Five Takeaways from a Productive Bye Week for BYU Football

BYU linebacker Jack Kelly against Iowa State | BYU Photo

BYU’s bye week could not have come at a better time. While BYU entered 8-0, it was starting to feel like they did so hobbling. For BYU fans, this week was an object lesson for taking a rest day after a stretch of serious cardio exercise. Even in an off-week, though, there is always more to learn. Here are five BYU adjacent takeaways from their second bye week.

1. BYU won the bye week

Nov 1, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Creed Whittemore (80) runs against Cincinnati Bearcats cornerback Ormanie Arnold (8) and linebacker Montay Weedon (44) during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

It’s hard to imagine a better bye week for BYU. Three teams ranked ahead of BYU lost including no. 7 Georgia Tech and no. 10 Miami, drastically improving BYU’s odds at an at-large playoff bid. In the Big 12 race, two of the three other teams that controlled their own destiny (Cincinnati and Houston) also lost. On the health front, BYU will enter its most important stretch in 40 years as close to 100% as they’ve been all season. During that stretch, BYU is favored in three of its four games. If BYU takes care of business in those three, BYU will not only be playing for a Big 12 championship in Arlington, but thanks to this weekend, they will also have a great shot at the playoff whether they win or not.

2. BYU deserves a lot more credit for never letting go of the rope down late

BYU RB LJ Martin against Arizona | BYU Photo

After watching some of the games around college football Saturday, its easy to see how hard it is to do what BYU has done this season. Cincinnati and Kansas State were down by 10 points or less midway through the third quarter and wound up losing those games by a combined 54 points. Then, no. 8 Georgia Tech cut their deficit to 4-4 NC State to one score entering the fourth quarter only to be down 18 points just 10 minutes later. BYU has needed to come back from double-digit deficits more than they’d like this season, but the fact that they’ve never let those games get out of hand, let alone win all of them, is a credit to the toughness of this team. Winning is a genetic trait. It’s engrained in a program’s DNA. At this point, it doesn’t take a microscope to see it in BYU’s.

3. BYU can’t afford a slow start this week

Nov 1, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton (2) drops back to pass during the second quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

With the last point in mind, BYU cannot afford another slow start this week. Texas Tech is just too good to come back on. Texas Tech struggled for large segments of its game against Kansas State and still won by 23 points. This season, BYU has struggled getting going on the road. So far BYU led 6-3 just before half at ECU, fell down 14-0 at Colorado, gave up 24 unanswered points post rain delay at Arizona, and trailed 24-10 at Iowa State. To BYU’s credit, BYU closed those games on a combined 102-23 run, but none of those teams that BYU beat are as good as Texas Tech. For BYU to pull off its biggest win in a generation, they will need to be the team that went on those second half runs for a full 60 minutes. Otherwise, they will find themselves in a hole they cannot come back from.

4. The Big 12 deserves three teams in the playoff discussion

BYU wide receiver Parker Kingston against Utah | BYU Photo

We have watched a lot of football this season. We have dug into the numbers as deeply as anyone. The big three in the Big 12 stacks up with any other P4 conference's top three in the country. Per SP+ resume ratings, the average resume ranking of the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC are 2.3, 6.3, 6.3, and 15.7 respectively. None of these three teams have played a top 45 schedule, but how they’ve performed against those schedules merits each of them a top 12 ranking. BYU is undefeated. Texas Tech is a wagon. Utah’s only flaw is that they’ve lost to the other two. Otherwise, they are destroying everyone. As of this week, TTU, BYU, and Utah have the 5th, 6th, and 8th strongest records in the country. The Big 12 won’t get three teams in the College Football Playoff, but if the committee's strength of record metrics have any value, all three teams should be in at least the top 15 on Tuesday.

5. BYU just might have beaten the best Utah team ever

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier against Utah | BYU Photo

Last season, Utah fans seemed to take pride that one of the best BYU teams of this generation beat one of the worst Utah teams of this generation by one point. The same cannot be said about this season. This Utah team is awesome. They absolutely demolished a ranked Cincinnati team in the same manner in which they beat every team they've played that is not ranked in the top 10. Based on FPI, they are the 7th best team in the country. No other Utah team has ever been higher than 8th. While that might repulse BYU fans, the fact that BYU beat that Utah team should (1) earn BYU bragging rights for awhile, and (2) provide an serious amount of confidence that this BYU team can compete at the highest levels of the sport.