BYU Football Will Host a Top-15 Team to Open Conference Play

Casey Lundquist | Sep 14, 2024

Sep 6, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Brigham Young Cougars cornerback Marque Collins (2) celebrates with his teammates after he intercepts a pass during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

BYU will wrap up non-conference play with a road game at Wyoming on Saturday night. Next week, BYU will turn the page and start conference play against Kansas State. The Wildcats, who dominated Arizona on Friday night in a battle of two top-20 teams, will be ranked in the top 15 when they travel to Lavell Edwards Stadium.

Kansas State is currently ranked no. 14 in the AP poll. The Wildcats will at least maintain their position following a dominant 31-7 victory over Arizona, and it's probably a safe bet that they will climb a few spots in the next poll.

The atmosphere should be electric inside Lavell Edwards Stadium for this game. This is the first time BYU will open conference play at home. It will also be a whiteout as BYU pays tribute to the 1996 team that went 14-1 and beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.

BYU Whiteout Uniforms

In July, BYU football unveiled a 1996 throwback uniform that they will wear against Kansas State in the Big 12 opener. The all white throwback uniform was actually an alternate uniform that BYU only wore once during the 1996 campaign. The special edition uniform is part of the celebration of 100 seasons of BYU football.

throwin' it back to 1996. pic.twitter.com/TNNFo9wpAb

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) July 1, 2024

The History of the 1996 Whiteout Uniforms

The 1996 season was one of the top two or three seasons in BYU football history. Some would argue that the 1996 team was the best BYU football team of all time. The Cougars went 14-1 and finished the season beating no. 14 Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. That year, the Cougars featured a high-powered offense that ranked top 10 nationally. The defense was great as well. BYU outscored its opponents by an average of 20.6 points per game. Steve Sarkisian led the nation is passing efficiency and he threw for over 4,000 yards.

Ironically, BYU wore the whiteout uniforms in their only loss that season: a road loss at Washington. After the game, legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards vowed to never wear the whiteout uniforms again.

While paying homage to the 1996 season to any degree is a great idea, going with the uniforms that LaVell Edwards swore he would never wear again is an interesting choice. In the opinion of this author, the royal blue uniforms would have made more sense for this throwback uniform. After all, that was the uniform that BYU wore when it beat Kansas State. Wearing that same uniform against Kansas State in the Big 12 opener would have been very cool. Still, BYU fans have been hoping for a 1996 throwback uniform and they got their wish.