BYU Football Preview 2025: Cougars Season Prediction, Win Total Projection, Top Players

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2025 BYU Preview
BYU Offense Breakdown
BYU Defense Breakdown 

BYU Cougars Key Player

Isaiah Jatta, OT Sr.
The former JUCO transfer and Colorado Buffalo came to BYU and saw time right away at right tackle. He has the size and upside to grow into a star at left tackle. The line will be just fine, but if Jatta is elite from the start and Jake Retzlaff has more time to work, look out.

BYU Cougars Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: Carsen Ryan, TE Sr.
He only caught 19 passes in two years at UCLA, but scored three times. He was a decent backup last year at Utah, catching ten passes for 113 yards and a score, and now he’s about to be one of the key pieces of the BYU passing attack.

Top Transfer Out: Crew Wakley, S Sr.
After starting out at Utah State in 2021, he came to BYU in 2023 and was an instant factor, making 103 tackles with three picks and seven broken-up passes in two years. The Cougars will be fine at strong safety, but Wakley will be a strong piece of the Purdue secondary.

BYU Cougars Key Game

Utah, Oct. 18
Okay, so it’s boring to go with the obvious rivalry showdown, but for both teams, this should be the pivotal moment of the season.

BYU will be coming off a date at Arizona, and has trips to Iowa State and Texas Tech up next. Lose this, and when it comes to the rest of the season, forget it.
- 2025 BYU Schedule Breakdown

BYU Cougars Top 10 Players

1. Isaiah Glasker, LB Jr.
2. Jack Kelly, LB Sr.
3. Jake Retzlaff, QB Sr.
4. Chase Roberts, WR Sr.
5. Weylin Lapuaho, OG Sr.
6. LJ Martin, RB Jr.
7. Tanner Wall, S Sr.
8. Keanu Tanuvasa, DT Jr.
9. Carsen Ryan, TE Sr.
10. Will Ferrin, PK Sr.

BYU Cougars 2024 Fun Stats

- 3rd Quarter Scoring: BYU 123, Opponents 37

- Two Point Conversions: Opponents 2-of-4 (50%), BYU 2-of-7 (29%)

- Onside Kicks: BYU 1-of-1, Opponents 1-of-5

BYU Cougars 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen

The Cougars were terrific on their way to a 9-0 start, but they also caught a few nice breaks and came up clutch in a few early close battles.

Four of those first nine wins were by six points or fewer. This time around, there shouldn't be any problem with Portland State, Stanford, or East Carolina to start. And then this gets going.

There aren’t two home games in a row after September 6th, including five road games in the next seven.

The good news? There’s no Arizona State or Kansas State, and missing Baylor, Houston, Kansas, and Oklahoma State is a plus this year, too. Closing with TCU, at Cincinnati, and UCF is also a help.

It’ll be tough to get anywhere near ten wins, but if the Cougars can get to mid-November with their head above water, they just might be in the Big 12 mix.

Set The BYU Win Total At … 8

Likely Wins: at East Carolina, Portland State, Stanford

50/50 Games: at Arizona, at Cincinnati, at Iowa State, at Colorado, TCU, at Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia

Likely Losses: No projected sure-thing losses 

2025 BYU Preview
BYU Offense Breakdown
BYU Defense Breakdown