Why BYU has an edge over the rest of college football in 2026
Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz are joined by Jared Smith, sports betting analyst and host of The Morning After Podcast, to explain why he expects a strong season out of BYU and for them to go over their win total in 2026. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV .
Video Transcript
What is one team that you think is undervalued by Vegas going into the season?
It's nice to talk about games and, and not the- Games the on-field games and, and, and not the off-field games that we just keep, seeming to rear their ugly head.
I, I think BYU is going to be an absolute force this year in the Big 12.
So you can get their win total a- at eight and a half.
I betted it minus $1.25 earlier this summer.
It's up to minus $1.60, so the market so far has agreed with me.
But I, I've never seen a, a retention, a job like Kalani Sitake's done, in Provo.
They kept all available starters, on their roster.
Did, did not w- have one transfer out, which is insane i- in today's college football landscape.
Despite the fact that they lost their defensive coordinator, who, who went to Michigan with Kyle Whittingham, Jay Hill.
So I, I think that is just That deserves a gold star right there.
Oh, by the way, you brought in Cade Uluad from Cal, who's probably the best linebacker, in this class in terms of the transfer portal.
And you have a top 25 recruiting class coming in.
Love the quarterback, Bear Bachmeier.
I know he wears a goofy name, and I think, you know, in your mind you might downgrade him just for that, 'cause he's got that number 47 and, you know, he's got, some interesting qualities about him.
But I think he is a fantastic player, freshman of the year, rocket arm, unafraid in the pocket to make all the throws.
You've got offensive player of the year in the Big 12, L.J.
Martin, coming back.
The schedule's manageable at TCU, at Utah, and Notre Dame are their toughest games.
So they could lose all three of those games and still go nine and three, and go over their win total.
So I, I would say BYU, give them another crack at Texas Tech in that Big 12 championship game.
They weren't ready for it last year, but I think their experience, a- and the fact that they kept all their players on their roster from last year is just a, is a huge plus for them
