College football is truly the only sport that never sleeps, and there is no better example than the past five days in Provo. Earlier this week, there was a chance that Kalani Sitake would go to Penn State, but he ended up signing an extension to stay instead.
On top of that, there was still a game to be played for the Cougars as they headed to Arlington to play Texas Tech for the Big 12 championship. The last five days for BYU’s football program have been unforgettable to the point where even Hemingway himself couldn’t write up such a story.
For BYU, Saturday wasn’t just an opportunity to avenge their lone loss to Texas Tech. It was also an opportunity to win a Big 12 title and punch their ticket to the college football playoff.
Unfortunately for BYU, the rematch didn’t go as planned. Outside of the first quarter, which the Cougars led 7-0, this game felt a lot like the one in Lubbock in early November. In that game, BYU turned the ball over three times, and this time they turned the ball over four times in their 34-7 defeat. The Cougars simply couldn’t get out of their own way on Saturday.
Things like that can happen when you play a team as good as Texas Tech. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake even said it himself after the game that “Texas Tech is the best team in the country.”
While this game was important for BYU, the reality is that it shouldn’t have mattered whether they won or lost when it came to their playoff chances. BYU came into this game 11-1, with a top ten resume, yet was treated like an afterthought by the national media and ESPN.
Sitake’s case for his team was simple. “I can tell you one thing: who else has played the best team in the country twice? We have. I like who we are, what we do, and we have a great resume. I just hope when they do resume comparisons that they are fair and at least put us in the graphic.”
The reason they didn’t want to put BYU’s resume on the screen is that it would make them and the playoff committee look bad. In fact, the graphic ESPN put up on Saturday morning gave the Cougars less than a 1% chance of getting into the playoffs if they lost to Texas Tech.
Even Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark spoke out about the lack of respect for BYU in the playoff rankings prior to the championship game. “BYU is being undervalued by the CFP committee at No. 11 in rankings, Yormark said. “Let’s not look at logos. Let’s look at resumes, and when you do a blind resume comparison, there’s no doubt BYU is in the top 10. No question about it. In comparison to Notre Dame, BYU has a better overall record, better strength of record, and a better strength of schedule. There is no comparison.”
“No Power Four team with an 11-1 record has ever finished outside the top 10 in the CFP rankings going into championship week. I’ll say that again, no Power Four team with an 11-1 record has ever finished outside the top 10 in the CFP rankings going into the championship week. BYU has been underappreciated.”
Playoff or not, we’d better get used to BYU being a yearly Big 12 title contender. While this was BYU’s first trip to a conference championship game, I can assure you that it won’t be their last. They have the resources, fan support, players, and most importantly, a good coach to tie it all together.
“All BYU fans should be hyped about the future here,” wide receiver Parker Kingston said. “Now that we have been able to step up and have resources, we are going to be right up there with anyone.”
For the last two seasons, people have disrespected them. Yet, they won ten games last year and eleven games this year, including a trip to Jerry World. If there is one thing I have learned about this program after all this, it’s that I will never sleep on them again, and neither should you or anyone else. BYU is a power in the Big 12, whether you like it or not, and with Kalani Sitake staying put, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
