BYU Football Looks To Continue Win Streak In State Of Florida
Oct 22, 2024, 10:53 PM | Updated: Oct 23, 2024, 11:59 am
ORLANDO, Fla. – BYU football will travel to Florida this weekend to play Big 12 foe UCF in Orlando.
In the 100 season of BYU football, Saturday will mark only the 11th game played in the Sunshine State for the Cougars.
BYU’s record in Florida is 2-8. However, they are currently on a two-game winning streak, with both victories occurring during the Kalani Sitake era.
Trips to the Sunshine Shine will be more frequent now that BYU is in a league with a team based out of Florida. Still, the opportunities are always noteworthy ones.
Saturday will be only the seventh regular season game played in Florida.
Looking back at games played by BYU football in the state of Florida
BYU is 0-3 all-time in games played in Orlando. The last visit to Orlando was in 2014 against UCF.
Here’s a look back at BYU football’s history in games played in Florida.
2022: No. 25 BYU 50, USF 21
Tampa, Florida | September 3, 2022
Final from Tampa: No. 25 @BYUfootball 50, USF 21.#ByU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/pp1e5jjWyA
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 4, 2022
BYU kept the good vibes in Florida with a revenge victory over USF. After a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay, BYU kicked off the 2022 season, and it started with a Puka Nacua rushing touchdown on the season’s opening play.
BYU cruised to a comfortable victory over a bad South Florida squad.
2020: No. 13 BYU 49, UCF 23 (Boca Raton Bowl)
Boca Raton, Florida | December 22, 2020
Boca Raton Bowl MVPs
Offense: @zachkapono
Defense: @KeenanPili7
Special Teams: Caleb Christensen#BYU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/PZsBF8Ji4H— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 23, 2020
BYU’s first win in the Sunshine State was a memorable victory to cap off a season during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Quarterback Zach Wilson was brilliant, passing for 425 yards and accounting for five touchdowns (three passes, two on the ground).
After that performance, there was no question Wilson had to declare for the NFL draft.
What’s crazy is that UCF’s opposing quarterback in that game was Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel is currently on his third team in college, leading the No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks, while Wilson is in his fourth season in the NFL.
2019: USF 27, BYU 23
Tampa, Florida | October 12, 2019
Jaren Hall’s first career start as BYU’s quarterback was challenging. Hall left the game early due to a concussion, then Baylor Romney tried to put together a late-game drive, but the Cougars came up short.
After that loss, BYU fell to 2-4 on the season. There was a lot of speculation about Kalani Sitake’s job status at that moment. BYU turned around its season with an upset win over Boise State and ultimately reached six wins, earning Kalani Sitake a job extension.
2014: Memphis 55, BYU 48 (2OT, Miami Beach Bowl)
Miami, Florida | December 22, 2014
BYU lost a double-overtime thriller to Memphis in the first-ever Miami Beach Bowl. But everyone remembers this game from the postgame brawl after BYU came up short.
2014: UCF 31, BYU 24 (OT)
Orlando, Florida | October 9, 2014
Christian Stewart got his first career start at quarterback after Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending injury the week prior during the loss to Utah State.
Stewart helped BYU build a 24-10 lead, but the Knights rallied to score 14 unanswered to force overtime. Then UCF got the upper hand over BYU in overtime.
2010: Florida State 34, BYU 10
Tallahassee, Florida | September 18, 2010
BYU QB Riley Nelson suffered a season-ending injury, forcing Jake Heaps into the spotlight as the full-time QB as a freshman.
The Cougars were no match for the Seminoles in year one under Jimbo Fisher.
2000: No. 2 Florida State 29, BYU 3 (Pigskin Classic)
Jacksonville, Florida | August 26, 2000
LaVell Edwards’ final season began in Jacksonville, Florida, against the defending National Champion Florida State Seminoles. The Noles were loaded with Chris Weinke at quarterback, Travis Minor at running back, Anquan Boldin at wide receiver, and Tay Cody to lead the defense.
An interesting tidbit from this game is that Kalani Sitake led BYU in rushing yards with 20 yards on five carries.
1988: No. 2 Miami (FL) 41, BYU 17
Miami, Florida | December 3, 1988
The forgotten BYU/Miami game. Between Steve Walsh and Craig Erickson, Miami passed for 308 yards on BYU in the rout. But we all know what happened two years later in Provo.
1985: No. 17 Ohio State 10, No. 9 BYU 7 (Citrus Bowl)
Orlando, Florida | December 28, 1985
BYU had six turnovers against Ohio State, which resulted in BYU finding the endzone only once in the 10-7 defeat.
1976: No. 14 Oklahoma State 49, BYU 21 (Tangerine Bowl)
Orlando, Florida | December 18, 1976
BYU trailed 28-21 in the third quarter before the Pokes reeled off 21 unanswered to pull away from the WAC champs.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
