Ranking Toughest Opponents Left On 2021 BYU Football Schedule

PROVO, Utah – BYU football has jumped out to an impressive 5-0 start and is now ranked 10th in the Top 25 polls. Everything appears to be in front of BYU to make a magical run, and the schedule poses opportunities to stay in the national conversation.

BYU has a pair of wins over rivals, three victories over Power Five squads, and their best football still looks to be in front of them through five games.

BYU football opponents remaining

Which games going forward on this 2021 schedule are the toughest remaining?

Here are my rankings.

7. Idaho State Bengals (0-4)

November 6th, 1 p.m.

A winless FCS team, yeah, that won’t be a problem.

6. at Georgia Southern (2-3)

November 20th, 2 p.m.

The Eagles fired their head coach Chad Lunsford after a 1-3 start and a player chugging a beer in pregame during the team’s tradition of rolling through on a school bus. Not a good look. But the triple option from GSU has still racked up 291 yards per game on the ground. That’s good for the fourth-best in the country. The biggest hurdle with facing GSU will be BYU’s care and effort.

5. at Washington State (3-2)

October 23rd

#WSU’s Nick Rolovich asked if Cougar fans should be concerned about him being the team’s coach after Oct. 18.

“I don’t think so.” pic.twitter.com/VLfOQGppg6

— Theo Lawson (@TheoLawson_SR) October 4, 2021

Will Nick Rolovich still be the Washington State head coach when the battle of the Cougars takes place? Rolovich’s team pulled off a surprising win on the road last week at Cal. But everyone is wondering what his status will be due to the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, the October 18th deadline for Washington State employees is approaching. When asked if WSU fans should be worried about him being the coach or not moving forward, he replied, “I don’t think so.”

4. Boise State (2-3)

October 9th, 1:30 p.m. on ABC

It’s strange to see Boise State roll into Provo with a losing record. But that’s where they are at in year one under former Bronco Andy Avalos. Although a first-time head coach will always come with growing pains, the Broncos are experiencing more than they are used to.

Headed to Provo 🔜

📰 https://t.co/xZEWG9fk0p#WhatsNext #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/4qgXjwuCya

— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) October 5, 2021

Boise still has explosive playmakers in WR Khalil Shakir and QB Hank Bachmeier is one of the better signal-callers BYU will see on the remaining schedule. But they are a banged-up team that is struggling to find their identity under Avalos.

3. at USC (3-2)

November 27th

I’m still confused why USC AD Mike Bohn wasted everyone at Heritage Hall’s time bringing back Clay Helton this season. Helton or not, this USC program doesn’t have the elite talent everyone claims they do. Remember, two recruiting cycles ago, the Trojans had the 12th ranked recruiting class in the Pac-12. Yes, that’s dead last in the PAC. That cycle miss is impacting this team more than many realize, and then you add on top of it that Helton didn’t bring a toughness to the Trojans program that everyone expects they should have.

If Jaxson Dart is playing in this game, the Trojans have a chance to take down BYU. But BYU already knows they can take down the Trojans; why not do it again?

2. Virginia (3-2)

October 30th

This game is going to be an emotional contest. There are still two players on BYU’s roster (Uriah Leiataua, Earl Tuioti-Mariner) that signed to play for Mendenhall. Usually, you’d look at a game like this from a P5 team traveling to Provo in late October and wonder, will they be motivated? However, Virginia, led by former BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall, will be inspired to get it done for their coach, and the same can be said for BYU with Kalani Sitake.

Locked In 🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos | #THEStandard pic.twitter.com/kPJKpSK4oi

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) September 30, 2021

Honestly, this game has a compelling case to be the most challenging remaining, especially with Brennan Armstrong’s ability to put up big numbers offensively. But, Virginia’s personnel doesn’t strike as much fear as the team ranked ahead of them.

1. Baylor (4-1)

October 16th at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2

A pair of future Big 12 Conference rivals get things started early with an afternoon tilt on the banks of the Brazos River. The jury is still out on how good Baylor is to this point. But one thing is for sure; they are going to be physical in the trenches.

In particular, Jeff Grimes’ presence with the offensive line is already on display with the wide zone schemes they run. The Bears are tied for 12th nationally in rushing offense at 238.2 yards per game.

Baylor will have a lot of institutional knowledge of BYU, and the same goes for BYU with Grimes and the Baylor staff led by head coach Dave Aranda, who comes from the Gary Andersen coaching tree.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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