One of the most successful football seasons ever at BYU will conclude on Dec. 27 when the No. 12-ranked Cougars (11-2) square off against No. 22 Georgia Tech (9-3) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
Regardless of what happens in the Theme Park Capital of the World, coach Kalani Sitake's 10th season in Provo will go down in the history books right there with the 1984 season when BYU went undefeated and won the national championship, the 1996 season when the Cougars finished 14-1 and with a Cotton Bowl championship, and last year, when they defied the critics with an 11-2 season in their second year in the Big 12.
Heck, this season could even be considered the best of them all, given how they lost projected starting star quarterback Jake Retzlaff in July , started a true freshman quarterback ( Bear Bachmeier ) for the first time ever in August, beat an outstanding and nationally ranked Utah team 24-21 in October , and entered the Big 12 championship game with an 11-1 record.
Toss out one of those two losses by a combined score of 63-14 to now-No. 4 Texas Tech, and BYU would be playing for all the marbles the remainder of December, instead of in a second-tier bowl game named after a rectangular toaster pastry.
"Hopefully we will be back soon," Sitake said after the 34-7 loss to the incredibly talented Red Raiders in Arlington. "In our third year in the conference, I am really proud of where we have been and how we have built this team. We obviously have some more work to do, but I think playing the best team in the country twice will give us some good lessons to learn."
On the flip side, BYU's 2025 regular season was much like 2024, when expectations weren't much higher because of the way the Cougars finished the 2023 campaign — with four straight losses. The 2024 Cougars won and lost a plethora of close games , while the 2025 Cougars were blown out twice by the same team and had the maddening habit of falling behind by double digits early, only to rally late with a brilliant display of complementary football.
Truly, BYU's offense, defense and special teams combined to produce a season for the ages, rescuing each other when neither group was all that dominant on its own. Whereas last year's team was marked by chemistry and playing together — the Deseret News wrote that the MVP of the team was the team itself — the 2025 Cougars were led by a gritty QB named Bear, a senior-led group that refused to fold under pressure outside of Lubbock and Arlington, and a Sitake-inspired belief in one another.
"I think we are headed in the right direction. Kalani has laid down an amazing culture that's deeply rooted into our program, and that's going to continue to bring forth great fruit," said senior safety Tanner Wall. "We're capitalizing on a lot of momentum from our success in recruiting, bringing in amazing players.
"We've got great players in our locker room now, but the players who are coming in are going to continue to wear the Y and carry that legacy. I know they will do an amazing job doing that. We really understand our identity of who we are and what BYU football will be in this conference."
What happened before the Big 12 championship game is probably more important than what happened in it, as Sitake, 50, agreed to a new long-term contract extension that should keep him in Provo until he decides to retire.
"I am just really excited for the future, knowing that Kalani is the guy at the top, leading the boys," Wall said.
The Cougars have now won 11 games in each of the past two seasons, and 10 or more games in four of the past six seasons. Sitake takes a 5-2 bowl record into Orlando (Dec. 27, 1:30 p.m. MST, ABC) where the Cougars are slight favorites to beat the ACC's Yellow Jackets (9-3).
"We're building this program. You've seen it in the past, what's been happening over time, as we joined the Big 12. We (had a) top-20 recruiting (class) this year, and that's going to help a lot," BYU receiver Chase Roberts said. "You need some talent on the team, obviously, then you (have to) go execute. … You have coaching staff like that we have now. And you get those recruits, and you get these young guys building and growing. You got a freshman quarterback that just went 11-2."
Another storyline that emerged late in the season was BYU's treatment by the College Football Playoff committee. The Cougars were No. 12 in the final CFP rankings, and the second team out as Group of Five conference champions James Madison and Tulane (quarterbacked by Retzlaff, interestingly enough) got the final two spots.
As the debate raged on, Sitake declined to campaign heavily for an at-large berth, pretty much staying out of the fray and saying the committee had a tough, thankless job.
"I choose to be positive about everything. I think it's a hard thing for them to do. I think they did the best they could," he said. "We have one more (game) now, and it happens to be against an amazing program like Georgia Tech . We're looking forward to the matchup."
Generally, humans on the committee and AP voters thought more of BYU than the computers. For instance, BYU is No. 24 in Jeff Sagarin's ratings, with a strength of schedule ranked 34th. The Cougars are No. 16 in ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), but No. 6 in the Colley Matrix rankings.
Here's a closer look at the three phases of BYU's 2025 team — offense, defense and special teams — and how they performed in the program's third season in the Big 12.
With Bachmeier earning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors , BYU's offense in 2025 did much better than almost everyone expected. The first-year quarterback, who was wrapping up his senior season of high school football at this time last year, completed 64% of his passes for 2,708 yards and 14 touchdowns, with just six interceptions.
"He's only going to get better," Roberts said. "There are a lot of learning curves for a freshman quarterback. I couldn't imagine getting thrown into a position like that as a freshman kid. He understands his role, and as he matures and grows and just gets more experience, he's going to be that much better."
