Looking Back At BYU Football’s History Against The Stanford Cardinal
Sep 2, 2025, 9:00 AM | Updated: 10:46 am
BYU's Daniel Coats hauls in a touchdown pass against Stanford's Jackson Brown in the third quarter to put the Cougars ahead 14 to 9 but Standford came back and beat BYU 18 to 14. BYU vs Stanford football Sept. 20, 2003 (Photo by Stuart Johnson)
(Photo by Stuart Johnson)
PROVO, Utah – The BYU Cougars are looking for their second win against the Stanford Cardinal when the two storied college football programs meet this weekend.
BYU football hosts Stanford at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, September 9. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. MT.
Stanford looks to recapture its glory days of yore after hiring alumnus and former NFL QB Andrew Luck as the program’s General Manager.
Luck was quickly thrust into a difficult situation when reports surfaced that former head coach Troy Taylor bullied and belittled female athletic staffers. Taylor has responded, stating that the firing occurred “without cause.”
Luck chose to dismiss Taylor in March, bringing in former NFL head coach Frank Reich as the interim head coach for the 2025 season.
Following Taylor’s firing, Stanford saw an exodus of players enter the transfer portal. Stanford’s loss resulted in a gain for BYU.
The Cougars added former Stanford signee Nusi Taumoepeau, Tiger Bachmeier (WR), and now-starting QB Bear Bachmeier.
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The Cougars’ only win over Stanford came back in the 2022 regular-season finale. Stanford head coach David Shaw resigned immediately following the 35-26 BYU win.
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QB Jaren Hall accounted for three touchdowns before an ankle injury sent him to the sidelines.
Hinkley Ropati (9/85yds), Hall (11/69yds), and Puka Nacua (3/38yds) each scored touchdowns on the ground.
50 days until BYU Football!!
We’re doing a touchdown countdown until kickoff versus Sam Houston.
Hinckley Ropati with a 43 yard TD run vs Stanford for BYU’s 48th of the season. #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/tR1pirD2t8
— House of BYU (@HouseofBYU) July 15, 2023
RB Chris Brooks carried the load offensively, bruising his way to 164 yards on 23 carries (7.1 yards per carry), with a long of 19 yards.
BYU amassed 358 yards on the ground while limiting Stanford to 53 rushing yards.
This game was BYU’s first-ever broadcast on CSTV, now known as CBS Sports Network.
Stanford apologizes for offensive halftime performance
Some of the postgame focus shifted to a Stanford band halftime performance that used standard terms and language often associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple marriage ceremonies.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns BYU.
RELATED: Stanford Expresses Regret For Band Performance During BYU Game
Video from the Stanford Band's halftime performance during the #BYU game.
The dialogue is in captions on the scoreboard.
More on @kslsports. https://t.co/wbs2r849Ep pic.twitter.com/HnkIecLGXA
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 29, 2022
KSL Sports received a statement from a spokesperson in the Stanford Athletic Department. The same statement was given to BYU’s student newspaper, The Daily Universe. In which they expressed regret for the terms the band used in the performance.
“The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) has a long history of lighthearted and satirical halftime performances. Unfortunately, some of the language that was used in Saturday’s halftime show did not reflect Stanford University’s values of religious freedom and diversity, inclusion, and belonging. The LSJUMB deeply regrets that this performance caused offense to spectators, and the halftime performance review and approval process is being adjusted to ensure that issues like this do not occur again.”
Stanford escapes Provo with a late comeback in 2003
John Beck’s first start under center for BYU came as a true freshman and ended in defeat after the Cardinal scored nine fourth-quarter points to shock the Cougar faithful 18-14.
The BYU defense limited Stanford to 257 yards of offense, created four sacks, and intercepted the Cardinal twice in the loss.
Beck completed 22-of-45 attempts for a season-high 279 yards.
Cardinal crushes Cougars on ‘The Farm’ In 2004
BYU QB Jason Beck threw for 232 yards but tossed three of the Cougars’ four interceptions in a 37-10 defeat.
The Cougars started fast, taking a 10-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first quarter. It was all downhill from there.
Stanford scored the game’s final 37 points, benefitting from eight BYU turnovers.
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The Cougars welcome the Stanford Cardinal to Provo and LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, September 6. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. MT.
Find BYU’s entire 2025 football schedule here.
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.
Follow the BYU Cougars with KSL Sports here.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
