Welcome to the Holy Score, a weekly look at Utah and Brigham Young football in which we assess their performances with no punches pulled or apologies forthcoming. If one of them stinks, we’ll tell you they stink. Most Utah and BYU fans are entirely reasonable — sarcasm alert! — but those who can’t handle the truth should read the message boards instead.
One month down, there’s no denying that Brigham Young is one of the most surprising teams in major college football.
The Cougars have a stout defense, opportunistic offense and a quarterback gaining confidence and comfort by the week.
How high is the ceiling in Provo, where the Cougars are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play?
The Hotline has never been shy about calling our shot (or concerned about being proven wrong), so we’ll say it: The Cougars are a Big 12 title contender.
They are not a September flash. They are not merely the beneficiaries of good fortune and weak opponents. Their early-season success is absolutely sustainable through the meat of conference play, which resumes next week against Arizona.
The defense, which ranks 16th nationally in yards-per-play allowed, is good enough to earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
The offense could be good enough, as all, if quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s development maintains its current pace through the middle third of the season. (That won’t be easy, because each passing week provides opponents with more film to examine and more tendencies to counteract.)
Also, the competition is solid but not elite.
Let’s start with Utah, the preseason favorite.
The Utes, too, are a contender. We would not bet a nickel against them reaching the championship game so long as quarterback Cam Rising returns following the bye week and remains healthy through the stretch run. (Utah’s next game is Oct. 11, at Arizona State.)
For all the fretting in Salt Lake City, the pillars remain: The Utes are masterfully coached, terrific on the lines of scrimmage and stocked with enough playmakers to navigate the remainder of the season … if Rising returns.
The Red Zone offense needs work, sure. But other than the injury-ravaged 2023 season, when have the Utes not solved problems and gotten better as the weeks elapsed.
But Utah needs an opponent in the Big 12 championship. Could we see a Holy War rematch in AT&T Stadium on Dec. 7?
Don’t dismiss the possibility, not for one second.
Oklahoma State’s third-rate quarterback play has led to two consecutive losses.
Kansas is a mess.
Colorado is better than anticipated but flawed on the lines of scrimmage.
Kansas State has played well in four games but was awful in Provo (and thus would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with BYU if the teams finish deadlocked for second place).
Texas Tech, Arizona, West Virginia all have produced as many lows as highs thus far.
At this point, only Iowa State looks as consistently impressive as the Cougars — the very same Cougars who were picked 13th in the Big 12 preseason poll.
Which brings us to a matter of historical context.
If BYU finishes first in the regular-season race, …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
