Colorado State wanted a soft landing into its new conference. Instead it gets the preseason Big 12 favorite in just its third game under a brand-new coaching staff.
Bush’s Picks
BYUCSU
BYUCSU
OverUnder
Best BetBYU
BYU brings a proven quarterback-running back combo and a staff that's won 23 games over the last two seasons into a building still figuring out its starting quarterback. That kind of roster continuity usually travels well early in the season, before a new program has found its footing. Colorado State's ceiling with Mora is real, but September 19 is too early to trust it against this level of competition.
BYU
+Preseason Big 12 favorite, top-15 nationally per EA ratings
+Bachmeier and Martin both return as proven stars
+12-2 in 2025, reached Big 12 title game
−Lost DC Jay Hill to Michigan, new coordinator unproven
−Missed CFP two straight years despite strong records
Colorado State
+Jim Mora brings Power Four head-coaching pedigree
+Nearly 40 transfers added to retool the roster
+Home opener stretch designed to build momentum first
−Starting QB job unresolved between two transfers
−First-year staff, first Pac-12 season, zero track record together
This is the last tune-up before Colorado State finds out what it actually has. The Rams host Wyoming and Southern Utah to open the season before BYU rolls into Fort Collins on Saturday, September 19, and by every measure it's the toughest test on their early slate. Jim Mora, hired in November after the Rams fired Jay Norvell during a 2-5 start, will have had three games to settle a roster that turned over almost 40 new faces via the portal. BYU, meanwhile, isn't sneaking up on anybody — the Cougars enter as the preseason pick to win the Big 12, a league they haven't won yet despite reaching the title game a year ago.
The engine for BYU is obvious: Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin. Bachmeier threw for 3,033 yards and 15 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions as a true freshman starter, good enough to win Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year and drag BYU to 12-2 and the conference championship game. Martin was even better on the ground, running for 1,305 yards en route to Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors, and both are back for more. That continuity is the separator here — Colorado State can't say the same about a single position group.
Show fees
6:30 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
BYU BYU
CSU Colorado State
Colorado State's own quarterback race says everything about where this program is right now. The Rams lost their top two returning options to the portal this offseason — Jackson Brousseau to Cal, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi to Michigan — and rebuilt from scratch with Oklahoma State transfer Hauss Hejny and Ksaan Farrar, a Mora import, dueling it out this spring. Hejny's athleticism has him tracking as the favorite, but whoever wins that job will be doing it with a completely new cast around him, against a defense that's had a full offseason to get younger and hungrier under new coordinator Kelly Poppinga.
BYU Cougars
Sep 12?vs Arizona—
Sep 5?vs Utah Tech—
Colorado State Rams
Sep 12?vs Southern Utah—
Sep 5?vs Wyoming—
Recent form.
BYU isn't without its own question marks. Losing defensive coordinator Jay Hill to Michigan (following Utah's Kyle Whittingham there) leaves Poppinga, promoted from special teams, running the show for the first time, and BYU has now missed the College Football Playoff two years running despite gaudy regular-season records. Sitake has framed this fall as a 'humble, hungry' reset rather than a coronation, which is the right posture for a team that's proven it can win 11-plus games but hasn't closed the deal in the biggest moments.
BYU Cougars
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Colorado State Rams
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Still, the gap in continuity is stark. BYU returns its two best offensive players and a proven staff that's produced back-to-back double-digit-win seasons. Colorado State is asking a first-year coach and a first-year quarterback to hold serve at home against a top-15 team in what amounts to the program's Pac-12 welcome party. Fort Collins should be loud for it — new league, new coach, first real measuring stick — but talent and continuity both point one direction here.
