2024 NCAAF Cheat Sheet: BYU Cougars Stats & Odds
A Transfer Quarterback Could Lead the Way in the 2024 BYU Cougars Stats
Can A New Quarterback Held BYU Defy the Odds?
The good news about the 2024 BYU football team is that the Cougars were undefeated as the favorite. The bad news is that the Cougars were favored just three times. BYU covered in three of its six home games but was just 2-4 against the spread on the road with a 2-4 mark as the road underdog. Keep that in mind when looking at the 2024 BYU Cougars stats.
Will BYU’s second season in the Big 12 after years of playing as an independent go better than Year No. 1?
At A Glance
| Odds to Win | Opening Odds | Current Odds |
| Championship | +7500 | +8000 |
| Conference | +12000 | +12000 |
| Regular Season Win Total | 4.5 (o+104, u-128) | 4.5 (o+104, u-128) |
| To Make Playoffs | Yes +N/A, No -N/A | +9500 |
Ready to Get Passing Grades?
Quarterback Treyson Bourguet transferred in from Western Michigan. He threw three touchdown passes in a win over Ball State but against teams from Power-5 conferences, he was 15-of-32 for 284 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions. Quarterback Gerry Bohanon comes in from South Florida while McCae Hillstead, who had seven TD passes in back-to-back losses to Air Force and James Madison while he was at Utah State, is another quarterback to watch.
Running back L.J. Martin is back after leading BYU in rushing yards as a freshman while leading receiver Chase Roberts is also back.
When looking at the 2024 BYU Cougars stats, BYU returns five of its top eight tacklers with Weber State edge rusher and cornerback Marque Collins, and UCLA edge rusher Choe Bryant-Strother looking to make an impact.
No BYU players made first-team All-Big 12 a season ago. Punter Landon Rehkow returns after earning second-team honors. Defensive end Tyler Batty, receiver Darius Lassiter, and cornerback Jakob Robinson are back after being honorable mention selections.
Championship Odds: BYU Has Work to Do in Post-Independence Life
Time will tell if the move to the Big 12 will have a positive impact on the quality of the recruiting classes.
Non-conference games against Southern Illinois and Wyoming won’t draw much attention unless the Cougars happen to lose those games.
According to the 247sports.com database, BYU has the No. 75 rated class of transfers. That is two spots behind UConn and one position ahead of Eastern Michigan. The Cougars’ group of incoming freshmen comes in at No. 42. That doesn’t bode well for the Cougars to make waves in the Big 12 even with perennial conference champion contenders Texas and Oklahoma now in the SEC.
BYU opens the 2024 season against Southern Illinois on Aug. 31 before facing a Southern Methodist team on Sept. 7 p.m. ET in a game televised live by ESPN 2. The Big 12 opener is against Kansas State on Sept. 21. The Wildcats are the current co-favorites in the Big 12 title odds. Back-to-back games in November against Utah and Kansas won’t be easy.
Conference Odds: Can the Cougars Top Last Year’s Big 12 Win Total?
BYU’s debut season in the Big 12 Conference got off to a promising start by winning five of the first seven games including conference wins over Cincinnati and Texas Tech. However, it was all downhill from there with five straight losses to finish 5-7.
Expectations are pretty low as the Cougars have the longest odds of +12000 of winning the Big 12 championship in 2024. Facing Baylor in the second Big 12 game could give the Cougars a chance to rebound if the matchup against Kansas State goes as expected. The hope for BYU is that the chance to become bowl eligible will be within its grasp heading into the final two games of the regular season against Big 12 newcomer Arizona State and Houston.
Regular Season Wins: Consider Going With BYU to Go Over 4.5 Wins
BYU has enough returning talent and incoming transfers at key positions for the Cougars to make a run at doing what last year’s team could be accomplish – pick up six wins in the regular season and get to go bowling.
BYU figures to head into the Big 12 portion of the season at either 2-1 or 3-0 so that shouldn’t take much work to top the expected regular-season win total of 4.5 set by the NCAAF odds.
The Cougars lost their final two games of the regular season by seven points to Oklahoma and by six points to Oklahoma State so maybe BYU isn’t too far away.
Three of the first four conference games are at home and that could give the Cougars a chance to get comfortable to life in the Big 12, the weakest of the four power conferences.
To Make Playoffs: Robbie Bosco Not Walking Through That Door
It was 40 years ago when BYU stunned the college football world by going 13-0 and finishing first in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls.
It started with a win over then-No. 3 Pittsburgh. BYU went from being unranked to being No. 13 heading into a win over Baylor. Despite not facing another ranked team the rest of the way, a win over Michigan in the Holiday Bowl was enough to give BYU the national title.
Quarterback Robbie Bosco and center Trevor Matich were among the players from that team to play in the NFL. Matich is probably best known as the player picked late in the first round in a trade that enabled the San Francisco 49ers to move up and select the legendary Jerry Rice in the 1985 NFL Draft.
Don’t look for BYU to find its way into the national polls or the championship picture 40 years later.
Side Bets
With BYU facing a Football Championship Subdivision team in the season opener, it could be a while before the odds for that game show up in the NCAAF predictions.
In its lone 2023 matchup against a non-FBS foe, BYU topped Southern Utah 41-16. There was also a 52-26 win over Utah Tech in 2022. Don’t be surprised to see a similar margin of victory against Southern Illinois when considering the 2024 BYU Cougars stats.
Don’t look for much in the way of BYU individual players showing up in the Heisman Trophy odds or similar awards watch lists.
For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
