With Kalani Sitake back at the helm of BYU football -- not starting his first season as the head coach of Penn State -- there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about this year's Cougars. That's exactly why ESPN's most recent way-too-early rankings update places BYU in quite a favorable light, now two seasons into an eyebrow-raising run.
BYU football is enjoying a historic run of success that very few could have expected this early into its Big 12 Conference membership. It took just one season of struggles, a 5-7 campaign in year one, to teach this team how to win at the power level, and the Cougars view 2026 as yet another step towards College Football Playoff contention.
Who doesn't love way-too-early rankings? Sure, the preseason AP Top 25 gets plenty of scrutiny as the course of the season inevitably proves that on-paper projections cannot always account for on-field events, but way-too-early rankings? That's just pure fun. No harm done.
Coming fresh off a 12-2 season in which freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier led the Cougars to the Big 12 championship game and a victory over Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl (the people's national championship), some could look at how this team was stomped twice by the eventual champs, Texas Tech, and write them off as paper tigers. Paper Cougars? Whatever.
But now riding the momentum of two double-digit victory seasons in a row, not even the departure of defensive coordinator Jay Hill could shake the nation's confidence in BYU football. That's on full display in the spring update to ESPN's way-too-early rankings.
Per their projections, BYU football is the 12th-best team in the country.
ESPN cites the Cougars' bolstered offense, led by Bear and last season's Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, LJ Martin, of course, but the tight end room of Lyons and Saleapaga (two Big Ten transfers) has looked strong in replacement of departed senior Carsen Ryan. They also took note of freshman receiver Legend Glasker (yes, that Glasker family), who could make a splash in his first college season.
Big 12 Teams in ESPN's way-too-early rankings
BYU is firmly in second place among their five Big 12 peers on this list of 25, holding them as the most likely candidate to steal Texas Tech's crown from last season.
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders
12. BYU Cougars
18. Utah Utes
23. TCU Horned Frogs
24. Houston Cougars
As previously mentioned, this is no reason for celebration. Optimism? Perhaps, but the city of Provo should hold off on throwing a parade before the team actually takes the field. As we've learned through three seasons of Big 12 Conference membership, there are no guarantees at the highest tier of college football, and there's always at least one surprise team to shake up the natural order.
That team has been BYU for the past two years. We'll see if they're in for another historic year under Coach Sitake.
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