It is “empty the tank” time for the 4-5 BYU Cougars, and not just because they need to win two of their next three football games to get to six wins and become bowl eligible.
Coach Kalani Sitake is using that phrase this week as BYU prepares to face 6-2 Boise State on Saturday at Albertsons Stadium (5 p.m. MDT, FS2) because next week the Cougars will end their streak of playing for 10 consecutive weeks.
“Yeah, we absolutely have something left in the tank. More so now than ever, because we just feel like we have so much to prove. And we want to show the fans how much we love them by the product we put out on the field and how much we as players love our coaches for all the work they put in every single day for us.” — BYU linebacker Morgan Pyper
BYU has a bye next weekend and won’t play again until Nov. 19 at home against Utah Tech. The Cougars will be far from full strength against the Broncos — starters such as Payton Wilgar, Max Tooley, Chris Brooks and Gunner Romney are doubtful — but at least they don’t have reason to hold anything back.
Question is, do the Cougars have anything left in the tank after playing for nine-straight weeks against what the Sagarin Ratings say is the 35th most difficult schedule in the country?
“Yeah, we absolutely have something left in the tank,” said walk-on linebacker Morgan Pyper, a fifth-year junior from Idaho Falls. “More so now than ever, because we just feel like we have so much to prove. And we want to show the fans how much we love them by the product we put out on the field and how much we as players love our coaches for all the work they put in every single day for us.”
That is all well and good, but the product has been subpar for several weeks now, and although the grueling schedule without a break isn’t the main reason for the team’s collapse, it has had negative consequences.
“Yeah, college football is tough, playing every single week for 10 weeks straight does a lot to the body,” said Pyper, who is still trying to decide if he will return next year for his final season of eligibility. “But you only get to play college football once in your life, so it is not that hard. As long as your body is feeling good, let’s go out and play some ball.”
Only a handful of teams have played nine games already this season, and most of those played in Week Zero and had a bye later in the season.
Offensive lineman Clark Barrington said he doesn’t know if games would have turned out differently. And to be clear, none of the Cougars or their coaches is using the lack of a midseason bye as an excuse for their disappointing season.
“I could tell you if we had (a bye), but we haven’t had one,” Barrington said. “So we are just doing our thing, trying to play the best we can, and go out there every week to play our best.”
That said, Barrington, Pyper and other Cougars say they are going into the 13th meeting with the Broncos, who have won four straight, thinking they can pull off a win.
“If you go into it feeling like you are not going to win, what is the point of even playing the game?” Barrington said. “So, our mindset is there on winning the game, and I think it is possible. I know it is possible.”
Sitake said players and coaches have done a remarkable job keeping “a sense of positivity and optimism” during the losing skid, and Barrington concurred.
“The season isn’t going the way we wanted it to, but I think we are doing a good job of keeping the mindset of ‘next game up, next play, learn from the past,’” he said. “What is most important is the next game and the next play. We are just keeping that mindset that there is more to come and keeping our minds there.”
For Idahoans like Pyper, safety Hayden Livingston and long snapper Austin Riggs (who are both injured), matchups against Boise State are extra special, even though Pyper and Livingston (Rigby) grew up on the other side of the state. Riggs is from Eagle, Idaho, a suburb of Boise.
“What a cool opportunity to go to Boise State where I know they will be excited for the game,” Pyper said. “The fans will be excited for the game, and we are excited to go to the Smurf Turf and put on a show, for sure.”
Cougars on the air
BYU (4-5)
at Boise State (6-2)
Saturday, 5 p.m.
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
TV: Fox Sports 2
Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM