Sunday Notebook Thoughts on BYU's Urgency to Fix Mistakes Before Holy War

The BYU football program was about to cruise to a victory over Arizona State on Saturday. The Cougars, leading 17-3, had the ball in Arizona State territory. Then, Bear Bachmeier was intercepted and the game turned in ASU's favor. The Sun Devils went on a 14-0 run in the third quarter, and BYU needed another clutch drive from Bear Bachmeier to escape with a victory. There is a lot to unpack as BYU gets ready to take on Utah in the first top 10 matchup in the history of the rivalry.

The time to fix mistakes has expired with the Holy War on deck

October is in the rearview mirror and BYU has not played to its potential. There have been moments where the Cougars have flashed their potential. The first half against Notre Dame displayed BYU's ceiling, especially on offense. The defense suffocated an Iowa State offense that put 51 points on Oklahoma State on Saturday.

The problem for this 2026 BYU football team has been consistency, and that was on full display against Arizona State. BYU was slicing up the ASU defense in the first half, then they went the entire quarter without a first down. Special teams has been a mixed bag throughout the season. BYU sacked Jake Fette six times in the first half and zero times in the second half.

It's fair to wonder whether BYU will ever put together a complete game in 2026. BYU plays Utah next week, so the time to clean up the mistakes in games has expired. BYU doesn't have to play a perfect game to beat Utah next week, but they will have to play much better than they have the last two weeks.

BYU managed to win 11 regular season games last year by playing complementary football. It was far from perfect - the Cougars had to come back from double-digit deficit multiple times. But when it mattered most, that team played complementary football to win games. This season, there have been times where BYU has played the opposite, we'll call it uncomplimentary football. It's the reason why BYU has struggled to handle inferior opponents. This team is more talented and more experienced than they were a season ago, so they are finding ways to win games despite their imperfections. Take this sequence from the first half, for example.

BYU punt returner Cannon DeVries signaled for a fair catch at the 5 yard-line. DeVries had time to return the punt at least 5 or 10 yards, or he could have let the ball bounce and it likely would have bounced into the end zone. The fair catch put BYU's offense in a bad spot to start its drive and the Cougars had to play conservatively to get out of the shadow of their own end zone. That caused BYU's offense to go three-and-out and setup Arizona State with excellent field position. Then, ASU scored its first points of the game. The special teams put the offense in a bad spot, then the offense put the defense in a bad spot.

It's time for BYU to get back to complimentary football.

If you're worried BYU doesn't look like a top 10 team, good luck finding 10 teams that do

College football has changed. Top 10 teams are either losing or narrowly escaping upsets every Saturday. Over the years, college football fans have been trained to know what top 10 teams look like. This season, parity has taken over the sport. Top 10 teams don't look like the top 10 teams of old.

Just this week, no. 4 Indiana needed a 60-yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime against Minnesota. No. 1 Miami was trailing in the second half and escaped with a win over North Carolina. Unranked USC cruised to a win over no. 2 Ohio State. Notre Dame was in a dogfight with Navy in the first half

Yes, BYU has played down to its competition the last two weeks, but that doesn't mean BYU isn't a top 10 team. More than ever before, top 25 teams can lose on any given Saturday. If you don't think BYU is worthy of a top 10 ranking, could luck finding 10 teams that deserve it more than BYU.

The last two weeks have highlighted LJ Martin's absence

BYU's offense has really, really missed LJ Martin the last two weeks. Without Martin in the lineup, BYU has relied way too much on both the arm and legs of Bear Bachmeier. The rushing attack, or lack thereof, is the primary reason why BYU's offense has been boom-or-bust the last two weeks. Sione Moa made a valiant effort to return from injury so quickly, but he's clearly not right. Moa has averaged 2.7 yards per carry since returning from injury.

Between UCF and ASU, Moa got 21 carries and forced one missed tackle. This isn't intended to be a knock on Moa - he's clearly gutting it out when his team needs him. The point is to highlight how desperately BYU misses LJ Martin. For context, Martin was averaging one missed tackle forced every 4.4 carries before injury.

The good news for BYU is Martin is on track to return for the rivalry game, per On3 Sports. Martin's return, as long as he is healthy enough to be effective, could change the complexion of not only the offense, but the entire team. BYU will be able to sustain more drives with Martin on the field which will help the BYU defense who has spent a lot of time on the field the last two weeks.

NEW: Optimism continues to grow that BYU star RB LJ Martin can return for its game against Utah, @PeteNakos reports😼https://t.co/KiobcLXVOQ pic.twitter.com/EQDYdrrULy
— On3 (@On3) October 29, 2026

The bright spots

BYU certainly didn't play its best football against ASU, but that doesn't mean there weren't bright spots worth highlighting. When BYU needed a touchdown, Bear Bachmeier drove the offense 95 yards for the game-sealing touchdown. Bachmeier has a way of winning football games when BYU puts the ball in his hands. On Saturday, it was another deep shot to Legend Glasker that broke the game open. Bachmeier didn't play his best game against ASU, but he made big plays when it mattered most.