The Cougars rank No. 34 in the country in scoring heading into their bowl game, having averaged 31.9 points per game. They were No. 44 last year.
Throw out the Texas Tech games in which they scored 14 total points, and the Cougars averaged 36.4 points per game, which would rank them No. 14 in the country. Having to play the Red Raiders twice killed BYU's offensive stats, obviously.
Overall, Aaron Roderick produced another well-balanced offense , as the Cougars averaged 397.5 yards per game — 184.4 on the ground and 213.2 through the air. They are No. 59 in total offense, exactly where they were before their bowl game last year.
Bachmeier was also their second-leading rusher, with 527 net rushing yards, and 11 touchdowns.
"The toughness is there. Everything's there to be a great football player, to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football," Roberts said. "As we keep building and getting those recruits and growing and learning as Bear leads the way, it is going to be a hard team to beat."
Junior Parker Kingston enters the bowl game as BYU's leading receiver, with 61 catches for 848 yards and five touchdowns; Roberts missed the UCF game but was second in catches (47) and yards (745) and tied Kingston with five TDs.
BYU's offensive line overachieved for the second-straight season as coach TJ Woods went about replacing Caleb Etienne , Connor Pay and Brayden Keim. Center Bruce Mitchell emerged as an all-conference player and tackles Isaiah Jatta and Andrew Gentry were solid. Guards Austin Leausa, Sonny Makasini, Kyle Sfarcioc and Weylin Lapuaho all battled injuries but were all steady contributors.
Sfarcioc made one of the biggest plays of the year, jumping on a fumble against Arizona that enabled the Cougars to beat the Wildcats in double overtime.
If the offense had an issue, it was getting bogged down in the red zone (26 touchdowns on 40 red-zone penetrations). Also, it wasn't great on third down, converting only 35.3% of those opportunities to rank No. 110 in the country in that statistic.
Offensive MVP:How can we not go with the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year for this unofficial honor? Junior running back LJ Martin was simply sensational for the Cougars in his third season in Provo, appearing in all 13 games after injuries cut short his freshman and sophomore seasons at BYU.
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) winds up for a pass during the Big 12 championship game against Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Martin enters the bowl game with 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, and has moved up to No. 10 on BYU's career rushing yardage list with 2,479.
BYU's defense continues to get better and better in DC Jay Hill's third season at BYU. While losing stars such as Tyler Batty , Marque Collins and Jakob Robinson to graduation and leading tackler Harrison Taggart ( California ) and playmaking safety Crew Wakley ( Purdue ) to the transfer portal, the unit maintained its status as one of the Big 12's best defenses.
"I'm proud of the way we competed all season and improved in a lot of areas," Wall said. "Our team prides itself on playing complementary football and the defense did its part."
The Cougars' defense enters the bowl game against one of the better dual-threat QBs in the country — Georgia Tech's Haynes King — standing at No. 19 in scoring defense (19.0 points per game) and No. 28 in total defense (328.4 yards per game).
Last year, BYU was No. 20 in scoring defense and total defense.
After leading the country in interceptions last year, with 20, the Cougars have 16 with one game to play. That's tied for 10th in the country. Thanks to 22 turnovers gained and only 14 lost, BYU is No. 21 in turnover margin (+8).
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill and edge rushers coach Kelly Poppinga promised a better pass rush in 2025, and the Cougars delivered. BYU is No. 49 in the country in team sacks (30), after it was No. 122 last year with only 16.
Defensive MVP:Linebackers Isaiah Glasker , Jack Kelly and Siale Esera entered the season as the strengths of the defense, and all three had nice seasons, particularly Kelly. Safety Faletau Satuala emerged as a phenomenal playmaker, and leads BYU in tackles with 78, 12 more than runner-up Tanner Wall.
BYU safety Tanner Wall (28) celebrates after returning an interception for a touchdown during game against the TCU Horned Frogs at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
That said, Wall gets the nod as our team defensive MVP on the strength of four interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown, and his steady leadership throughout the season. Satuala and cornerback Evan Johnson also had pick-sixes.
Coordinated by Poppinga, the Cougars' special teams were spectacular in 2024, as Parker Kingston returned a punt for a touchdown, Keelan Marion returned kickoffs for touchdowns against Wyoming and Utah, Talan Alfrey returned an onside kick for a TD against Houston and Will Ferrin turned himself into one of the top kickers in the country.
This year, the unit digressed a bit, with Kingston's punt return for a TD against UCF the only really memorable play turned in by the group.
There was a fumbled punt that cost BYU a lot of momentum in Round I against Texas Tech, a couple missed field goals that maybe could have turned the tide a bit against the Red Raiders, and a shanked punt. BYU's special teams in 2025 were average, at best.
Special teams MVP:We will go with Kingston as our special teams MVP, although his punt returns were somewhat of an adventure throughout the season. He finished with 15 returns for 192 yards, a 12.8 average, which is impressive. And the junior gets extra points for also being the top receiver; Not many saw that coming.
BYU wide receiver Parker Kingston (11) breaks away for a receiving touchdown during game against the UCF Knights at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
