Josh Pate Names Big 12 Program Primed for a Championship Breakthrough

The 2025 college football season saw another impressive year from the BYU Cougars. The Cougars are an outstanding 23-4 over the past two seasons under head coach Kalani Sitake.

However, they have yet to get over the hump of winning the conference and competing deep into the College Football Playoff. In 2024, the Cougars lost to the Kansas Jayhawks and the Arizona State Sun Devils in the regular season, which eliminated them from Big 12 championship contention.

In 2025, they made the Big 12 championship, but both defeats were decisive losses to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, once in the regular season and again in the conference title game.

Now, BYU is aiming for another strong season, but this time with the expectation of finishing the job by winning the conference and representing the Big 12 in the College Football Playoff. That’s something Josh Pate revealed on his show, "Josh Pate's College Football Show," that could realistically happen this season.

BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) throws the ball against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

"I think Brigham Young would be the one that won it," Pate said. "I think about Kalani Sitake, who had an offer to leave and chose to stay, and what that can do to the moral fiber and the... energy level of a program."

As Pate mentioned, the team nearly lost its head coach during the offseason. Sitake was rumored as a candidate for the Penn State opening before electing to remain in Provo, Utah. That decision could prove pivotal, as coaching stability is often a key factor in championship-level teams.

Pate also pointed to quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who was unexpectedly thrust into the starting role as a freshman after J ake Retzlaff departed for Tulane, where he led the Green Wave to a College Football Playoff appearance.

Bachmeier was highly productive, throwing for 3,033 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 64.9% of his passes. He also added 527 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. His dual-threat ability adds another dimension to BYU’s offense, making the unit more difficult to defend.

But he did show his youth in the team's biggest games, throwing for less than 200 yards in both games against Texas Tech. He also had one touchdown and three interceptions, while being held to just 10 yards rushing.

If Bachmeier can take another step forward in his development, this could be a breakthrough season for the Cougars, one that finally ends their conference title drought of almost 20 years and firmly places them among the top contenders in college football.