Monday was pretty normal in Provo.
The sun came up and the Cougars went about their offseason workouts with one goal in mind — getting to the Big 12 championship game and defeating whoever is there to oppose them, especially if it’s their 2025 nemesis, Texas Tech.
The day started much differently in Lubbock when a district judge sided with Red Raider quarterback Brendan Sorsby in his dispute with the NCAA. Fully aware of the quarterback’s gambling problem, including placing bets on his own team, the judge restored Sorsby’s eligibility that had been stripped by the NCAA.
Instead of missing everything, if the injunction withstands a coming appeal, Sorsby will sit out two games and collect his reported $5 million paycheck from Texas Tech. Where the case goes from here is anyone’s guess, but it is sure to continue the mountain-sized offseason drama around a program placed in the pancake flat topography of West Texas.
So what does today’s news really mean for BYU?
Not much.
During the Sorsby saga, the Cougars received a boost by many national pundits as the “new” team to beat in the Big 12. If Sorsby truly returns, the Red Raiders’ “top contender status” is likely to come back with him.
Outside of that, what could be considered as another bombshell or even death knell for the NCAA, the ruling is not much more than a firecracker going off for everybody else — we hear it, we look at it, we think about it, we can’t do anything about it, and we get back to what we were doing before it went off.
That’s what the Cougars did.
BYU has a dozen games to worry about, including the nine that will determine if it returns to the Big 12 title game — and none of those include Sorsby or Texas Tech. Utah likewise won’t face the Red Raiders during the regular season.
The only way today’s news impacts the Cougars is if both teams have the kind of seasons that bring them back together for a rematch of last year’s championship game. If Sorsby is still the quarterback on Dec. 4, then the district judge’s ruling will become more significant to BYU.
With good reason, the Cougars are wary of Texas Tech — a team that handed them their only two defeats last season. With or without Sorsby, the Red Raiders, who have a friendly schedule, are expected to defend their title and advance in the College Football Playoff. However, the Cougars do have a history against Sorsby and it’s pretty good.
BYU and freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier marched into a sold-out Nippert Stadium last November and beat the Bearcats 26-14 to eliminate Cincinnati from the Big 12 title race. Sorsby, a 6-foot-5 junior, threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, but BYU countered with ball control.
The Cougars dominated time-of-possession by nearly 17 minutes. LJ Martin rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns and Bachmeier added 46 and a touchdown, while playing turnover-free in a spirited battle where BYU never trailed. Utah also had its way with Sorsby and the Bearcats, downing them 45-14 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Beating Sorsby in Cincinnati gave the Cougars a blueprint to beating him (or anyone else) at Texas Tech — defend the ball, run the ball and protect the ball. In the two losses to the Red Raiders last season by a combined 66-14, BYU struggled in all three areas, including minus-seven in turnover margin.
Those are the factors that will matter the most in December, which is why, on the same day that Texas Tech is celebrating a court ruling for their quarterback, BYU spent its time preparing to go up against an even better one.
The Cougars host Noah Fifita and the improving Wildcats in the Big 12 opener on Sept. 12. A win right out of the gate could go a long way in determining whether BYU has to worry about Sorsby’s return at all.
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.