It’s the offseason, so what better way to make time fly than to analyze next year’s schedule?
Every year, there’s a team that lucks out in terms of the strength of their opponents. If a solid team has a light schedule, it can help them make a push to make a college football playoff appearance.
For example, in 2024, the Indiana Hoosiers had the 35th-hardest schedule in the country and the easiest schedule among all playoff teams. While they may not have been a playoff-caliber team last season, they only lost one game in the Big Ten, which led them to make a playoff appearance.
CBS Sports college football analyst Josh Pate sees a similar path for a Big 12 team in 2025.
Josh Pate Says BYU Can Make the Playoff in 2025
Pate thinks the BYU Cougars can benefit from their light schedule in 2025 and make the college football playoffs.
On his podcast, “Josh Pate’s College Football Show,” Pate analyzed the Cougars’ schedule in 2025, saying they will have the easiest Power Four schedule next year.
When talking about BYU’s competition in 2025, Pate said, “They don’t play a single tier-one opponent, they don’t play a single tier-two opponent, they only play two tier-three opponents.”
While the “tiers” that Pate refers to are subjective and certainly not fact, he is right when he says that the BYU schedule is very easy next year. Not only do the Cougars have an easy non-conference schedule, but the Big-12 teams they drew are also fairly average.
BYU Cougars Full 2025 Schedule
Saturday, Aug. 30 vs. Portland State
Saturday, Sept. 6 vs. Stanford
Friday, Sept. 20 @ East Carolina
Saturday, Sept. 27 @ Colorado
Friday, Oct. 3 vs. West Virginia
Saturday, Oct.11 @ Arizona
Saturday, Oct. 18 vs. Utah
Saturday, Oct. 25 @ Iowa State
Saturday, Nov. 8 @ Texas Tech
Saturday, Nov. 15 vs TCU
Saturday, Nov. 22 @ Cincinnati
Saturday, Nov. 29 vs. UCF
Looking at the schedule, there are a couple of spots where I think BYU could lose, but overall, the Cougars got very lucky with this draw.
KEEP READING: Florida 2025 Football Schedule: Ranking Every Gators’ Game This Fall
It will be interesting to see if Pate is right about BYU’s schedule. If the Cougars are as good as they were last season, they could be playoff-bound in 2025.
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