Nine Takeaways From BYU's Most Magical Season in a Generation

BYU wrapped up its 2025 campaign with a thrilling 25-21 victory over no 22 Georgia Tech in the People’s National Championship. It was a fitting end to a historic season that brought some of the highest highs seen by BYU’s football program in a generation. Now that the season is over, let's review. Here are nine things we took away from BYU’s first 12-win season in a quarter century.

1. This was really the only way this particular season could have ended

BYU cornerback Evan Johnson's game-sealing interception against Georgia Tech | BYU Photo

When BYU fell down 21-10 following a muffed kickoff, it felt like things could unravel quickly. It only felt that way, though, if you literally have not watched a single snap of BYU football this year. Saturday was the seventh time this season that BYU had found itself down double digits. BYU won five of those games. While not good for the heart, it’s a testament to how well coached this 2025 BYU team was. In truth, BYU overcame this double-digit deficit the same way that they overcame the others: out-executing Georgia Tech in the critical moments.

But also like those other games, BYU probably shouldn’t have been down 10+ in the first place. BYU was better than Georgia Tech. With BYU’s best offensive player the field off the field and a virtually one-legged quarterback on it, BYU’s offense gained 80.4% of it’s available yards, it’s highest total of the season against any team not named Portland State. It was three trips inside the five that netted three points, and a muffed kickoff that kept this one from being a boat race for the team in blue. Still, despite the miscues, the injuries, and the off-field drama, BYU won the people's national championship and ended the season the way this team deserved: devouring a sentient pastry on network TV.

2. This is the best season of this century and probably the second best ever

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake against TCU | BYU Photo

Slotting where this season fits among the all-time greats at BYU is a task for another article, but man this one has to be up there. Let’s look at it by the numbers. This was just the fifth time in program history that BYU has won 12 games. Of those seasons, this was the only one where BYU had a strength of schedule rating above 0 per Sports Reference. In fact, BYU won 12 games against literally the most difficult schedule BYU has ever played by that metric. How difficult was it? 2024 was BYU’s 8th most difficult schedule of the last 50 years. Per sports reference, BYU’s 2024 SOS rating (1.05) was closer to 2020 BYU’s schedule (-3.89) than it is to 2025’s schedule (6.54).

Of BYU’s 12 wins, 6 came against teams with 8+ wins (most nationally), 4 with 9+ wins, 1 against a 10-win Utah, and 3 ranked in the final CFP rankings. Most of all BYU went undefeated at home and avoided the “bad loss” that has plagued BYU in seasons past. Nostalgia will tell you that nothing BYU does in the 21st century can match the legacies of McMahon, Detmer, and Young, but I would put this BYU team’s body of work up against literally any BYU team ever.

3. No one side of the ball was to credit or to blame for its success and failures; this was a complete football team

Coaches always talk about the importance of complimentary football, but man was it BYU’s calling card. BYU’s offense and defense both finished in the top 15 in EPA per play, and was one of 9 teams nationally to finish in the top 20 in FPI efficiency. BYU had some games where the defense had to overcome offensive struggles and games where BYU’s offense had to carry the day. Some stats where the defense was better and some that favored the offense. But in reality, this was as well-balanced of a team as there was in the country, and it's why BYU won 12 games.

4. Bear Bachmeier is a superstar

BYU QB Bear Bachmeier against UCF | BYU Photo

Part of the narrative surrounding BYU was that this was not a team built to win from behind because of their “run first true freshman QB.” No one told that to Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier outplayed his much more senior spiritual equivalent and top 10-in-Heisman-voting Haynes King, posting an 84.5 QBR to King’s 82.9. With no LJ, Bear was the catalyst in BYU’s fourth fourth quarter comeback this season, throwing for 325 yards and a touchdown to go with a gutty two-point conversion run that ultimately proved essential after Haynes King led Tech to field goal range in the final minute.

We thought Bachmeier would be able to replace the production void left by Jake Retzlaff last season. To everyone’s surprise, he surpassed it. Bachmeier’s output joined him with Brandon Doman, John Beck, Max Hall, Zach Wilson, and Jaren Hall as the only BYU quarterbacks this century to eclipse 3,000 yards in a single season, while his 3,647 total yards ranked top 15 among Power Four quarterbacks and second in the Big 12. Not bad for a true freshman.

There is an argument to be made that Bachmeier’s 2025 season is a top five season by a true freshman in college football history. After all, Bachmeier is only the fourth true freshman to lead his team to 12 wins and finished with more total yards than two of the other three in their true freshman campaigns. With all the offseason drama to come, BYU’s top priority must be to retain QB1. His combination of production and intangibles under pressure will make him a legend at BYU when all is said and done.

