BYU's offense could get even scarier in its Week 11 matchup with Texas Tech. For the first time since Week 2, the Cougars are expected to have dynamic wide receiver Jojo Phillips in their lineup.
Phillips left BYU's Week 2 game against Stanford with an unspecified upper-body injury, which he later announced had required surgery. Two months later, he is expected to return to Kalani Sitake's starting lineup, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported.
Phillips enters Week 11 having played just 33 snaps in 2025. He caught three passes for 30 yards against Stanford before exiting.
Before he went down, Phillips was expected to be BYU's No. 2 receiver behind star senior Chase Roberts. The speedster recorded just 211 receiving yards as a freshman in 2024, but he was one of the Cougars' top returning wideouts. With Roberts being the only returning starter, many expected Phillips to step into a larger role.
Despite the long layoff, Phillips should immediately return to the starting lineup. He will likely play a key complementary role to leading receivers Roberts and Parker Kingston.
BYU brings a notoriously ground-heavy offensive approach, but it will need Phillips to remain undefeated against No. 8-ranked Texas Tech. The Red Raiders enter Week 11 allowing the fifth-fewest receiving yards in the Big 12, but have proven to be beatable with speed.
BYU, Texas Tech clash in lone top-10 matchup of Week 11
Several top-25 teams square off in Week 11, but BYU and Texas Tech will meet in the only top-10 clash of the week. As the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Big 12, the game could easily foreshadow the eventual conference championship game.
Having Phillips back will be huge for BYU, which will face its stiffest defensive test of the season. Texas Tech enters Week 11 as the best defense in the Big 12 with the fifth-best scoring defense in the FBS. The Red Raiders allow just 271.3 total yards per game and only 13.2 points per game.
BYU's defense is not far behind that of Texas Tech, creating an interesting clash of styles. The Red Raiders have the better season-long offensive numbers, but the Cougars are coming off a 41-point outburst against Iowa State in Week 9.
