When West Virginia comes to Provo to face No. 23 BYU this Friday, the Mountaineers will seemingly be at an automatic disadvantage.
Yes, West Virginia has struggled this season, is injury-riddled, and traveling two time zones west across the country, but all of those faults pale in comparison to the most jarring of all: the 8:30 p.m. MDT kickoff time.
BYU has been a solid to exceptional operation for the majority of coach Kalani Sitake’s tenure, but the Cougars are on a different level at night. Some have gone as far as to coin the phrase “Vampire Cougars" in response to the trend.
Since the start of the 2019 campaign, BYU is 32-4 in contests that kicked off at 7 p.m. or later. In every other earlier matchup, the Cougars have gone 24-20.
It makes sense that BYU would play better in later hours, considering most of the post-7 p.m. games are played at home and a good number of earlier outings have come against tougher competition (think Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona State from the past few seasons).
However, going 32-4 in night games — good for an .889 win percentage — is absurd. No wonder the whole “Vampire Cougars” thing really took off.
“We have a good reputation of performing well in the dark,” Sitake said on the radio after BYU defeated Kansas State last season.
No kidding, coach. Winning nearly nine out of every 10 night games may classify as just a tad bit more than a “good reputation” — it’s almost a superpower at that point.
As the Cougars look to win their 37th late kickoff clash since 2019 Friday against West Virginia, here’s the definitive guide to BYU’s night games over that span.
2019
30-12 loss vs. No. 14 Utah — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Turnovers plagued the Cougars in 2019’s season opener — the most recent BYU loss against the Utes.
29-26 2OT win at Tennessee — 7 p.m. kickoff
Zach Wilson connected with Micah Simon for a miracle 67-yard gain in the game’s final minute, setting up a double-overtime victory in SEC territory.
28-25 win vs. No. 14 Boise State — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Widely considered the turning point of Kalani Sitake’s BYU tenure, the Cougars upset the Broncos behind a brilliant effort from third-string quarterback Baylor Romney.
42-14 win at Utah State — 8 p.m. kickoff
The Cougars racked up 639 yards of offense to thump the Aggies in Logan.
2020
55-3 win at Navy — 8 p.m. kickoff
The Cougars opened the bizarre COVID-19 campaign with a Labor Day blowout of Navy, outgaining the Midshipmen 580 yards to 149.
48-7 win vs. Troy — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Zach Wilson enjoyed the first great outing of his legendary 2020 season by throwing for 392 yards and scoring four touchdowns against the Trojans.
45-14 win vs. Louisiana Tech — 7 p.m. kickoff
Zach Wilson completed 92.3% of his passes with five touchdowns in another BYU blowout win.
43-26 win at Houston — 8:30 p.m. kickoff
BYU rallied from a late deficit to score 29 unanswered points and defeat the future Big 12 foe.
52-14 win vs. Texas State — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Best known as the game where Ryan Rehkow ran for 49 yards on a fake punt, BYU scored 49 unanswered points to best the Bobcats and move to 6-0.
41-10 win vs. Western Kentucky — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
BYU scored 35 first-half points, Zach Wilson posted four touchdowns and the Cougars earned another convincing victory on Halloween night in Provo.
51-17 win at No. 21 Boise State — 7:45 p.m. kickoff
The Cougars picked up their first-ever win on the blue turf in Boise, as Tyler Allgeier, Gunner Romney and Dax Milne combined for 359 yards in BYU’s loudest national statement of the season.
28-14 win vs. San Diego State — 8 p.m. kickoff
In the first December game ever played at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Zach Wilson threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns for a regular-season finale win.
49-23 win vs. UCF in Boca Raton Bowl — 7 p.m. kickoff
Zach Wilson threw for 425 yards and scored five touchdowns in his final game at BYU, capping an 11-1 campaign for the Cougars.
2021
24-16 win vs. Arizona in Las Vegas — 7:30 p.m. kickoff
Neil Pau’u caught eight passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns as BYU opened the post-Zach Wilson era with a win.