5. This was senior class is BYU Mount Rushmore worthy

BYU WR Chase Roberts against WVU | BYU Photo

This senior class at BYU will be among the group I cherish most in my time following BYU. They are the last class to choose an independent BYU and took them from 5-7 to 23-3 in the blink of an eye. Guys like Chase Roberts and Jack Kelly had no shortage of options had they entertained them, but they stuck with BYU through the bad, reaped the benefits, and will hopefully have long NFL careers. Guys like Carsen Ryan, who had a bit of a winding road to get to BYU, but made it his forever home and proved BYU was back in the tight end business. Guys like Tanner Wall who have bled blue since they were three years old and went from walk-on wide receiver to all-Big 12 safety. There's a million more names to mention from Isaiah Jatta, Will Ferrin, Mory Bamba, and Logan Litui that have had iconic moments, but this will be a group worth honoring in the years to come.

6. BYU was a star-driven team that still needs more talent to get to the next echelon of college football

BYU defensive end Nusi Taumoepeau against TCU | BYU Photo

Fair or not, BYU was left out of the College Football Playoff for a simple reason: BYU did not physically dominate its opponents like Texas Tech and Indiana did, and they don’t have the logo equity to overcome it. Therefore, BYU didn’t get the eye test bump that teams like Miami and Notre Dame got despite having better resumes than both. BYU’s efficiency, strength of record, and strength of schedule were all firmly range of the other playoff teams, but only one metric lagged the rest of the field: game control. BYU ranked 15th nationally in game control, largely because they trailed by 10+ points in half their games.

What do the teams ranked ahead of BYU have in common? They all recruit at an extremely high level. 8 of the 10 P4 conference playoff teams rank in the top 25 in 247’s talent composite. BYU? 70th. Only Indiana outperformed its talent profile more than BYU did this year. That is a testament to Kalani Sitake’s culture and development. But the clay Sitake is molding is “compete with almost anyone in the Big 12” good and not “beat a top 5 team in a playoff game good.” That’s fantastic given where BYU was even 3 years ago, but for BYU to make the playoff under the current (unfair) criteria, BYU needs offensive lineman that can block Texas Tech’s edge rushers one-on-one. They need pass rushers, corners, and receivers that can sustainably win matchups without the benefit of scheme.

BYU has a lot of those players, but not enough. Guys like Jack Kelly, Keanu Tanuvasa, Nusi Taumoepeau, Tausili Akana, Evan Johnson, LJ Martin, Bear Bachmeier, Faletau Satuala, Tre Alexander and Isaiah Glasker could play at nearly any school in America. But the reason BYU's season ended in the Pop-Tarts bowl and not in the CFP is because it did not have the depth of talent to consistently dominate teams for all four quarters like some of the other teams in the field. Not yet anyway. BYU has put together three straight top 50 high school classes and a top 25 class this year. That’s progress. But if back-to-back bludgeonings at the hand of the Red Raiders tells us anything, it's that BYU has another physical level it needs to get to before it can start passing the eye test.

8. BYU is in a different place than it was when it hired Jay Hill

BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill | BYU Photo

When Jay Hill joined BYU’s football program, he showed what was possible on and off the field with his efforts in recruiting and game planning. It could not have been a starker contrast to what BYU had before. Almost overnight, BYU went from the hundreds in total defense to the teens, and from the 70's in recruiting to the 20's. Jay Hill certainly played a massive part in that, but so did the introduction of the transfer portal, NIL, and Big 12 resources. If reports are true and Jay Hill does leave this offseason for greener pastures, it will certainly be a major blow. His addition was worth every penny and his loss will be felt in Provo for the immediate future. The great news for BYU, though, is that even if they lose a $2 million dollar defensive coordinator, he helped build a program with enough resources, talent, and success to attract a new one.

9. We are in a new golden age of BYU football

BYU runs out of the tunnel before the Cincinnati game | BYU Photo

I was born in 1995. I wasn’t alive for the Miracle Bowl, the national championship, or Detmer’s Heisman. I was barely conscious for BYU’s 14-1 season. But if I had to guess what that felt like, I imagine it felt a lot like this. Since 2020, BYU is 9th nationally in win percentage and is 30-15 against Power Conference opponents over that span. That is 18th among power conference teams in terms of win percentage and the highest in the state of Utah. BYU’s 30 power conference wins over the last 5 seasons is just 4 shy of the number of P4 wins Lavell Edwards had in his entire 28-year career. Over the last 6 years, BYU is 9-8 against opponents ranked at the time of the game (9th nationally over that span) and 5-3 against opponents in the final CFP rankings over the last 2 years. In over 100 years of power conference membership, schools like Iowa State have won 10 games once. BYU has done it twice in its first 3 years, finishing tied for the best conference record in the league both years, and made the Big 12 title in one of them. The best part? This is just the beginning. With Kalani Sitake’s recent extension, reported resources included in the deal should put BYU in contention for years to come.