Everyone associated with the BYU football program is disappointed that the Cougars won't be playing in the Big 12 conference championship game in Arlington, Texas, after scratching past Houston 30-18 at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night.
That's obviously a given. Making it to AT&T Stadium has been the goal since the season started, and was a distinct possibility a few weeks ago when BYU edged Utah 22-21 at Rice-Eccles Stadium to get to 9-0 overall, 6-0 in league play.
Instead, due to the Big 12′s tiebreaker system , Arizona State and Iowa State will tangle for the crown and the automatic bid to the College Football Playoff.
The Cougars (10-2, 7-2) can only blame themselves for the mistake-filled close losses to Kansas and ASU by a combined nine points that kept them from reaching the pinnacle game in their second year in the Power Four conference. That it was within their grasp makes it even more exasperating.
But here's a sobering thought: BYU hasn't been playing in November like a team that belonged in the title game, going 2-2 in the month with closer-than-they-should-have-been wins over two of the league's lower-level teams in 2024, Utah and Houston.
Maybe the Cougars are saving themselves some embarrassment, because the way the other three teams that tied for first place in the league have been playing lately, BYU would have struggled to keep it close in Texas.
Head coach Kalani Sitake even admitted as much after the three-turnover outing against the other Cougars, and the defense struggling to stop the Big 12′s worst offense.
"I just felt like we were not playing like our normal selves," he said. "That's what I got to get going. I got to get these guys back on track …"
As we've written several times the past month, BYU hasn't been itself since midway through the third quarter against UCF in Orlando. Certainly, the Cougars haven't looked as crisp on offense since then, haven't executed at that level — besides a few drives in the second halves against Utah, ASU and Houston — most of the month of November.
"You can't keep making mistakes and try to find ways out of it. Although you can be grateful for squeaking one by and making plays and even some of them being a little bit miraculous, you can't make that an every week thing," Sitake acknowledged.
Not if you want to play for something meaningful in December, other than in a decent bowl game in Florida or Texas, which appears to be where the Cougars are heading. Some prognosticators have them playing in the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando; Others have them in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
Both those games are on Dec. 28.
They could be good games, against Power Four opponents, but the thoughts of "what might have been" will linger forever when the 2024 campaign is recalled.
As star linebacker Jack Kelly put it, double-digit win seasons are "not very likely to come by" in a Power Four conference. Who knows when BYU will get another shot at a conference crown? This league the Cougars are in has been defined by its parity this season. Truly, on any given week any team could beat any other, as Utah, Oklahoma State and Houston showed by almost knocking off a BYU team that finished tied at the top.
"In a power conference that we are in (10 wins) is a huge thing," Kelly said. "… So being able to do that, really shows everyone on this team was bought in. The coaches really helped us, coached us the right way. Everyone was ready to execute every game."
Yes, the effort was there — even against Kansas and ASU. The want-to was there. The season never went off the rails like in 2023, but it started teetering and wobbling as a team that lived on the edge and played with fire finally got burned.
Sure, the Cougars would have had a puncher's chance Saturday in the Metroplex, but the reality is the other three were playing better ball down the stretch than they were — for reasons that are hard to define.
BYU was a bit shorthanded against Houston — linebacker Harrison Taggart (concussion) warmed up but didn't play.
Left guard Weylin Lapuaho moved over to right tackle to fill in for the injured Isaiah Jatta, who had been filling in for the injured Brayden Keim. Right guard Austin Leausa and running back Hinckley Ropati were also out. BYU, No. 17 in the new AP poll released Sunday, would have marched into Texas to face the No. 12 Sun Devils or No. 16 Cyclones without all of its weapons.
Sure, not playing again for nearly a month isn't what they wanted, but it just might be a blessing in disguise.
