BYU must defeat Houston Saturday night to have a chance at playing in the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, and they’ll know if that’s a possibility while still competing.
The 9-2 Cougars from Provo need Arizona to beat Arizona State in Tucson or Kansas State to upset Iowa State on the road earlier on Saturday, to be eligible for the title game the following week.
“You can’t really be concerned with what everyone else is doing,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “We’ve just got to be focused on this game.”
ASU versus Arizona is an early-afternoon game, while K-State at Iowa State is at 5:30 p.m. The two Cougars kick off at 8:15 p.m.
This situation, this opportunity, this chance, is something BYU hasn’t enjoyed in a decade and a half. Playing for conference championships was a foreign thought during the years of independence that began in 2010. Losses as an independent were devastating, and the schedule without a conference run was empty.
This is not the case this weekend. BYU has had two chances the past two weeks to clinch a spot, but lost at ASU last week and at home to Kansas the week before.
While BYU is tied atop the conference standings with ASU, Colorado and Iowa State, Houston has struggled at 4-7 overall and 3-5 in league play. One of those three wins was against Utah.
Houston ranks first in the league in defense, but is one of the worst-scoring offenses in the NCAA this year and just fired its offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay.
Saturday’s game is a swan song for BYU seniors including passionate captains Tyler Batty and Connor Pay.
“It’s a special place,” Batty said of LaVell Edwards Stadium. “At times it’s even been a magic place for us.”
This is also a chance for QB Jake Retzlaff to atone for costly mistakes just before halftime in the Kansas game at home and the final drive interception at ASU.
Retzlaff is a gamer. This game needs to be a retrofitted home finale for him. Against Houston, he’ll need to be accurate, on time, and use all of his weapons. A fast start is key.
BYU’s defense should be able to contain Houston, and the Big 12-leading intercepting team (BYU) should get some turnovers, a mainstay of BYU’s nine wins.
As for getting help, the best chance for BYU to get others to propel them forward this Saturday is Kansas State beating Iowa State.
“I’d much rather be in this situation this year than where we were last year,” said Batty.
Don’t count on a struggling Arizona team to beat ASU, even if the Sun Devils might be suffering a little hangover, literally, from the emotional victory over BYU last week. Arizona expects about 40% of Wildcat Stadium to be filled with ASU faithful. Arizona has too many issues to overcome in this Territorial Cup game, although, as in any rivalry game, anything can happen.
K-State could beat Iowa State because of a unique factor about games after playing Utah. Iowa State just played and beat Utah but teams are 2-9 combined after playing the Utes, and one of those who lost include BYU (Kansas loss).
“This is our bowl game, in my opinion,” said Houston coach Willie Frtiz. “So, we want to prepare this week, go out and play on national television before what I think will be a packed stadium. I’ve never played there before, but we have a few players who have transferred in who have.”
BYU’s chance for a 10th win would definitely solidify its resume and position BYU as one of the top three teams in the West, behind No. 1 Oregon and Boise State. BYU wins over ranked SMU — the ACC leader — and K-State have been unceremoniously discounted by the CFP committee the past two weeks. But BYU should have taken care of those opinions the past two weeks — situations where the Cougars had the ball at the end with the chance to win.
BYU is a better team than Houston. It is favored by almost two touchdowns. It is imperative to take the starch out of Houston’s defense early by carving out an early lead.
This week’s predictions
- Ohio State 31, Michigan 21
- Tennessee 38, Vanderbilt 21
- Clemson 28, South Carolina 24
- Illinois 28, Northwestern 17
- Louisville 27, Kentucky 21
- Baylor 27, Kansas 24
- Texas Tech 33, West Virginia 27
- Penn State 38, Maryland 17
- Notre Dame 21, USC 17
- Miami 37, Syracuse 20
- SMU 33, California 28
- Alabama 35, Auburn 28
- Arizona State 28, Arizona 21
- Missouri 27, Arkansas 21
- TCU 24, Cincinnati 21
- Oregon 37, Washington 27
- Texas 42, Texas A&M 31
- Iowa State 31, Kansas State 28
- BYU 28, Houston 9
Last week: 16-5; overall 165-62 (.726)