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BYU tight end Walker Lyons prepares to catch a pass against Iowa State in a Big 12 football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU tight end Roger Saleapaga races down the sideline against Iowa State in a Big 12 football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU football coach Kalani Sitake (center) talks to officials in a Big 12 football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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There is no doubt that BYU has captivating talent at the tight end position this season. The dual threat of junior transfers Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga II delivered Friday night in BYU’s 24-10 win over Iowa State.

Even when the two aren’t targeted, they have shown exceptional blocking ability. On Friday, Lyons caught five passes for 61 yards white Saleapaga II had two catches for 72 yards including a 63-yarder that electrified the Cougar faithful.

The five catches by Lyons were a career high and the 63-yard reception for Saleapaga also a career long. Both played in the Big 10 last year at USC and Oregon, respectively.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier was 22-for-30 for 329 yards and nine of those completions for 133 yards went to Lyons and Saleapaga II. If this type of contribution from the tight ends continues in the passing game, that will only open up better quality opportunities for the wide receivers and the running backs.

Cougars display depth

BYU certainly has developed good depth in its program in recent years. Consider that the Cougars went into this game without last year’s Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in running back LJ Martin or who was expected to be his key back-up in Sione Moa. And on defense, one of BYU’s top defenders for the past three seasons has been linebacker Isaiah Glasker who also sat this game out. Safety Raider Damuni and cornerback Cannon DeVries also missed Friday’s contest.

Linebacker Jake Clifton (six tackles, .5 tackles for loss, .5 sack) cornerback Jayven Williams (two passes defended), and safety Kennan Pula (two solo tackles) contributed on defense while running back duties were shared by Preston Rex and Journee Tonga who combined for 39 yards on 12 carries rushing, while having a combined 36 yards receiving on four catches.

ESPN College GameDay Coming to Provo

On Saturday, ESPN announced that its College GameDay preview show is headed to Provo for the Notre Dame vs. BYU game. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. local time Saturday and typically the GameDay broadcast starts at 7:00 a.m. Mountain time.

So get ready Cougar fans for Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban to make their appearance in Utah County. McAfee has taken the place of legendary broadcaster Lee Corso in the outrageousness of his game predictions. Corso, by the way, was a pretty decent coach in his day and while at Indiana the Hoosiers beat BYU 39-38 in the 1979 Holiday Bowl.

The last time Game Day came to Provo was 2009.

Cyclone head coach complimentary of BYU

Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers began his post-game press conference with some praise both toward BYU’s team and the atmosphere of LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“Congratulations to BYU and Coach Sitake. That’s a very well-rounded team,” said Rogers. “It was an awesome atmosphere to play in.”

Rogers also felt that BYU’s ability to make big plays while his team’ inability to do so was a key difference in the contest.

“They (BYU) were explosive and they didn’t give up explosive plays.”

The biggest gain for Iowa State was a 21-yard run by Aiden Flora which actually came when Iowa State was trying a halfback pass. When BYU’s secondary covered the play well, Flora was able to avoid the rush and reverse field for a nice gain. Meanwhile, the Cougars had six plays longer than that particular Cyclone play including a 39-yard run by Bear Bachmeier, the longest of his college career, and two long passes of 75 yards to Legend Glasker and 63 yards to Saleapaga.

Boo birds

Rarely are fans happy with the men in stripes but the Cougar patrons seemed extra irritated Friday night. In fact, instead of loud cheers for the Cougar football team as the clock hit zero, the remaining fans let the referees know their displeasure as they left the field. Then of course, social media lit up with a good share of comments aimed at the officiating..

The plays that seemed to get under BYU fans skin the most were some no-calls on passing plays that fell incomplete and could have earned pass interference calls. Later, Cougar punter Fuller Shurtz was bumped into by an Iowa State defender. It certainly wasn’t roughing the kicker but the less serious running-into-the-kicker penalty still would have given BYU a first down.

For the record each team was penalized six times, though there was a disparity in yardage. The yardage for BYU was 65 yards but just 27 for Iowa State. The Cougars were flagged for two 15-yard penalties for a personal foul on Tausili Akana in the first quarter then in the third quarter when Tre Alexander III was penalized for pass interference. Again, the Cougar faithful were upset that Alexander was flagged but nothing was called on the Cyclones when the type of defending appeared very similar.

Remember the name

Former 5A Player of the Year Isaac Terrell, who prepped at Lehi High School, had two tackles and a pass defended for Iowa State from his defensive end position. Terrell was a sack machine for the Pioneers, registering 23.5 his senior year. He played for Washington State for three seasons before landing in Ames as a senior. Iowa State is also a wrestling powerhouse so perhaps Cyclone head wrestling coach Brent Metcalfe might want to lure Terrell to the mat when the gridiron season is over as Terrell was also a state champion wrestler for Lehi.

Extra points: It was Homecoming Week at BYU and doTERRA founder Dr. David K. Hill lit the ‘Y’ before the game. Hill was cited for his impeccable knowledge in essential oils and integrated medicine. … Alumni flags were carried by Dustin Rykert (offensive Line, 1998-02), Kyle Johnson (offensive Line, 2012-16) and Masen Wake (fullback, tight end 2019-22) while current linebacker Daniel Taumoepeau brought out the USA flag, defensive lineman Adney Reid carried the State of Utah flag and defensive lineman Vince Tautua hauled out the BYU team flag. … With the win BYU went 5-0 for the third straight year and it’s the first time the Cougars have done that in school history. …. BYU held Iowa State to 200 total yards, the lowest Cyclone output on offense since 2018. … Head coach Kalani Sitake is now 57-10 in games where the Cougars score first. … Defensive lineman Ace Kaufusi registered his first sack in his BYU career while Anisi Purcell teamed with Hunter Clegg on one, which was Purcell’s first ever sack as well. … Iowa State won the coin toss and elected to defer their choice to the second half. BYU received the opening kickoff and drove for the game’s first touchdown. … Announced attendance was 64,632, the largest crowd so far this season.