It is here. No. 7 BYU football and No. 3 Utah Utes are about to embark on the most significant Holy War battle in each program’s history. Whatever happens in this game will heavily sway the Big 12 Championship and college football playoff implications, which is the main focus over any rivalry pride in my humble opinion.
Each fanbase’s angst will be sky high leading up to Saturday morning. Any pride about how both sides have fared in this historic matchup will come second fiddle, because the Cougars and Utes are well in the mix in playoff discussions. Plus, of course, both teams will square off while ranked inside the top-10 for the first time ever. Pretty remarkable that has not happened until this week. I cannot help but think BYU losing this one will bring far more negative impact on it than it would for Utah if they lost despite the contest being in Salt Lake.
How big are the stakes?
The Utes are one of three undefeated teams remaining in the FBS (Miami and UCLA) and keep trending upward. The last two weeks have been such a different story for them compared to the Cougars. They took down Houston in a dog fight at home then absolutely took Cincinnati to school on the road. Utah’s momentum combined with the Cougars’ shaky last two weeks is really hard to ignore even though the mindset should be one game at a time.
Utah would surely be destined for the Big 12 title game with a victory and likely be set and stone in the playoff picture. BYU stands as the last major challenge on its path to being a playoff caliber team again.
Meanwhile, a Cougar win would greatly lift a middling team as of late and make the race to the conference championship game a whole lot more interesting. A three team race between these two squads and Texas Tech would commence from then on with each team sitting at one conference loss. In addition, BYU’s playoff odds would take a massive leap given it is flirting with being on the cusp at No. 9 in the first CFP rankings. The Utes would still have some wiggle room to work with if they suffer their first loss as they are No. 3 in the CFP rankings.
The silver lining for BYU
The Cougars have a tendency to play to the level of their competition, especially the past three games. The level of play met and exceeded in the Notre Dame game, then took a nosedive in the overtime loss at UCF and a close win against ASU. To make the last two weeks sound more ugly, both of BYU’s opponents had their backup quarterbacks out there. With that being said, if the tendency continues, then the game will be very cinematic. In order for that to happen, the Cougars have to be willing to take shots and take advantage of mismatches against Utah’s secondary, which can be leaky at times, with the run and pass. On the other side of the ball, contain and limit Utah’s offensive playmakers. Wrapping up well on tackles and staying disciplined in Kelly Poppinga’s aggressive and deceptive defense is how BYU can put the Ute offense on its heels.
BYU OC Aaron Roderick says RB LJ Martin practiced today but says it's too early in the week to say if he'll play vs Utah.
— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) November 4, 2026
The key deciding factor is will LJ Martin suit up? Fingers are crossed. If he returns Saturday, Cougar nation will sing praises. The running game, specifically between the tackles, would have life again and make the offense have the potency that we saw when he was healthy and give the defense more rest between drives. Cougar fans will anxiously be refreshing their feed for updates on the star running back.
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