byu football

Cougars relied on trademark physicality to wear down Arizona and get important Big 12 win

Ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 released Sunday, BYU is a 3-touchdown favorite Saturday at undefeated Colorado State

Published: Sept 14, 2026, 4:00 a.m. MDT

Arizona Wildcats running back Quincy Craig (24) is tackled by BYU Cougars defensive end Braxton Lindsey (30) during a football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. Lukas Katilius, Deseret News

Jay has covered sports in Utah for more than 30 years and has been writing for the Deseret News since 2019.

After BYU’s gritty 28-17 win over Arizona on Saturday afternoon in front of 64,409 broiling fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake said coaches will have a “good number” of issues to fix this week as they turn their attention to a nonconference matchup with former Mountain West rival Colorado State.

Cougars on the air

No. 11 BYU (2-0) at CSU (2-0)

Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MDT
At Canvas Stadium
TV: CBS
Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM

For some reason, BYU’s offensive line was not particularly sharp. Offensive line coach TJ Woods’ group did not play up to its usual standards — but redeemed itself late in the game, as it always seems to do.

Right tackle Andrew Gentry was flagged for holding twice, including on BYU’s first offensive play, and committed a false start.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier was sacked just once — for a 10-yard loss on first down midway through the second quarter — and was mostly protected well.

The Cougars had to punt after the first holding call and after the sack, but were able to overcome the second holding penalty on their first drive in the second half as Bachmeier threw 5- and 7-yard passes to Roger Saleapaga and Legend Glasker and then ran 15 yards on third and 8 to keep the drive alive.

That possession ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kyler Kasper.

A holding call on guard Kyle Sfarcioc — hero of BYU’s 33-27 win over Arizona in Tucson last year when he recovered a Bachmeier fumble near Arizona’s goal line — when BYU’s offense was backed against its own end zone on third-and-9 negated a first-down catch by Walker Lyons.

BYU pitches 2nd-half shutout to erase Arizona 28-17 at LES

BYU uses huge second-half plays to bury Arizona

So there were mistakes aplenty, but overall Sitake was pleased with the way the Cougars dominated in the trenches in the second half. That domination allowed LJ Martin to rush for 73 yards the final two quarters after he got the ball only four times in the first half, gaining 25 yards on those carries.

“I thought it was a good return to our basics, like, ‘Let’s get our identity (established) out there,’” Sitake said. “Let’s be more physical in all three phases. Offense, let’s get the ball to LJ, the Big 12 Player of the Year, and let’s see what we can do in the trenches with our big O line.

“And defensively, let’s get some knock back and stop the run. As we started doing that, things became easier, and we made Arizona a lot more one-dimensional, and away we went.”

Both teams were flagged for seven penalties; a holding penalty on BYU running back Preston Rex was declined, and a delay of game penalty on Arizona when the Wildcats were in punt formation was declined.

Before the most pivotal play of the game — BYU’s fourth-down stop, by inches, with under nine minutes remaining — Tommy Prassas was flagged for defensive pass interference on an iffy call on second-and-9.

What Arizona coach Brent Brennan said after losing to BYU

Arizona also made its fair share of mistakes, including a personal foul on Rhino Tapa’atoutai that cost the visitors 15 yards of valuable field position.

“I thought we were really fortunate to be at home. The crowd helped us out. It helped kind of swing things our way, especially when we gained some momentum. … Arizona is a tough team in all three phases,” Sitake said. “I feel like we were fortunate that we were able to get the win and play better in the second half, but we can’t keep doing this and can’t keep (falling behind).

“They can cause you to make mistakes, but we made some uncharacteristic mistakes — drops and penalties, and things like that, that didn’t help ourselves,” Sitake continued. “We’ve got to be better. We are going to work on that this week.”

BYU moved up to No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday and is now the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 because Texas Tech dropped to 13th after struggling to beat Oregon State in Corvallis.

Other notable moments, upon review

• BYU emerged from the game mostly healthy, although linebacker Siale Esera spent some time in the medical tent in the first half, and did not return. Fellow linebacker Cade Uluave briefly left the game in the first quarter after delivering a hit on the Arizona sideline. The Cal transfer returned and was part of BYU’s first second-half shutout (14-0) in Big 12 play since 2024 against Utah (12-0).

Uluave’s interception was his first as a Cougar, and the fourth of his college career.

• Texas transfer Tausili Akana recorded two and a half sacks, the most sacks in a game for a BYU player since Tyler Batty had three against Louisiana Tech in 2020.

Cougars eye first road game of 2026

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BYU heads out on the road this week for a reunion with former WAC and Mountain West foe Colorado State. The Rams are also 2-0 — for the first time since 2011 — after crushing Southern Utah 58-24 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins on Saturday night.

They knocked off Wyoming 35-13 in their opener on Sept. 5.

Against the T-birds, Rams quarterback Hauss Hejny accounted for five touchdowns — four through the air, one on the ground, a 75-yarder — and completed 18 of 30 passes for 325 yards.

Colorado State led 48-21 at halftime.