BYU Enters 2026 as Big 12's Top Preseason Pick After Best Two-Year Run in Four Decades

BYU football is entering the 2026 season projected first in the Big 12 — a position that would have seemed far-fetched just months ago, when Texas Tech was widely considered a tier above everyone else in the conference.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic has published his preseason top 25, slotting BYU at No. 8 and calling the Cougars 'the clear Big 12 favorite' — making them the only Big 12 team in his top 10, according to SI.com.

the clear Big 12 favorite— Stewart Mandel, The Athletic

The shift in perception owes as much to Texas Tech's offseason unraveling as to BYU's own accomplishments. Transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby — one of the top signal-callers in the portal — was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for gambling on his own games while at Indiana, according to SI.com. Sorsby is attempting to sue his way back onto the field, but the Red Raiders would otherwise turn to Will Hammond, who is recovering from an ACL tear. Meanwhile, four of Tech's defensive linemen — the unit that physically dominated BYU in both matchups last season — were selected in the NFL Draft, including the second overall pick, according to SI.com.

That context matters because BYU's 2025 record against Texas Tech was ugly: the Cougars scored just 14 total points across two games, including a loss in the Big 12 Championship Game — their first-ever appearance in that game. Tech's defensive line exposed freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier in ways that the rest of the schedule did not.

Strip away those two games and BYU's 2025 season looks like one of the best in program history. The Cougars finished 12-2, ranked No. 11 in the final AP Top 25, and closed with a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory, according to byucougars.com. Their strength of record ranked No. 8 nationally per ESPN's College Football Power Index — tops in the Big 12 — built on 10 wins over Power 4 opponents, a program record. At 23-4 over the past two seasons, only Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, and Notre Dame posted a better winning percentage in that span, per byucougars.com.

The two-year run of 23 wins is the best at BYU since the 1983-84 and 1984-85 stretches — the era when the Cougars won the 1984 national championship — according to byucougars.com. It's a benchmark that gives the program's current moment genuine historical weight, not just conference-era novelty.

Much of that success was built around players who are now gone or moving on. The 2025 defense lost linebacker Jack Kelly, who finished his career with 31.5 sacks, and safety Tanner Wall, a first-team All-Big 12 selection and Academic All-American. The offense returns its most important piece: Bachmeier, now a sophomore, who last year became the only true freshman in FBS to lead a program to 12 wins while throwing for more than 3,000 yards and rushing for 11 touchdowns — a BYU record for a quarterback, per byucougars.com.

SI.com's analysis identifies three conditions BYU would need to meet to justify the 'clear favorite' label: a leap forward from a defensive line that was young and inexperienced in 2025 (players like Hunter Clegg, Nusi Taumoepeau, and Tausili Akana now have a year under their belts); continued growth from Bachmeier after he looked overwhelmed specifically against Tech's front; and sustained attrition from the Red Raiders. Two of those three conditions are already partially in place before a snap is taken.

The 2026 regular season opens against Utah Tech, followed by Arizona. Big 12 play follows. The schedule will quickly test whether BYU's preseason billing is earned or a product of a rival's misfortune.

Why it matters — BYU's leap to preseason Big 12 favorite reflects both the program's genuine two-year rise and a rival's sudden collapse — and how those two threads play out will define whether the Cougars can finally break through to the College Football Playoff.

Reported by espn.com, big12sports.com, en.wikipedia.org, byucougars.com, si.com