BYU Olympians Honored At LaVell Edwards Stadium

PROVO, Utah— The BYU Cougars took the opportunity to honor the school’s Olympians from the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Cougars are hosting the Southern Illinois Salukis at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, August 31.

BYU vs. Southern Illinois: Live Updates, Analysis, And More From Provo

Recognizing our incredible Olympians! 🤙 pic.twitter.com/XLOznq4rjA

— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) September 1, 2024

#BYU honors their 2024 Olympians. Including silver medalist Kenneth Rooks. 🥈 #KSLOlympics pic.twitter.com/0c2CeU0pcq

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 1, 2024

BYU celebrated six track and field Olympians during a second-quarter timeout.

The Cougars lead 14-6 with 46 seconds left in the half. The Salukis drove for a late touchdown but the extra point doinked off the post to keep the deficit at eight.

One Score Prediction for BYU vs Southern Illinois

Over the course of the week, BYU’s prognostications have been trending backward. Still, BYU remains a favorite in this game.

On paper, Southern Illinois appears to be one of the best FCS teams BYU will have ever faced.

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Looking good, LES. 👀 ⛰️ #BYU #GoCougs #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/Cy8Z1PQi8S

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 31, 2024

Despite the trend of SIU being a potential FCS upset, BYU is the better football team. The Salukis lost many key personnel from last year’s team, which was fourth in total defense a season ago.

BYU will get production from the ground game of LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati to carry them to a comfortable victory and set the tone for the 2024 season.

BYU 38, Southern Illinois 17

BYU vs. Southern Illinois

This is the first meeting between these programs. BYU enters with a perfect 18-0 record against Football Championship Subdivision teams. The Cougar’s last win against an FCS program came in a 41-16 victory over Southern Utah in 2023. BYU has outscored FCS opponents 47.8 to 9.8 all-time.

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The Salukis were 8-5 overall last season, finishing 4-3 on the road.

Cougars Postgame Show

BYU vs. Southern Illinois recap on KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM), sports.ksl.com, and the KSL Sports app.

For more information on BYU football, follow our BYU insider Mitch Harper. Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on Twitter/X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.

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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball coverage here.

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