And just like that, the first quarter of the most anticipated season in BYU football history is over. The Cougars have already played three of their 12 regular-season games.
Sure, it is early still. But the Cougars to this point are living up to preseason expectations as a contender for the Big 12 title and berth in the College Football Playoff.
For the fifth time in the last seven seasons, BYU is in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 poll, having landed at No. 9 this week after rolling past Colorado State 41-23 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins last Saturday.
Granted, the degree of difficulty ramps up considerably now, beginning Oct. 3 when a squad that should be well-rested travels to what has been a house of horrors for them, TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium. It continues with ultra-tough games in October against No. 3 Notre Dame, UCF and Arizona State before the big showdown with undefeated Utah on Nov. 7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where nothing ever comes easy for BYU.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), BYU has played the 102nd most difficult schedule, having also defeated woeful Utah Tech 63-7 and Big 12 foe Arizona 28-17 before handing the Rams their first loss. BYU’s remaining schedule ranks 38th in the country in terms of difficulty, per FPI.
“Happy to be 3-0, and just really proud of the guys,” was Sitake’s opening comment Monday in his weekly press briefing. “We watched the film and evaluated it and graded it, and we’ve obviously got some work to do still. But for the first three games, I feel good about where we’re at.”
As undefeated BYU (3-0) heads into its only bye week, now seems like a good time to pause and reflect upon what we’ve discovered about Sitake’s 11th team in Provo. What easily stands out is that the culture of accountability and humility remains intact, despite the Cougars having gone 26-4 since the beginning of the 2024 season.
The Cougars don’t appear to be resting on their laurels in any way, form or fashion.
“My job is to be really picky, and I know we say it all the time, but we want to be humble and we want to be hungry, and part of that means you still have to pick apart what you’re doing well,” Sitake said. “There’s not a time right now for us to be patting ourselves in the back.
“I think there’s a time when you can (give) praise, but these guys don’t need to be praised as much right now as much as they need just to get to work,” he continued. “And luckily, the leadership on the team handles things like that themselves. … So a lot of really cool things are happening, but there still needs to be more work.”
A few early season observations:
BYU has top-notch talent in all the right places
College football teams are only as good as their quarterback, and in that regard BYU is in good hands. Sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier has taken his game to the next level, particularly his throwing game. Deep throws to freshman Legend Glasker against Arizona and Colorado State that went for 61 and 70 yards answered questions about Bachmeier’s arm strength.
Bachmeier’s passing efficiency rating is 186.7 and he’s completed 71% of his passes for 642 yards and six touchdowns, with just one interception.
Meanwhile, BYU has displayed star power and explosiveness thought to be somewhat lacking when the season began. Reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin has picked up where he left off in 2025, despite having had offseason shoulder surgery. The senior is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and 109.3 yards per game in roughly the equivalent of two games.
Then there’s Glasker, second cousin of standout BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker. The freshman receiver has been BYU’s best playmaker, with 11 catches for 270 yards and two touchdowns and six carries for 42 yards and two touchdowns. He’s been the Big 12’s Freshman of the Week twice in three weeks.
Losing backup RB Sione Moa to a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter against Utah Tech was a big blow to BYU’s offense, but junior Preston Rex and freshmen Journee Tonga and Devaughn Eka have proven to be up to the task. Tonga has been a nice late find.
“The offense is pretty difficult for our guys to learn. Throughout the next few weeks, especially this week, we’ll start to see them learn the playbook a little bit more,” Sitake said. “It’s one of those things that you can’t really force feed. They just have to come along and get some reps according to their learning (pace). They’ll be ready. I feel really good about the talent that’s there. We have a very talented group of running backs, and Harvey’s done a great job coaching them.”
Cade Uluave leads a really good BYU defense
Just as Legend Glasker has adequately replaced Parker Kingston, Cal transfer linebacker Cade Uluave has filled in nicely for Jack Kelly, now with the New York Giants. Uluave made what is arguably the early season defensive play of the year, intercepting Arizona’s Noah Fifita on the Wildcats’ second possession after the standout quarterback led the visitors on a 75-yard touchdown drive on their first.
Uluave returned the pick to the 9-yard line to set up BYU’s first TD. Tre Alexander, Evan Johnson, Matthias Leach and Hunter Clegg also have interceptions, as BYU’s defense has been opportunistic in that category.
The Cougars’ five interceptions is tied for fifth nationally. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, BYU leads the country in interceptions, with 44. Notre Dame has had 43 and Texas has had 41.
“I feel like when we execute our defense we have the best defense in the country,” Johnson said after the CSU game. “We just gotta continue to do those little things that will make our defense even better.”
One of those little things is avoiding penalties. On his “Coordinators’ Corner” program Monday, defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga said the defense has had four major penalties in the red zone through three games that have led to touchdowns.
“We have to get that fixed. That’s one of my biggest (goals) this bye week, is to make sure we get everything cleared up,” Poppinga said. “We were so good a year ago in the red zone. We need to respond better in those situations.”
Cannon DeVries is an early breakout star
Not surprisingly, Uluave (14), fellow linebacker Isaiah Glasker (13) and safety Faletau Satuala (12) are all in the top five in tackles for BYU, despite having played sparingly in the second halves against Utah Tech and Colorado State. But some of the other players at the top of the tackles list might surprise you.
Sophomore Cannon DeVries also has 14 takedowns out of his nickel position, and Mississippi State transfer Jayven Williams has 10. Texas transfer Tausili Akana leads BYU in tackles for loss, with four, including 2.5 sacks. DeVries is No. 2 in tackles for loss, with three.
Additionally, DeVries has emerged as a solid kick and punt returner, with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Utah Tech and 100 punt return yards.
New special teams coordinator Justin Ena likes what he’s seen from that group, including kicker Matthias Dunn and punter Fuller Shurtz. BYU is fourth in the country in net punting (47.3 yards per punt) and Shurtz is averaging 48.1 yards per punt, fifth-best in the country.
“I think we are in a good spot,” Ena said. “We are always making sure we are nitpicking the little things because that’s going to matter the most.”
Undisciplined play, weak pass rush could derail a dream season
If there’s been a knock on BYU’s defense, it is that it has allowed game-opening touchdown drives in two of three games before settling in. Also, as Poppinga mentioned, there have been too many personal fouls and penalties, most of them committed by backups.
“I was really pleased with how we played defensively for three quarters (against CSU),” Poppinga said. “We had some (issues) in the fourth quarter. … Those guys didn’t meet the standards and play the defense that we need to play.”
Penalties on both sides of the ball haven’t kept the Cougars from comfortably winning three games, but they have been mentioned by Sitake as being an issue that could prove harmful moving forward. BYU is 81st in penalty yards per game (59.6 ypg).
“We just have to be better as a team,” Sitake said. “There are some guys that are backups committing the penalties, but those guys are one play away from getting in the game. So they need to be ready for it.”
The Cougars failed to record a sack against Colorado State, and have only four sacks in three games. Akana emerged against Arizona with 2.5 sacks, but Siale Esera is the only other Cougar with a sack, and he’s been injured. Against better offenses and quarterbacks in upcoming games, BYU will need to find a better pass rush or it will get carved up by the likes of Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Utah’s Devon Dampier.
