BYU's Defense and Run Game Make It a Big 12 Contender

BYU is built the old-fashioned way: play elite defense, run the ball, and win the close ones. The Cougars are projected to finish 8-4 and are favored in every game on the schedule, which puts them squarely in the Big 12 title race. Kalani Sitake, now in his eleventh year, has a veteran roster that returns ninety percent of its production and knows exactly how it wins.

A defense that travels

The heart of this team is its front seven. BYU's linebacker group grades at the very top of college football, led by Cade Uluave and Isaiah Glasker, and the defensive line is stout. The secondary is excellent too, anchored by Raider Damuni. That is a defense with no soft spot, the kind that keeps every game within reach and wins a few outright.

On the ground, LJ Martin is one of the best backs in the conference, running behind an experienced line. Bear Bachmeier gives the offense steady, mistake-free quarterback play. This is a team that can grind out a 24-17 win on a Saturday when nothing comes easy, which is most Saturdays in the Big 12.

The passing game is the ceiling

The one clear limitation is the passing attack. BYU's receiver and tight end groups grade near the bottom of the sport, which means the offense leans heavily on the run and on Bachmeier making the right decision rather than the spectacular throw. Against most of the schedule, the defense and run game are enough. Against a team that loads the box and dares BYU to throw, the margin gets thin.

If a receiver emerges, this team's ceiling climbs from contender to favorite. Without one, the Cougars will win a lot of games in the teens and twenties and lose the occasional shootout they cannot keep up in.

A schedule full of coin flips

The projection favors BYU everywhere, but the Big 12 is a gauntlet of close games. The tightest are a home date with Arizona, road trips to TCU and Utah, and games against Notre Dame and UCF, all of which sit inside a touchdown. There is no projected loss, but there are five or six games that could go either way.

That is the nature of the league and the nature of this team. BYU is good enough to be favored in all of them and vulnerable enough to drop two or three. Win the coin flips and the Cougars are in the Big 12 championship game.

Bottom line

Expect 8-4 with a real path to more. BYU has an elite defense, one of the best backs in the conference, and a veteran roster that does not beat itself. The passing game is the one thing capping the ceiling, and the schedule is a run of close games rather than a run of easy ones. If the Cougars win their share of the toss-ups, they are playing for the Big 12 title in December.