Cougars must digest humble pie, get hungry for crucial game against Arizona State

During the biggest month for pie consumption in Utah, where the A-listers include pumpkin, pecan and apple, there is a certain pie no one wants to taste — humble pie. It shows up without an invitation and it likes to linger longer than it should. In fact, if it’s not processed immediately, humble pie can spoil an entire season.

BYU woke up on Monday with the taste of humble pie still on its tongue. The aftermath of Saturday’s stunning 17-13 loss at home to Kansas knocked the Cougars out of the AP top 10 and is expected to do the same when Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings are released.

Gone is the quest for BYU’s first undefeated season since 1984 and while the road to the Big 12 championship game still remains possible, it has become a little more complicated. The Cougars (9-1, 6-1) face Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) Saturday in Tempe (1:30 p.m. MST, ESPN) in what could be an elimination game for the conference title.

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Adding to BYU’s frustration is that the Cougars saw humble pie on the menu, but they did nothing to avoid it.

Team leaders Jake Retzlaff (quarterback), Chase Roberts (receiver) and Tyler Batty (defensive end) each confessed during postgame interviews on BYUtv that the practices leading up to the Kansas game were less focused than they should have been.

How could that be?

The Cougars were fresh off an emotional win at rival Utah and just saw its national ranking climb to No. 6 with a projection of a Big 12 championship and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Plus, they were hosting the Jayhawks on ESPN. It was everything they and their fan base could possibly dream of.

So, what went wrong?

Human nature. It shows up at the wrong time at every level of sport. Human nature is humble pie’s pregame show, like an appetizer before the meal. It seems you can’t have one without the other.

BYU’s inability to score touchdowns in the red zone (0-3) against a team that gives up a lot of yards and points screams of their demise. Reaching the Kansas 15-yard line with two minutes to play and a full set of downs with the game on the line is a scenario a better-focused group of Cougars would feast on.

Instead, an 8-yard completion on fourth-and-11 left BYU their undefeated season, and their fans out in the cold.

Humble pie, however, isn’t all bad, so long as it’s digested in the right way. Just as Retzlaff, Roberts and Batty revealed BYU’s lack of focus for Kansas, they also vowed to restore it this week in preparation for Saturday’s showdown against the Sun Devils.

A humbled and motivated BYU team, like the one that beat SMU, Baylor, UCF and Utah on the road and Arizona, Kansas State and Oklahoma State at home, has more than enough talent to take down Arizona State; however, the offense that showed up against Kansas won’t stand a chance.

BYU still controls its own destiny in the Big 12. A win this weekend at Arizona State combined with a Utah victory against Iowa State will put the Cougars in the conference title game on Dec. 7. BYU can also clinch with wins against the Sun Devils and at home against Houston on Nov. 30.

Thanksgiving arrives in the middle of the Cougars’ two remaining games where the pumpkin, pecan or apple pies will all taste better if BYU can turn Saturday’s run-in with humble pie into a game changer.

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Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.