BYU Is The Team No Title Contender Wants To Face In The CFP

The SEC and the Big 10 (Big 18?) get a lot of media coverage in college football, and deservedly so. The best teams are in the Big 10, and SEC supporters are doing all they can to tarnish their rival conference’s reputation and make it seem like every last team in their conference is a world-beater.

But while these two conferences remain the darlings of the national media, the Big 12 has quietly produced a team that could pose major problems for anyone in the College Football Playoff.

Heading into the season, no one expected the BYU Cougars to make all that much noise. But here they are, sitting at No. 10 in the AP Poll with an 8-0 record and giving the Texas Tech Raiders something to think about in that Big 12 title race.

AMES, IA - OCTOBER 25: Cornerback Therrian Alexander #1 of the BYU Cougars celebates with his teammates after they won 41-27 over the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium on October 25, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. The BYU Cougars won 41-27 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)

BYU does a lot of things well, particularly on offense. Like any good team, they run the dang ball, to the tune of 216 yards per game. LJ Martin is a nightmare for defense in the backfield, and he has four games to get 211 yards and become a 1,000-yard rusher.

I think he can manage.

Bear Bachmeier leads the way at quarterback. Don’t let his unique name or unusual jersey number fool you (when was the last time you say a quarterback wear number 47?). This dude plays smart, rarely turns the ball over, and has a season passer rating of 148.5. He’s a big reason why the Cougars average a whopping 433 yards of offense per game.

Oh, did I mention this guy runs as tough as an old-school running back? He’s not tougher than Georgia Tech's Haynes King, but he’s close.

Then there’s the defense, which defensive-minded head coach Kalani Sitake has humming. Moving the ball is hard against them (top-30 in yards allowed) and scoring is even harder (top-15). Spare me the "They don’t play an SEC gauntlet" argument. These dudes can play shutdown ball against anyone.

All of this is proof that the Cougars are legit. They will have to prove themselves just a little more in the final stretch of the season (they play two ranked teams), but right now, they look like a giant-killer.

Line these boys up against anyone from the SEC or Big 10, and I think they’ve got a real shot of shocking the world. Yes, right now it's just a hypothetical (something SEC fans love).

But I don’t think there’s any team that’s worthy of a CFP spot that wants to make it more than a hypothetical with BYU.