Forget that BYU has a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, a 9-0 record, has been demolishing opponents by an average of 33 points a game, is ranked No. 8 in both major polls and is the only college football team in the country in the top 10 in both total offense and total defense.
In the end, when the much anticipated first College Football Playoff rankings of 2020 were released on ESPN on Tuesday night, the Cougars were where they always seem to be since going independent in 2011.
On the outside looking in.
As soon as the CFP committee ranked BYU No. 14 — six spots worse than their standing in the national polls, now rendered meaningless — outrage flowed throughout Cougar Nation. Most observers believe the Cougars need to be in the top 10, certainly no worse than No. 12, to get an at-large berth into a lucrative New Year’s Six bowl game when the final rankings are released Dec. 20.
“My gosh, BYU (at) No. 14? That is absolutely nuts to me, just watching how dominant they are, not just analytically, but physically, when you turn on the tape.” — ESPN analyst David Pollack
The disappointment on BYU coach Kalani Sitake’s face when he appeared on the rankings show — the only coach to appear — was palpable to those who know him best.
The snub — and make no mistake that’s exactly what it was — “will be a great motivation for our team,” Sitake said through gritted teeth.
Even some of ESPN’s analysts looked bewildered, especially after BYU was ranked behind Iowa State, which has two losses, including a 31-14 setback at home to Louisiana, usually an also-ran in the Sun Belt Conference.
“My gosh, BYU (at) No. 14?,” exclaimed David Pollack, the former Georgia star born and bred in the SEC. “That is absolutely nuts to me, just watching how dominant they are, not just analytically, but physically, when you turn on the tape.”
It was the same old disappointment for BYU fans, a feeling they’ve grown accustomed to. It was like Lucy snatching the football away from Charlie Brown at the last moment. For some, it was similar to the day in October 2016 when the Big 12 announced it was not expanding.
The Good Ol’ Boys network slammed the door again.
Making matters worse: A schedule that BYU AD Tom Holmoe built from scratch at the last minute when six Power Five opponents scrubbed the Cougars from their schedules was fingered as the culprit.
“I am trying not to get too frustrated,” Sitake said, when asked what message was delivered to BYU by the committee. “With the playoff ranking, I just love our boys so much and I just want to see them get the respect they deserve. That is something that drives me.”
It is a team that has destroyed every opponent in its path, but as the national perception goes regarding BYU’s schedule, perhaps Pete Fiutak of College Football News said it best: “You and 10 friends could hang 40 on the board against the rest of the schedule” outside Boise State.
Said committee chair Gary Barta, the University of Iowa athletic director: “As you look at their schedule, and that’s where the committee went, their best win is at Boise State. Boise State was shorthanded in that game (starting QB Hank Bachmeier was out with COVID-19 and backup Jack Sears left in the first quarter with a concussion). So the committee is very impressed with BYU, but certainly the schedule, compared to teams around them, came into play.”
All that statement did was anger Sitake, normally as easygoing a coach as you will find at any level. He was already seething after seeing the number 14 pop up next to BYU’s name.
Sitake mostly kept his cool while being interviewed on the show, but unloaded a bit later on a Zoom meeting with reporters who cover the program.
“Last I checked, I didn’t know the quarterbacks for Boise State played defense,” he said, referring to BYU’s 51-17 domination on the blue turf of Albertsons Stadium. “So, I think if they are really going to look at it, they should probably look at all the different things. We know how hard it is to win with your third string quarterback. We did it last year.”
Third-stringer Baylor Romney quarterbacked the Cougars to wins over Boise State, Liberty and Utah State in 2019 when Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall were injured.
Like Pollack and Sitake, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who on Monday ripped BYU for not agreeing to Washington before he had all the facts and bought the Huskies’ well-executed PR ploy, was also surprised by the Cougars’ ranking.
“BYU being all the way down at No. 14,” Herbstreit said. “I just don’t understand it.”
Washington was looking for an opponent this Saturday after the Apple Cup game was canceled. Later Tuesday, the Pac-12 announced that the Huskies will host Utah because the Utes’ game at Arizona State also became a victim of the pandemic.
Sitake saved some of his sharpest words for how that fiasco was portrayed in the media.
“There is this narrative out there that we were hiding, or ducking, or waiting, and that’s just not true,” Sitake said. “It is a false narrative. I want to make sure everybody understands we are not afraid of anybody.”
Even after reports flew on Twitter on Sunday night that BYU had backed out of the chance to play the Huskies, Sitake said the Cougars held a practice Monday believing the game was still on.
“It just didn’t work out, for whatever reason,” he said, noting that some players and coaches were called back into town and “lost money” while changing their Thanksgiving plans.
“When we went to practice (Monday), you should have seen the level of excitement and energy,” he said. “It was so nice to see. I can’t wait to see them play again, as many opportunities as we can. If it were up to our boys, we would play 30 games this year.”
Yes, Sitake reiterated, the Cougars are still trying to add games. The only way they can get there is beating a nationally ranked opponent, or at least a highly regarded Power Five opponent.
As of now, only 3-2 San Diego State (Dec. 12, in Provo) remains on BYU’s schedule.
Talk that undefeated Cincinnati and BYU should play on Dec. 5 when both teams have openings probably goes out the window because the Bearcats are ranked No. 7 and don’t need to put that on the line unless they think another win can propel them into the final four and a berth in the national semifinals. As it is, Cincinnati is now the highest ranked Group of 5 team in the seven-year history of the CFP rankings, passing Central Florida, which got to No. 8 in 2018.
And BYU looks on with clenched teeth. It is a feeling the Cougars are getting used to.