26-17 win vs. No. 21 Utah — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
BYU snapped its nine-game losing streak against Utah, thanks in part to three passing touchdowns and 92 rushing yards from QB Jaren Hall.
27-17 win vs. No. 19 Arizona State — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Jaren Hall outdueled Jayden Daniels, Tyler Allgeier made his famous “punch fumble” and the Cougars won their third-straight game against a Pac-12 foe.
35-27 win vs. South Florida — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Baylor Romney replaced an injured Jaren Hall to throw for 305 yards and three touchdowns.
34-20 win at Utah State — 7 p.m. kickoff
With BYU down to its third-string QB in the second half, Tyler Allgeier’s 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped carry the Cougars to clinch a 5-0 start.
66-49 win vs. Virginia — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
BYU’s offense put up 734 yards of offense — Tyler Allgeier accounted for 291 of them and five touchdowns — as the Cougars outslugged UVA in Bronco Mendenhall’s return to Provo.
35-31 win at USC — 7:30 p.m. kickoff
Reserve running back Jackson McChesney came off the bench to score the go-ahead touchdown before BYU stopped Jaxson Dart’s Trojans in the red zone to clinch a 10-win regular season — and undefeated mark against the Pac-12.
2022
26-20 2OT win vs. No. 9 Baylor — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
The Cougars won their first game against a top-10 team at home since 1990, igniting a rowdy field-storming scene to cap one of the most memorable matchups in recent program history.
38-24 win vs. Wyoming — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Jaren Hall threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns, with Keanu Hill catching five passes for 160 yards and two scores to beat the historic rival Cowboys.
35-26 win at Stanford — 8 p.m. kickoff
BYU ran for 358 yards in Palo Alto for the program’s first-ever win over the Cardinal.
2023
14-0 win vs. Sam Houston — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Kedon Slovis ran for two touchdowns and the Cougar defense pitched its first shutout since 2014 to open the Big 12 era with a win.
35-27 win vs. Cincinnati — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
LJ Martin ran for two touchdowns and Chase Roberts logged 131 receiving yards as the Cougars won their first-ever Big 12 game.
37-7 loss at West Virginia — 7 p.m. kickoff
Jake Retzlaff’s starting debut proved punchless as the Cougars continued their late-season collapse.
45-13 loss vs. Iowa State — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
BYU was flat-out embarrassed at home for the program’s lowest moment in the Big 12 to date.
2024
34-14 win at Wyoming — 7 p.m. kickoff
Keelan Marion’s 102-yard kick return touchdown highlighted BYU’s 10th-straight win over Wyoming in what may have been the Cougars’ final trip to Laramie.
38-9 win vs. No. 13 Kansas State — 8:30 p.m. kickoff
The Cougars blew out and stunned the Wildcats in all the craziest ways, with Parker Kingston’s improbable punt return touchdown taking the cake.
38-35 win vs. Oklahoma State — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Jake Retzlaff found Darius Lassiter for a game-winning 35-yard touchdown reception with 10 seconds remaining in an all-time finish at LaVell’s house.
22-21 win at Utah — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Will Ferrin is good from 44 yards. Enough said.
17-13 loss vs. Kansas — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Arguably the most gut-wrenching loss of the Kalani Sitake era, an end-zone interception and muffed pooch punt led to the Cougars all but squandering their College Football Playoff hopes.
30-18 win vs. Houston — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
Jake Retzlaff ran for two touchdowns and Talan Alfrey returned an onside kick 58 yards for a score as the Cougars won their 10th game of the season — but narrowly missed the Big 12 title game.
2025
27-3 win vs. Stanford — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
BYU’s defense recorded three sacks and three turnovers to rout the Cardinal.
34-13 win at East Carolina — 7:30 p.m. kickoff
Evan Johnson picked off the Pirates twice — returning the second interception for a touchdown — to help Bear Bachmeier win his first road start.
24-21 win at Colorado — 8:15 p.m. kickoff
After falling into an early 14-point hole, the Cougars rallied back to take down Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes in Boulder, with Isaiah Glasker’s interception in the final minute sealing the BYU victory.
