Joel Klatt Believes BYU Is One of the Most Likely First-Time CFP Teams

Klatt put BYU in his 10 most-likely teams to make the 12-team CFP for the first time

FOX analyst Joel Klatt with Urban Meyer and Brady Quinn at FOX Big Noon Kickoff, previewing BYU vs Arizona | BYU Photo

Fall Camp is just around the corner for the BYU football program. As camp approaches, the national buzz surrounding BYU continues to grow. Earlier this week, Joel Klatt ranked his top 10 teams that are most likely to make their first appearance in the 12-team playoff.

Klatt ranked BYU the second-most likely team to breakthrough and make the CFP behind only LSU. BYU was one of four Big 12 teams to make the list. Utah, Arizona, and Houston ranked 6th, 7th, and 8th, respectively.

Of the teams that have not made the 12-team playoff, no team has won more games than BYU. However, the Cougars have been blocked out of the field despite having a playoff-worthy resume. The College Football Playoff committee has done BYU no favors, and the reputation surrounding BYU has played a role in that.

The Cougars have gone into the last two seasons with low national expectations. Unlike the last two years, however, BYU will start the season in the top 25. The Cougars could start as high as the top 15 in the preseason AP poll.

On BYU, Klatt said, "BYU was oh so close a year ago. They were in that Big 12 championship game and came up just a little bit short. Now, they came up short because of their offense. They couldn't do anything against that Tech defense. I don't know if Tech's defense is gonna be nearly what they were a year ago."

BYU's offense struggled in two critical games against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders boasted one of the two or three best defenses in the sport. According to the advanced metrics, Texas Tech was the most efficient defense in college football.

Tech was the only team on BYU's schedule that was able to expose Bachmeier's inexperience. The Red Raiders managed to pressure Bachmeier without blitzing, and that made life very difficult on the true freshman. They dropped seven into coverage, created havoc off the line of scrimmage, and forced multiple Bachmeier interceptions.

Bachmeier had 10 turnovers all season: 7 interceptions and 3 fumbles lost. 5 of his 10 turnovers came in the two games against Texas Tech.

Tech lost most of its defensive line to the NFL. They tried to reload through the transfer portal, but it remains to be seen if they can replicate the same production in 2026.

If BYU is going to get over the hump and win the Big 12, they will need Bachmeier to take a step forward in his sophomore season.

Klatt continued, saying he expects the Cougars to end up back in the Big 12 championship game. "I think BYU should be in the Big 12 championship game," Klatt said. "They're too consistent as a program. They've got their quarterback back. I love this program. Are there questions about some of their program? Yeah, yeah, there's questions...I think Bear Bachmeier is a heck of a player. LJ Martin, they're gonna need to lead this offense. It's gonna be likely a ground-based offense."

Klatt also called out that BYU will be replacing defensive coordinator Jay Hill. "That defense should be very good," Klatt said. He also described BYU's schedule as "very manageable."

"This is a team that I think should absolutely be competing for another Big 12 title and an opportunity to go to the College Football Playoff," Klatt said.

Klatt's sentiment towards the BYU football program is very different than it was a year ago. This time last year, Klatt told fans to sell stock in the BYU football program.

"I think this is an easy sell, unfortunate for this program." Klatt said on BYU in July of 2025. Klatt pointed to BYU's uncertainty at quarterbacks as the reason to sell stock. Bear Bachmeier emerged and proved Klatt wrong.

Now, the Cougars will look to prove Klatt right and make the first College Football Playoff run in program history.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X and Facebook for the latest news.