Head coach: Kalani Sitake, 10th season (72-43)

2024 season: 11-2, 7-2 Big 12; Beat Colorado, 36-14, in Alamo Bowl

Series with CU: Buffs lead 8-4-1

Matchup with the Buffs: Saturday, Sept. 27, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN), at Folsom Field in Boulder

5 Guys to Watch

OLB Isaiah Glasker: Led the Cougars in tackles (70) and tackles for loss (14.5) last year, while adding 3.5 sacks, three interceptions and four pass breakups. His 14.5 TFLs led the Big 12, and he received all-conference honorable mention.

OLB Jack Kelly: Former Weber State transfer had 51 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks last year, along with 14 QB hurries. In 24 games at Weber State from 2022-23, he posted a total of 20 TFLs and 16.5 sacks.

RB LJ Martin: One of the better backs in the Big 12, Martin ran for 718 yards and seven touchdowns last year, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He’s got 1,236 yards in his two seasons at BYU, despite carrying the ball just 246 times (12.3 attempts per game).

QB Jake Retzlaff: After winning the starting job last year, he took off, throwing for 2,947 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while finishing second on the team in rushing with 417 yards and six touchdowns.

WR Chase Roberts: Posted 52 catches for 854 yards and four touchdowns last year, leading the Cougars in all three categories. During his career, he has 116 catches for 1,784 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Good to know

• CU and BYU will meet for the second time in less than a year, with BYU rolling to a 36-14 win in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. Prior to that, however, the teams hadn’t met in 36 years. The former Mountain States Conference rivals met 10 times from 1923-47 but just three times since. This will be BYU’s first trip to Boulder since Sept. 26, 1981.

• Only one full-time starter is back on the offensive line (left guard Weylin Lapuaho), but guard Sonny Makasini and center Bruce Mitchell made six starts and tackle Austin Leausa started seven games.

• CU was the only team in the Big 12 with three players recording at least 10 tackles for loss in 2024, but BYU was the only other team with two players reaching that mark. Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly combined for 24.5 TFLs, the most of any pair of Big 12 teammates.

• Kicker Will Ferrin was first-team all-Big 12 and the co-special teams player of the year in 2024 after hitting 24 of 27 field goals and all 41 extra points. A transfer from Boise State, he is 35-of-41 (85.4%) on field goals and 73-of-74 (98.6%) on extra points in two seasons at BYU.

• Former Colorado lineman Isaiah Jatta is projected to start at left tackle for the Cougars. A junior college All-American in 2022 at Snow (Utah) College, Jatta played the 2023 season at CU. He made one start on offense but played just 47 snaps that year. Last year at BYU, he was a reserve before making two starts late in the year and then missing the last two games with injury.

Portal movement

BYU lost 28 players to the transfer portal, per 247Sports. A lot of the losses were backups, but there were three significant departures. All-American kick returner/receiver Keelan Marion is now at Miami, linebacker Harrison Taggart is now at California and safety Crew Wakley is at Purdue. CU tried to get Marion and Taggart before they went elsewhere. The Cougars added 13 transfers, including a pair from rival Utah that could be immediate starters: tight end Carsen Ryan and defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa. Columbine High School alum Andrew Gentry transferred from Michigan and could be a Day 1 starter at right tackle. Receiver Tiger Bachmeier (Stanford), offensive lineman Kyle Sfarcioc (Southern Utah), defensive lineman Justin Kirkland (Oklahoma State) and defensive end Tausili Akana (Texas) could also make an impact right away. BYU’s transfer class also includes safety Tayvion Beasley (San Diego State), who played for Buffs head coach Deion Sanders at Jackson State and spent the spring of 2023 at CU before leaving for SDSU.