In a stunning yet calculated move that has sent shockwaves through the college football community, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt released his highly anticipated 2025 Preseason Top 25 — and for the first time in over a decade, the BYU Cougars have landed squarely in the Top 15, claiming the No. 13 spot.
This bold placement comes after BYU’s surprising 2024 season, where the Cougars posted a 10-3 record in their second year as full Big 12 members. Klatt cited the “impressive cohesion between quarterback play, trench dominance, and emerging star power” as key reasons for their high ranking. “BYU showed in 2024 they could go toe-to-toe with the best in the Big 12,” Klatt said during his FOX Sports segment. “With veteran leadership returning and one of the most underrated coaching staffs in the nation, they’re no longer a dark horse — they’re contenders.”
Much of the hype centers around junior quarterback Keaton Slovis II — the son of former Pitt and BYU QB Keaton Slovis — who dazzled in limited appearances last season. Standing 6’5″ with a rocket arm and pinpoint accuracy, Slovis II was named to the 2025 Davey O’Brien Award Watch List and is drawing comparisons to past BYU legends like Steve Young and Ty Detmer. His rapport with senior wideout Malik Hanson, a 1,200-yard receiver in 2024, gives the Cougars a legitimate aerial threat that could terrorize Big 12 defenses.
Defensively, BYU returns nine starters, including linebacker Nate Tafisi, whose sideline-to-sideline presence and vocal leadership have galvanized the team. Tafisi, along with defensive end Dallin Hema, helped anchor a unit that led the Big 12 in red-zone stops and ranked third nationally in third-down conversion percentage last year.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, entering his 10th year at the helm, has steadily transformed the Cougars from an independent afterthought into a disciplined, physical, and balanced power conference team. “We’ve been building for this moment,” Sitake said at spring practice in Provo. “The goal isn’t just to make noise. It’s to compete for a Big 12 title — and more.”
The schedule won’t be forgiving. BYU opens the 2025 season at home against Ole Miss before diving into a gauntlet of Big 12 clashes, including a pivotal October showdown with Texas Tech in Lubbock. Still, with momentum, experience, and a chip on their shoulder, the Cougars are poised to make believers out of skeptics.
Klatt’s ranking may be fiction to doubters now, but come November, BYU fans might be looking back at this moment as the spark that lit the fire of a historic season in Provo. One thing is certain — the college football world is watching.