BYU has put the weight of the world on Bachmeier's shoulders in LJ Martin's absence and he has delivered. It's very challening to be as efficient and effective as Bachmeier has been with no real rushing threat to speak of.

On defense, BYU cornerbacks Therrian Alexander III and Jayven Williams locked down ASU star wide receivers Omarion Miller and Reed Harris. Miller and Harris were perhaps the best WR duo BYU had faced all season, and despite ASU's efforts to throw them jump balls, they only came down with one of them. They showed very well in Evan Johnson's absence.

While special teams has struggled at times, there have been two consistent standouts: Matthias Dunn and Cannon DeVries. Mathias Dunn missed his first field goal attempt of the season and he hasn't missed since then. Cannon DeVries setup a BYU score with a nice punt return. Whenever DeVries has the ball in his hands in the return game, good things happen.

BYU broke a program record with six sacks in the first half against ASU. That was the most sacks in a single game by an FBS team this year. The Cougars came into the game with 12 sacks on the season and they increased their sack output by 50% in two quarters. The pass rush really disrupted Jake Fette in his first career start.

Another bright spot: pass protection. Bear Bachmeier was pressured on just 17.6% of his dropbacks. ASU has some really talented pass rushers and BYU's offensive line kept them in check.

The Big 12 has a referee problem

For the third consecutive week, the Big 12 referees played a huge role in a BYU game. After the game, the conference announced it improperly called a touchdown when Sione Moa scooped up a Bear Bachmeier fumble. By rule, Moa should not have been allowed to advance the football. What most people may not have realized is that play probably never should have happened in the first place. It was pretty clear that Bear Bachmeier scored on the prior play, but he was marked short and the play was never reviewed.

Then, BYU blocked an ASU field goal and the Cougars were penalized for roughing the center. FOX rules analyst Mike Perreira disagreed with the call. Later in the game, the referees flagged Jayven Williams for pass interference on third down that was - in the opinion of this author - clearly the wrong call. That call led to an ASU touchdown.

Head-scratching calls have become a weekly occurrence by Big 12 crews and they are going both ways. BYU has benefitted from some calls and been hurt by others. It's not hyperbole to say the Big 12 has a referee and review crisis on its hands.

Not only have the calls been questionable, the reviews are lengthy as well. The referees have significaly impacted the flow of the game over the last two weeks.

Big 12 Officiating has become the biggest threat to College Football. This can’t keep happening. https://t.co/NwmSVJIuha
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 1, 2026

And then there were three...

It was another chaotic college football Saturday and the Big 12 was in the middle of the action. Coming into the weekend, there were five Big 12 teams with one conference loss or less. Now there are three.: Utah, BYU, and Texas Tech. Texas Tech stormed back to beat Arizona after trailing by double digits, handing the Wildcats their second loss in conference play. Now, Noah Fifita and the Wildcats face an uphill battle to make the Big 12 title game.

The most surprising result was the Iowa State upset over Oklahoma State. The Cowboys suffered their second conference loss and, like Arizona, now face an uphill battle to make the Big 12 championship game.

The Iowa State-Oklahoma State result could be a lifesaver if BYU suffers another setback in conference play. The Oklahoma State loss opened up a handful of avenues for BYU to make the Big 12 title game at 7-2.

BYU controls its own destiny to the Big 12 title game. BYU will lose control of its destiny if it loses again, but that doesn't mean BYU couldn't make the title game at 10-2.

Early expectations for the rivalry game

It's not a secret that Utah looked dominant in a blowout against Cincinnati. Despite the current trajectory of the two teams, I expect the rivalry game to be close. It won't be easy to slow down Utah's high-powered offense, but the BYU defense has kept the two best offenses it's faced (Notre Dame and Arizona) well below their season averages.

On offense, BYU will have the chance to move the football through the air. For as good as Utah has been on that side of the ball, they have struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks. BYU's offensive line has been one of the best in college football at preventing pressure, so Bear Bachmeier should have clean pockets to work with.

Like it usually does, this game will come down to the turnover margin and clutch time.

BYU lacks a uniform identity

We have more important things to comment on than uniforms so this will be brief: it's time to dump the navy uniforms, or at least reduce how often they are worn. BYU has worn navy three times in seven games this season. BYU lacks a uniform identity since they are not only rotating uniforms every week, they are also rotating shades of blue as well.

BYU's classic home and away looks are some of the best in college football and the Cougars don't wear them enough.

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