BYU Football Has a History of Upset Wins in September Under Kalani Sitake

Casey Lundquist | Sep 3, 2024

Sep 15, 2018; Madison, WI, USA; BYU Cougars tight end Moroni Laulu-Pututau (17) catches a pass for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

On Sunday, oddsmakers released the opening line for BYU's game at SMU. The Cougars opened as double-digit underdogs. The SMU game probably won't be the only time BYU will be an underdog in September. The Kansas State Wildcats will likely be favored to beat BYU when they come to Lavell Edwards Stadium later this month.

Kalani Sitake and the BYU football program shouldn't be fazed by the underdog mentality. BYU has been successful in the underdog role over the last six years, especially in September. It all started back in 2018 when BYU notched two upset wins as a double-digit underdog. To open the 2018 season, BYU traveled to Tuscon and upset Khalil Tate and the Arizona Wildcats. The Wildcats were favored by 11 points. BYU was coming off its worse season in 50 years - but it didn't matter. BYU got out to a 28-10 lead and held on for the 28-23 victory.

Two weeks later, BYU was a 23.5-point underdog when it traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. The Cougars had one of the best upsets of the college football season that day, taking down Wisconsin star running back Jonathan Taylor and spoiling Wisconsin's College Football Playoff hopes.

In 2019, BYU had back-to-back upset wins over Tennessee and USC. BYU was a 3.5-point underdog against the Vols and a 4.5-point underdog against the Trojans. BYU won both of those games in overtime.

In 2020, BYU didn't have a chance to pull off a September upset. The Cougars were favored in every game that season after their original schedule was flipped upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, BYU pulled off a pair of September upsets again. The Cougars beat Arizona State and Utah as a 3.5-point and 7-point underdog, respectively.

While BYU wasn't technically an underdog against Baylor in 2022 (that game was nearly a tossup with BYU as a slight favorite), they did take down a Baylor team that was coming off a Big 12 championship and ranked inside the top 10.

In 2023, BYU was a nine-point underdog on the road at Arkansas. The Cougars overcame a slow start in that game and completed the 38-31 win.

History is on BYU's side. BYU has pulled off an upset win in September in four out of the last six seasons. If the Cougars can notch an upset win over either SMU or Kansas State this month, their chances of reaching the postseason will dramatically increase.

The Cougars showed signs of being a much-improved team against SIU. The oddsmakers are still skeptical. BYU has a chance to prove them wrong once again on Friday night. The Cougars and the Mustangs kickoff at 5 PM Mountain Time and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.