AP #7
Season standing · 2026 · 7-1 · CFP #9 / AP #7BYU is 9th in the CFP poll at 7-1 — a top-15 team.
Top 15 nationally. NY6-bowl conversation.
Top 15
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Big 12 standing · 2026
2nd in the Big 12
BYU is 2nd in the Big 12 at 4-1. 1 team above — that's the direct path to the title game.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 5-0 |
| 2 | BYU | 4-1 |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 4-1 |
| 4 | Arizona | 3-2 |
| 5 | Baylor | 3-2 |
| 6 | Houston | 3-2 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 3-2 |
| 8 | Arizona State | 2-3 |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 2-3 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 2-3 |
| 11 | TCU | 2-3 |
| 12 | UCF | 2-3 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 2-3 |
| 14 | Colorado | 1-4 |
| 15 | Kansas | 1-4 |
| 16 | Kansas State | 1-4 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Kalani Sitake
- Bronco Mendenhall departs
- Hired Bronco Mendenhall
- Gary Crowton departs
- Hired Gary Crowton
- LaVell Edwards departs
- Hired LaVell Edwards
- Tommy Hudspeth departs
Coordinator lineage
BYU’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014–2015 · Robert Anae2016–2017 · Ty Detmer2018–2020 · Jeff Grimes2021–2026 · Aaron Roderick
Defense2014–2026
2014–2015 · Nick Howell2016–2022 · Ilaisa Tuiaki2023–2025 · Jay Hill2026 · Kelly Poppinga
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
Rise and Shout
since 1947
more
The fight song. The whole stadium stands and shouts on the chorus. Originated 1947, but the 1984 national-title run made it permanent. BYU fans on the road sing it louder than the home crowd.
Cosmo the Cougar
since 1953
more
Cosmo (1953-) became a viral mascot in the 2010s via gymnastic halftime routines and choreographed dance numbers. The most-followed CFB mascot on Instagram. Marketing department mostly carries the brand.
Honor Code Adherence
since 1949
more
BYU's Honor Code (no alcohol, no premarital sex, dress code, weekly church attendance for LDS students) shapes who recruits, who transfers in, and the program's national identity. Inseparable from the football product.
Cultural identity
2025 W
2024 W
2022 W
2021 L
2020 WReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
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[Postgame Thread] UAB Defeats BYU 31-28
2.9k
[Postgame Thread] BYU Defeats USC 30-27 (OT)
1.9k
[Postgame Thread] BYU Defeats Navy 55-3
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[Postgame Thread] ECU Defeats BYU 27-24
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[Postgame Thread] BYU Defeats UCF 49-23
All-time top community posts
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