Time is now for BYU to reintroduce the brand

BYU defensive end Viliami Po’uha (45) and other Cougars celebrate after a field goal from place kicker Will Ferrin (44) gave BYU the lead at 22-21 during a game between the University of Utah Utes and the Brigham Young University Cougars held at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City early on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

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No. 7-ranked BYU is in a good place heading into a home battle with streaking Kansas on Saturday. The Cougars have a 9-0 record, but the chip-on-the-shoulder campaign is still a worthy ploy for head coach Kalani Sitake.

Respect. There’s still work to be done.

After beating rival Utah 22-21, Utah’s athletic director Mark Harlan’s rant that the win was stolen became the story of the day and dampened BYU of its performance on the field. This came after the CFP committee ranked BYU No. 9 when its resume and wins over ranked teams was better than four teams ranked higher, including Texas, Miami and Indiana.

A Pac 12-oriented columnist, John Canzano, attended the BYU-Utah game and as a person who covers Oregon and is now attached to the Mountain West through Washington State, Oregon State and Boise State penned: “The Big 12 isn’t a great league. Mountain West leader Boise State (8-1) is better than BYU (9-0). The Broncos’ only loss came on the road at Oregon on a last-second field goal. That defeat still looks better than any of BYU’s victories. And don’t get me started — the Ducks would beat the Cougars by 30.”

And there it is.

Another reason to keep playing as a slighted program.

What we saw, and Canzano witnessed last Saturday, is BYU playing its worst game of the season. Yet they still won on a last-minute drive with no timeouts and their starting left tackle out, against the best defense they’ve faced all year. That wasn’t a fluke. And it was a legit holding call that provided that opportunity.

In…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/time-now-byu-reintroduce-brand-210000732.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-11-13 21:00:00

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