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BYU seniors take the field before the Big 12 game against Houston in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

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BYU defenders try to make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Houston in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

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BYU senior John Nelson runs onto the field before the Big 12 game against Houston in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU flags get carried around the field during a break in the action during the Big 12 game against Houston in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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In 100 seasons of college football, BYU has now won 10 or more games 19 times, including in 2024.

The 30-18 Cougar win over Houston on Saturday reached that benchmark as BYU improved to 10-2 on the season with a bowl game left to play.

It’s the third time the Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake has led a team to double-digit victories, joining the 2021 (10-3) and 2020 (11-1) teams.

BYU has had three other coaches also lead teams to 10 or more victories:

• LaVell Edwards, 10 (1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996)
• Bronco Mendenhall, 5 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
• Gary Crowton, 1 (2001)

So what does it mean to the Cougar players and coaches to have hit that mark?

“The fact that we got 10 wins is really good,” Sitake said. “Many in this senior class had three seasons of 10 wins or more, which is a huge accomplishment. That’s their legacy. They can be proud they got three of them in their careers.”

In one way this season stands above all the others, since BYU faced 10 opponents from the Power 4 conferences. The Cougars ended up 8-2, giving them the most wins ever over the top level of competition.

“Being in a power conference like we’re in, that’s a huge thing,” BYU junior linebacker Jack Kelly said. “That’s not very easy to come by. Just being able to do that really shows that everyone on this team was bought in. All the coaches helped us, coached us the right way, and everyone was ready to execute every game.”

The Cougar players and coaches, however, agree with many of the BYU fans who can’t help but wishing a couple of more bounces had gone their way and they’d made it to the Big 12 Championship.

“Nobody thought we were going to get these wins but the problem is that we thought we were going to get two more,” Sitake said. “Because we didn’t take care of business that way, we had to rely on the tiebreaker system.

“This is a great lesson for us to learn, that you can’t keep making mistakes and trying to find ways out of it. Although you can be grateful for, squeaking one out and making plays and even some of them being a little bit miraculous, you can’t make that an every-week thing. If we just did our job and played like we’re like we know we can and minimized the mistakes, I think we’d be in a really good spot.”

Despite the missed opportunities, the Cougars proved on the field that they were much better than many so-called experts thought they would be.

“All I know is we weren’t ranked at the beginning of the year, and we are now at the end,” Sitake said. “That’s all I care about. Even though we’re sitting here at 10-2, I know my mind just goes back to what could have been. I had to take a step back and appreciate the journey that we’ve been through and the things that we accomplished. This is Year 2 for us in the Big 12 and I’m really proud that we got more wins.”

He said the strength of the league is its depth and how “it’s up in the air who is going to win.” He wouldn’t be surprised if all the preseason predictions are wrong again next year.

Sitake’s goal, though, is to do everything possible to ensure BYU continues to be in the mix.

“You can see that the culture is working, but there’s a lot of things that we can do to get even better as a program,” Sitake said. “That’s what I look forward to getting done. This is really still just the beginning.”

The first step in that process is for the Cougars to move forward and make the most of their chance to play in a bowl game after missing out in 2023.

“The biggest value is that we get to spend more time together,” Sitake said. “We can try to find more of a rhythm on offense and defense and special teams. There’s a lot for us to still learn.”

And there is the chance to continue the success of the season and play one more football game with the 2024 BYU team, which is something the players say they value.

“This is my first bowl game, so I’m just really excited for it,” Cougar sophomore running back LJ Martin said. “It’s just really good to win. You never want to be on the losing side. Just being out there, being able to win with my guys, it’s been really fun this season.”