BYU Football Earns Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings For 2025 Season
Jan 20, 2025, 11:31 PM
BYU Football featuring running back LJ Martin is a trendy pick in many Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football isn’t going to be slept on entering the 2025 season.
Moments after the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship to cap off the 2024 season, it was time to look ahead to next year.
Media outlets began rolling out their Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for the 2025 season.
After finishing the 2024 season with an 11-2 record, one of two Power Four teams who didn’t reach the 12-team Playoff with two losses, BYU was a fixture on many Way-Too-Early polls for next year.
It’s a far different outlook than many envisioned for BYU entering the 2024 season, where they were the preseason 13th pick in the 16-team Big 12. The expectations are going to be high in Provo.
Here’s a roundup of some of the rankings for BYU.
ESPN: No. 9
BYU’s highest Top 25 ranking in the Way-Too-Early polls is from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. He has the Cougars at No. 9.
Schlabach wrote, “Kalani Sitake has built a solid program that should contend in the Big 12 each season.”
CBS Sports: No. 13
CBS’ Dennis Dodd has BYU as the highest-ranked team from the Big 12.
“The Cougars should emerge as the Big 12 favorite after an 11-win season,” wrote Dodd.
Brett McMurphy: No. 14
The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy has BYU among five Big 12 teams in his Way-Too-Early ranking.
My Way-Too-Early Top 25 in '25
1 Ohio St
2 Texas
3 Penn St
4 Georgia
5 LSU
6 Oregon
7 Notre Dame
8 Clemson
9 Tennessee
10 Miami
11 Arizona St
12 Illinois
13 S Carolina
14 BYU
15 Florida
16 SMU
17 Michigan
18 Kansas St
19 Missouri
20 Louisville
21 Ole Miss
22 Iowa St
23 Alabama…— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 20, 2025
RELATED: KSL Sports’ Way-Too-Early Big 12 Football Power Rankings for 2025 season
Yahoo! Sports: No. 15
BYU is one spot behind Arizona State (No. 14), the highest-ranked Big 12 team in Yahoo’s ranking.
NCAA.com: No. 18
NCAA.com’s Stan Becton on the Cougars: “BYU comes in at No. 18 with quarterback Jake Retzlaff and running back LJ Martin returning. Last year’s top-scoring defense in the Big 12 should be good once again as linebackers Jack Kelly, Isaiah Glasker and more return to the unit.”
Fox Sports: No. 22
BYU is one of four Big 12 teams in Fox Sports’ Way-Too-Early rankings.
Bleacher Report: No. 22
The folks at Bleacher Report moved away from the “Way-Too-Early” tagline and called their rankings “Super Early.”
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.
