There’s a different kind of buzz around BYU football now, and it didn’t come from a slow build or a lucky break. It hit all at once after Saturday night’s win over Notre Dame, and the response has been as loud as anything the program has ever seen on a national stage.
The Cougars’ jump from No. 8 to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 only confirmed what was already happening everywhere else. In the hours after the game, the chatter swelled across articles, broadcasts and podcasts, with plenty of voices arguing BYU should be sitting at No. 1 instead. The reasoning has been straightforward: other highly regarded teams lost, and top-ranked Miami, in the eyes of many observers, hasn’t matched BYU’s record or body of work so far.
What’s striking is how broad the praise has been. Kalani Sitake has been lauded.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has been lauded. Bear Bachmeier has been lauded.
So have the offensive line, the receivers and tight ends, the defense, the culture, and the whole scene at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The setting, the scenery, the crowd, the atmosphere - all of it has drawn applause.
Cosmo and Cougartails and Cougarettes have even gotten their share of love.
The only pieces that have taken heat are the Big 12 refs and the clock operator at LES. The officiating crew was criticized for missing the pass interference on what became Notre Dame’s final offensive play.
There was also debate over whether there should have been one second left after the incomplete pass. And some observers - including the Big 12 - said the final play should have taken more than four seconds, from the snap until the ball hit the ground, because the clock operator was late to start it.
Still, that ending hasn’t turned the public against BYU. Outside of a small group of angry Notre Dame fans, most people who watched the game believe the Cougars outplayed the Irish and deserved the win.
That’s what makes this moment feel different for BYU. The program has had big achievements before.
It won a national championship. It produced a Heisman Trophy winner.
It has had players who won Outland, Doak Walker and Davey O’Brien awards, along with All-Americans. But even in 1984, when the Cougars finished first in the polls and claimed the title, the reaction wasn’t remotely this warm.
Back then, BYU got the trophy and kept it, but plenty of people around college football didn’t like it. The Cougars were undefeated, yes, but many believed they had not faced enough quality opposition. The schedule was widely viewed as soft, and some of the people who voted in the polls felt that way too.
In the years that followed, BYU was mocked in some circles and treated as a cautionary tale. The sense was that future postseason systems had been shaped, at least in part, to keep a team like BYU from taking that kind of spotlight again.
Now the tone has changed. In the middle of all the power struggles and money fights surrounding access to the playoff, BYU suddenly finds itself in a far more favorable position. Not necessarily universally adored, but certainly far more respected than before.
There’s even a little irony in the Big 12’s embrace of the Cougars. League supporters are pointing to BYU’s success as proof of how strong the conference is overall, using it as evidence that the Big 12 is raising everyone together. That’s a twist, considering how long BYU spent on the outside trying to get in.
For now, that history is in the past, and BYU is more than willing to help its new league however it can. Just not by losing to league rivals.
The bigger challenge is keeping this run from getting swallowed by its own hype. Sitake’s team still has to navigate the week-to-week grind, and it has a dangerous Utah team waiting in early November. That’s the next major test, and it could come right after a wave of attention that would be easy for any program to ride too long.
Even then, a loss there would not necessarily erase what’s happened. Multiple Big 12 teams could still make the playoff. Right now, before the first CFP ranking is released, BYU, Texas Tech and Utah are all sitting in the AP poll’s top 10.
Whether that holds is another matter. What isn’t up for debate is this: BYU football has more national respect right now than it has ever had before. The Cougars now have to make sure it lasts.
In Other News...
BYUs UCF Test Suddenly Looks Very Different At Quarterback
UCFs quarterback picture for the BYU game has shifted enough to change how the matchup should be viewed heading into the week. Alonza Barnett III, who has been working back from a hamstring injury, is reportedly not expected to start, and coach Scott Frost has made it clear the staff is taking a careful approach with his recovery. Steve Cooper said Barnett has returned to practice on a limited basis, but his status remains up in the air.
For BYU, that adds a new layer to a road test that already had plenty of intrigue. Preparing for one quarterback is one thing, but the Cougars now have to account for a situation that could look different by kickoff, depending on how UCF handles Barnetts availability. Frosts emphasis on avoiding a setback suggests the Knights are thinking long term, even if that leaves some uncertainty for a game that suddenly feels a little less settled. [Read more 🡒]
Bear Bachmeiers Breakout Just Took A Strange Turn After BYUs Upset
Bear Bachmeiers rise went from the center of BYUs biggest win of the season to an unexpected conversation topic almost as soon as the Cougars left the field. After helping BYU knock off No. 2 Notre Dame, 28-24, and move to 6-0, the freshman quarterback suddenly found himself attached to a broadcast-side anecdote that had little to do with the upset itself and a lot to do with how quickly his name is spreading beyond Provo.
The odd detour comes on the heels of Bachmeier also saying Notre Dame disrespected him and his family during his recruitment, adding another layer to a story that already had enough emotion wrapped around it. BYU has the kind of marquee win that can change the tone of a season, but in Bachmeiers case, the attention now extends well beyond the football field, with one loose, unconfirmed comment threatening to become part of the fallout from an otherwise statement-making night. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Crowd Watched One Student Turn Pregame Nerves Into A Fortune
Long before the first snaps of the night, one BYU student turned a routine pregame promotion into the kind of scene people at LaVell Edwards Stadium wont forget soon. Carter Smith, 21, stepped into Pat McAfees Kicking Is Easy contest and came through on his second field goal attempt, a pressure-packed swing that suddenly made him the center of attention for everyone in the building.
The result was life-changing, with Smith walking away $3 million richer and instantly drawing widespread recognition. Even with that kind of windfall, his plans remain grounded in the classroom and beyond it, as he intends to keep working toward his education and a future career in dentistry. [Read more 🡒]