Iowa State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) at No. 8 BYU (4-0, 2-0 Big 12)
- To start up: Friday, 8:15 p.m. MDT
- Place: LaVell Edwards Stadium (capacity: 62,073)
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: espn.com/live or Disney+
- Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143
- Series: Iowa State leads 5-1
Trends
For BYU: The Cougars are 4-0 for the third straight year, returning home to Provo after nearly a month. With a win, they would win three straight 5-0 starts for the first time in program history.
BYU scores 37.3 points per game, allowing 14.3 points per game defensively, and has a turnover margin of +5.
Perhaps more importantly, the Cougars are 35-4 in night games since 2019, including a 20-3 mark in late kickoffs at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
For the State of Iowa: The new-look Cyclones have exceeded initial expectations in 2026, starting the year 3-2 with a 45-42 victory last weekend over West Virginia.
Iowa State scores 33.6 points per game, allowing 21.2 points per game defensively and has an even turnover margin.
What to watch for
BYU’s passing attack struggled to find a rhythm last weekend, as Bear Bachmeier threw for just 62 yards amid a Texas haze. Pay attention to the Cougars’ early passing performance to see if they can return to their typical aerial efficiency, or if there really is a bigger problem to solve.
Of course, LJ Martin will be out for at least a month, putting a world of pressure on BYU’s shorthanded running game. How the Cougar backups fare on the court will tell how well BYU can stay afloat in the coming weeks without Martin.
Iowa State might actually be the perfect opponent for BYU’s reserve running backs to boost their confidence, as the Cyclones currently have the most missed tackles in the Big 12 with 76. Adding the Cougars to that total would surely help the rushing operation without Martin.
Additionally, BYU’s pass rush came alive against Big 12 foes, with seven sacks combined against Arizona and TCU. Iowa State, however, protected its quarterback to the tune of just three sacks allowed in conference competition. Watch for who wins the battle between the Cyclone O-line and the Cougar front seven.
Players to watch
Preston Rex and Journee Tonga, running backs, BYU: As previously mentioned, the absence of LJ Martin is a major blow to the Cougars, who now find themselves without their main offensive weapon as the schedule begins to speed up.
Replacing Martin in the backfield will be a committee led by Rex and Tonga, with other backs also in the mix and Bear Bachmeier also likely to log more carries.
Tonga has been a pleasant surprise for BYU, currently with 157 rushing yards, averaging 8.3 yards per carry. Rex, a capable pass-catching back, had 94 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns.
To their credit, the Cougars, besides Martin, have totaled 598 yards on 111 carries this season (averaging 5.4 yards per attempt) with 10 touchdowns. Given the uptick in competition moving forward, it will be difficult for BYU to maintain its pace of 5.4 yards per carry, but if the Cougars can stay at 4.0 or higher in their collective rushing average, it could be enough to remain effective on the ground during this time without Martin.
And it all starts with Friday’s performance from Rex and Tonga.
Quotable
“Short week, which means you have to speed up the preparation, but we’ve been here before. We’ve had this every year.
“…Jimmy Rogers is a really good coach, and you can see the team rally around (the coaching staff’s) teaching. Basically, they’re really solid in the way they coach the game in all three phases. They’ve got some really good plays to work with, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes. So you’re going to have to be on top of your game to have success against them.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“I think (Kalani Sitake) does an incredible job. He’s just a great person, you can see his players play for him, and what he’s been able to turn into BYU over the years has been incredible to see.
“…We have to prepare to play our best football in a short week, like them. Anything can happen.” —Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State coach
Afterwards
- BYU: against No. 3 Notre-Dame on October 17
- Iowa State: in Arizona on October 24
BYU Schedule
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