BYU accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference on Friday. The Cougars will begin playing in the league in 2023 as a full member. Going from an independent in football and a member of the WCC in other sports to the Big 12 will have a profound positive effect on the athletic program in terms of recruiting, athletic revenue, and access to the college football playoff. BYU now gets a chance to show what it can do as a Power 5 team.
Building natural rivalries may take a few years in a new conference. Still, the other Big 12 schools are not total strangers to BYU. Some notable moments for the Cougars on the football field are intertwined with other members of the league.
BYU now gets a chance to show what it can do as a Power 5 team.
BYU vs the Big 12
How has BYU historically performed vs the rest of the new Big 12?
TCU
Record vs TCU: 5-6
First Meeting: 1987
Last Meeting: 2011
The Horned Frogs quickly developed a rivalry with the Cougars when both teams played against one another in the Mountain West Conference from 2005 to 2010. BYU launched a run to its first MWC title under Bronco Mendenhall when the Cougars upset no. 17 TCU 31-17 in Fort Worth in their 2006 conference opener. John Beck threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns for BYU in a game that the Cougars led from wire-to-wire.
Baylor
Record vs Baylor: 1-1
First Meeting: 1983
Last Meeting: 2021
BYU will play the Bears in October in a sneak preview of a future Big 12 matchup. The two schools previously met in 1983 and 1984. The Cougars lost to the Bears 40-36 in 1983, despite 464 yards of total offense from Steve Young, after Baylor scored a go-ahead touchdown with 49 seconds left. BYU exacted revenge a year later, thumping the Bears 47-13 after Robbie Bosco threw for 363 yards and six touchdowns.
Texas Tech
Record vs Texas Tech: 0-1
First Meeting: 1940
Last Meeting: 1940
The Red Raiders appeared on the schedule just once, before World War II when they still competed in the Border Conference. Texas Tech edged BYU 21-20 in that lone meeting and went on to post a 9-1-1 record in 1940. The Cougars would finish 2-4-2 that season, beating only Wyoming and Utah State.
Houston
Record vs Houston: 3-0
First Meeting: 2013
Last Meeting: 2020
This “Cougar Clash” has favored BYU to this date. The first meeting between the two schools ranked as most memorable. BYU edged Houston for a wild 47-46 victory in 2013 after Taysom Hill threw an 11 yard TD pass to Skyler Ridley with 1:08 left. The Blue Cougars and Red Cougars combined for 1,164 yards on 191 plays that day.
Oklahoma State
Record vs Oklahoma State: 0-2
First Meeting: 1974
Last Meeting: 1976
The Cowboys were BYU’s first-ever bowl opponent. BYU and Oklahoma State met in the 1974 Fiesta Bowl after the Cougars won seven straight games to claim their second WAC title. BYU opened up a 6-0 lead but got shutout over the final three quarters after quarterback Gary Shiede injured his shoulder. The Cowboys eventually pulled away for a 16-6 victory over the no. 17 Cougars. Oklahoma State clobbered the Cougars 49-21 in a Tangerine Bowl rematch two years later.
Kansas State
Record vs Kansas State: 4-4
First Meeting: 1957
Last Meeting: 1997
Victories over the Wildcats occupy two big milestones in LaVell Edwards’ storied coaching career. BYU beat Kansas State 32-9 to give Edwards his first victory in his debut as head coach in 1972. Then, in the 1997 Cotton Bowl, the no. 5 Cougars edged the no. 14 Wildcats 19-15 to cap off a 14-1 season. Steve Sarkisian threw for 291 yards and had two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to rally BYU from a 15-5 deficit.
Kansas
Record vs Kansas: 0-1
First Meeting: 1992
Last Meeting: 1992
David Lauder’s inability to make field goals came back to haunt BYU in its lone meeting against Kansas. Lauder went 0-of-3 on field goals en route to the Cougars falling 23-20 to the Jayhawks in the 1992 Aloha Bowl. Reserve quarterback Tom Young threw for 262 yards and a touchdown, but BYU blew a 20-12 lead entering the fourth quarter thanks to kicking game woes.
Iowa State
Record vs Iowa State: 0-4
First Meeting: 1968
Last Meeting: 1974
The Cyclones had BYU’s number when the two schools played four times in a seven-year span. The Cougars averaged just 12.8 points per game against Iowa State. BYU’s best performance against Iowa State came in a 26-24 loss in 1973. Gary Sheide threw for 439 yards and three touchdowns, but also tossed four interceptions that day. The Cougars ultimately came up short when a last-second field goal attempt missed.
Cincinnati
Record vs Cincinnati: 2-0
First Meeting: 2015
Last Meeting: 2016
BYU twice faced the Bearcats during the Tommy Tuberville era and won both games by a comfortable margin. The Cougars got 205 total yards of offense from Taysom Hill and shut out Cinncinati over the final three quarters to beat the Bearcats 20-3 in Kalani Sitake’s debut season as head coach at BYU.
West Virginia
Record vs West Virginia: 0-1
First Meeting: 2016
Last Metting: 2016
BYU has played the Mountaineers only once, falling 35-32 in a game played in the Washington Football Team’s stadium in 2016. Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams combined for 274 rushing yards to help the Cougars rally within three points late in the fourth quarter. But Hill threw an interception at the goal line - his third of the day - on BYU’s final drive, prevented the Cougars from scratching out a dramatic come-from-behind victory.
UCF
Record vs UCF: 2-1
First Meeting:
Last Meeting: 2020
The Cougars capped off their memorable 2020 season by dominating the Knights for a 49-23 victory in the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl. Zach Wilson threw for 425 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-34 passing in his final game for BYU. Tyler Allgeier added 173 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The Cougars totaled 655 yards on offense and averaged 9.0 yards per play en route to earning their third bowl victory in five seasons.
Nice analysis.