No. 11 BYU is back in Fort Collins on Saturday night, and the trip carries more than the weight of a routine road game. The Cougars meet Colorado State at 5:30 p.m. MDT on CBS in the 70th meeting between the programs, with BYU returning to Fort Collins for the first time in 16 years.
That alone gives the matchup its pull. BYU has won 39 of the previous 69 games, Colorado State has taken 27 and the teams have tied three times, a long run that started in 1922 and now resumes with BYU trying to protect its place near the top of the Top 25. The Cougars moved up to No. 11 this week, passing No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 12 USC, and the first College Football Playoff rankings do not arrive until Nov. 3.
For BYU, the ranking is part reward and part test. The Cougars are a three-touchdown favorite, which means the implied line is about 21 points, but that number sits alongside a more stubborn fact: they have trailed by double digits at the end of the first quarter or faced a halftime deficit in each of their last four FBS games. Three of those four ended in comeback wins, which is why this game is less about the spread than about whether BYU can start cleanly and avoid giving Colorado State an opening at home.
LJ Martin is the running back most likely to shape that answer. He rushed 236 times for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, and BYU has leaned on him when games turn messy. The Cougars last started fast on Nov. 15, when they scored on their first four possessions in a 44-13 win over TCU, and Kalani Sitake’s teams are 14-0 when they score a touchdown on the opening drive and 14-1 when they score first. That kind of beginning would ease the pressure on a defense that has spent much of the past season forcing turnovers and shortening games.
That defense has reasons for confidence. Since the start of the 2024 season, BYU leads the nation with 43 interceptions, and one of those takeaways against Arizona came on a wild blitz that turned into a touchdown. Kelly Poppinga has asked for “six seconds of havoc” on every play, a standard that fits a team trying to turn a ranked road game into something more comfortable than the betting line suggests.
For all the history around the 70th meeting, the immediate question is simpler: can BYU arrive in Fort Collins and look like the No. 11 team before the game gets away from its rhythm? If the Cougars start fast, they strengthen the case that the ranking is earned. If they fall behind again, the road toward the playoff committee’s first list will only get steeper.
