If ever a BYU football team entered a big game with a chip on its shoulder, this Saturday in Arlington, Texas, may be the one. It’s the Cougar version of Atlas shouldering the sky.
Newly minted and extended head coach Kalani Sitake has every emotional speech fodder angle to throw at his team, why they need to beat heavily favored Texas Tech in the rematch for the Big 12 championship.
The list?
ESPN threw shade on them during the CFP show. Didn’t even show comparative achievements or the BYU logo.
The CFP committee ranked the Cougars No. 11, the only P4 or P5 team in modern history to have 11 wins and be left out of the top 10.
In Lubbock the first week of November, “College GameDay” in town, BYU choked. Lost 29-7. And nobody has let them forget the embarrassment.
Undefeated and ranked No. 7 in the CFP, the TT loss dropped BYU five places to 12th. Texas A&M, which played one of the SEC’s weakest league schedules, lost to three-loss Texas last week and dropped from No. 3 to 7.
Freshman Bear Bachmeier, the Big 12’s seven-time freshman of the week and just named Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is not a finalist for the 2025 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award when other finalists are in their second year, and Bear wasn’t even in BYU spring practice.
Disrespect. Shade. Bias on steroids.
Sitake can make that speech. He’s certainly capable of pointing out injustices before kickoff. One of his mentors, Kyle Whittingham, would make a Gettysburg Address out of it.
But even so, it might not be enough.
Texas Tech is that good. Maybe the Raiders are the only team that can beat Indiana and Ohio State — Joey McGuire’s defense is that good.
“That’s one of the best defensive lines I’ve ever coached against, if not the best,” commented BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick.
Sitake may not have to make much of a speech. His players are mature enough to remember how they felt in Lubbock. What was there? What got away from them? The bile in the mouth, the disappointment, the lost moment.
Something interesting broke out when ESPN and the CFP committee downplayed the Big 12 this week, however.
A cadre of national voices called them out.
The Big 12 championship game in AT&T Stadium not only sold out for Saturday’s matchup between No. 4 Texas Tech and the Cougars, but it is expected to break the crowd record (84,523 in 2023) for the league’s playoff game.
This could be the most attended game for any conference championship ever. The previous record is held in that 2023 game between Texas and Oklahoma.
So, how does BYU reverse the outcome of the last attempt to beat Tech?
Start with winning the turnover battle. Last time it was 3-0 in TT’s favor.
Start fast. Wake up. The Red Raiders have outscored their opponents in the first quarter by a whopping 164 to 13. That is just sick. BYU has outscored foes in that first quarter just 78-65, including giving up a head-scratching 14-0 lead to UCF last Saturday on Senior Day at home.
Don’t muff a punt, shank punts or drop passes like in Lubbock.
Have LJ Martin, Bachmeier and hopefully Sione Moa rush for a combined 150 yards. Get Bachmeier and his receivers to produce at least 180 yards passing.
Again, limit Tech’s offense to a lot of field goals with outstanding red-zone defense.
Get BYU’s offensive line to win some battles and attack TT’s secondary with more gusto than was witnessed in Lubbock.
In other words, play more like BYU has done in 11 wins. Take advantage of the neutral field, no wind, an energetic crowd and somehow put TT in an uncomfortable position to face some pressure and adversity.
Big task?
Yes, that’s a lot to ask, but it can be done, starting with winning the turnover battle.
McGuire has his Raiders playing with a lot of momentum. Still, he respects his league and BYU and what 11-1 means to both these teams.
“Without a doubt, we should both be in the playoffs, no matter what happens on Saturday. I think we’ve earned the ride. ... We are as good as anybody in the country, and we’re going to put on a great game,” said McGuire.
If BYU believes it belongs in the top 10 and CFP, this is the time to prove it. Walk the talk.
If BYU wins, they are in, regardless of what appears to be political brand bias by the CFP and ESPN.
