BYU Football Ranks in the Top 50 in Returning Production in 2025

Casey Lundquist | Feb 24, 2025

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff runs against Baylor / BYU Photo

On Monday morning, ESPN's Bill Connelly unveiled the first returning production rankings for the 2025 college football season. BYU football came in at no. 45 in the rankings. BYU returns 69% of production on offense which ranks 23rd nationally and 53% on defense which ranks 75th nationally.

The Big 12 returns more production than any other conference. 6 out of 16 teams rank in the top 25 and 11 out of 16 rank inside the top 60 in returning production. BYU ranks 8th of out 16 Big 12 teams in returning production.

1. Arizona State (2nd nationally)
2. Texas Tech (4)
3. Baylor (11)
4. Cincinnati (12)
5. Arizona (16)
6. Houston (23)
7. Utah (41)
8. BYU (45)
9. TCU (49)
10. Iowa State (55)
11. Kansas State (56)
12. Kansas (76)
13. Colorado (89)
14. West Virginia (98)
15. Oklahoma State (104)
16. UCF (106)

Takeaways

Arizona State is going to be a fascinating team to follow in 2025. The Sun Devils rank second nationally in returning production. However, they lose their best and most impactful player in Cam Skattebo. BYU does not play Arizona State in the regular season.

Texas Tech ranks fourth nationally in returning production. That game in Lubbock is going to be one of BYU's most challenging of the season. The Red Raiders bolstered their returning production ranking by bringing in the country's top transfer class.

BYU avoids two out of the top three teams in returning production in the conference. The Cougars also play three out of the four teams that rank near the bottom of the conference in returning production. From this lens, BYU gets a favorable schedule in 2025.

On paper, Colorado seems like the team most likely to regress in 2025. Not only do the Buffaloes lose Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, they lose 50% of their total production from 2024.

Baylor should be viewed as a Big 12 title contender. The Bears were playing some of the best football in the conference by November and they rank in the top 15 in returning production.

What does BYU need to do to make up for the production it loses, particularly on defense? The key will be the defensive line. BYU loses all four starters from the 2024 defensive line. However, BYU has upgraded the talent across the board at that position. While the Cougars lack experience up front, the talent will be better than its ever been under Kalani Sitake. BYU needs of few of those young players to reach their potential sooner rather than later.