BYU Has Fewer Question Marks Than Ever Going Into Big 12 Media Days

On Tuesday, BYU will take the stage for Big 12 media days. Six veteran BYU players will be in Frisco to participate in the event: Bear Bachmeier, LJ Martin, Bruce Mitchell, Evan Johnson, Isaiah Glasker, and Keanu Tanuvasa.

BYU is entering its fourth season in the Big 12. Going into 2026 media days, BYU has fewer question marks than any of the prior three seasons going into media days.

In 2023, the BYU headline was all about the first year in a power conference. How would BYU fare against a power conference schedule? The answer, as it turned out, was not well. The Cougars went 5-7 and were on the wrong end of multiple blowout losses to West Virginia, TCU, and Texas.

The 2023 performance sparked questions about BYU's readiness to compete in 2024. How would BYU bounce back from missing a bowl game for the first time since 2017? On top of it all, BYU was going into Fall Camp with major question marks at the quarterback position. Jake Retzlaff, who was winless as a starter in November of 2023, was going to compete against transfer Gerry Bohannon for the starting quarterback job. The Cougars opted to bring back the majority of a roster that had struggled the year before.

As it turned out, BYU's bet on roster retention paid off.

Not even the most optimistic BYU fan could have foreseen a 9-0 start to the 2024 season, but that's exactly what happened. The Cougars climbed up to no. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings before losing to Kansas. Eventually, BYU lost some steam in November and the lack of depth caught up to the Cougars. Remember, it was only BYU's second season in a power league. BYU finished the 2024 campaign with a blowout win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.

Following the bowl win, BYU went into the 2025 season with national expectations. BYU was viewed as one of the favorites to win the Big 12 going into 2025. At least those were the expectations until May, when BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff was named in a civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault.

It's easy to forget that BYU went into 2025 media days without a resolution on the Jake Retzlaff situation. It wasn't until after media days that the lawsuit against Retzlaff was withdrawn, and Retzlaff opted to transfer to Tulane instead of wait out a seven-game suspension.

BYU had major question marks at the most important position. At media days, BYU players were answering questions about all three quarterbacks that would compete for the starting job: Bear Bachmeier, Treyson Bourguet, and McCae Hillstead.

Bachmeier eventually won the job and played exceptionally well considering the circumstances. Bachmeier transferred from Stanford to BYU in May, just before Retzlaff was named in the lawsuit. He was originally scheduled to sit behind Retzlaff for a year before competing to start in 2026. When Retzlaff transferred out of the program, Bachmeier was thrust into the starting quarterback job. Bachmeier led the Cougars to 12 wins and started all 14 games.

Now going into 2026, BYU has fewer questions than ever surrounding the program. BYU returns a starting quarterback for the first time since 2022. BYU also returns star running back LJ Martin, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. On defense, BYU ranks in the top 10 in returning defensive production.

Given the circumstances going into 2026, the Cougars are viewed as one of the two favorites to win the Big 12. The primary question surrounding BYU is whether they can make another run at the Big 12 title with the burden of expectations on their shoulders. The last two years, BYU has answered those questions with wins.

Time will tell if BYU can make another run in 2026.

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