The 2023 BYU Cougars football team represented

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU) as a member of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

during the

2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). ...

. The Cougars were led by eighth-year head coach

Kalani Sitake Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" Sitake (born October 10, 1975) is a Tongan–American American football, football coach and former player. He has been the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2015, and is the first Demographic ...

and played their home games at

LaVell Edwards Stadium LaVell Edwards Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Western United States, on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the BYU Cougars, a member of the Big ...

. The season was the first year that BYU competed in the Big 12. The BYU Cougars football team drew an average home attendance of 61,944 in 2023, the 26th highest in college football.

Offseason

Coaching changes

On November 28, 2022

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Ilaisa Tuiaki announced his resignation. On December 7, 2022 Jay Hill was announced as his replacement leaving his head coaching position at

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

. Hill was also given the title of associate head coach replacing

Ed Lamb Claude Edward Lamb III (born March 4, 1974) is an American college football coach and former player. In December 2022, he was named as the head football coach at the University of Northern Colorado. Lamb served as the head football coach at Sout ...

who was named the

Head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

. Preston Hadley joined Lamb at

as the

Kelly Poppinga Kelly Scott Poppinga (born January 31, 1982) is an American football coach and former player. He is the special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach at Brigham Young University (BYU). He is the younger brother of National Football League (N ...

returned to BYU after stints with the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

as the

special teams coordinator A special teams coordinator (STC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's special teams unit. Generally, the special teams coordinator, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator represent the second level of a t ...

and defensive assistant. On December 20, 2022, former NFL player Sione Pouha was hired as a defensive assistant coach. On January 2, 2023, it was announced that Kevin Clune was not retained and the final defensive assistant coaching position was announced as

Justin Ena Justin Peato Ena (born November 20, 1977) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the linebackers coach at Brigham Young University football. He played college football at BYU and in the National Football League ( ...

who played for the cougars and coached with Hill previously.

2023 recruits

2022 returned missionaries

2023 other additions

2023 departures

Schedule

Game summaries

Sam Houston

Sources: Brigham Young University entered the season at home against the transitioning FCS to FBS team, Sam Houston State. BYU were favorites to win the game, especially at home. BYU started off the game with an 8 play, 50 yard drive ending it with a 5-yard Kedon Slovis touchdown run. Two quarters went by with no score attempted by both the Cougars and Bearkats, before an 11-play, 55 yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, and Kedon Slovis ended the drive with a 1 yard touchdown run. The Cougars ended off the game winning 14-0 in their first ever meeting with Sam Houston State. ----

Southern Utah

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Arkansas

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Kansas

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Cincinnati

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TCU

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Texas Tech

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No. 7 Texas

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West Virginia

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Iowa State

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No. 14 Oklahoma

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No. 20 Oklahoma State

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Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Depth Chart

References

For information on BYU's other athletic sports this season please check out the following: {{BYU Cougars football navbox BYU BYU Cougars football seasons

BYU Cougars football The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one College football ...