Imagine the bank calling with good news. First, they are dropping your two largest debts, and second, they are depositing interest money into your account from an earlier investment.
That’s pretty much what happened when the College Football Playoff rankings put BYU at No. 10 in this week’s poll.
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Once the initial shock wore off, the facts became clear. The CFP committee was all but forgiving the Cougars of their two defeats — a 39-31 double-overtime stumble at UCF and last week’s 28-20 decision at Utah. At the same time, the group is rewarding BYU for last month’s 28-24 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame.
This makes the Cougars a happy customer. Even if they don’t qualify for the Big 12 championship game, which they still could, BYU still has a path to the playoffs by winning the last three games of the regular season — Baylor, at Kansas and Cincinnati.
Of course, BYU’s standing would be much better had they avoided road losses in Orlando and Salt Lake City. The reality is they weren’t good enough to win on those days; however, the idea that neither defeat was so bad that it cost them a shot at the playoffs means the Cougars can still get there.
Nothing is guaranteed, but for BYU on Saturday, everything is required. They have been given a new lease on life — even born again. What appeared to be lost has been found — and returned.
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This is a movie plot they are familiar with that has an ending they would like to change. Two years ago, the Cougars’ hopes for the Big 12 championship game crashed after back-to-back November defeats to Kansas and Arizona State.
Last year, with a true freshman quarterback, BYU reached the conference title game where they could see beyond the gates into the promised land. Unfortunately, a second poor performance against Texas Tech left them on the outside of the 12-team playoff and looking in.
Running the table won’t be easy. Nothing in the Big 12 is, especially for teams that get caught looking ahead. UCF taught the Cougars a painful lesson and Utah reminded BYU last week that turnovers, penalties and poor tackling are three things that will keep them from earning these three mandatory wins.
A bank canceling a customer’s debt happens about as often as the CFP committee gives BYU the benefit of the doubt, but here we are. The moment the Cougars surfaced at No. 10 was also the birth of a new season.
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Tempting fate would be a bad idea. BYU (7-2, 4-2) needs to play against Baylor (6-3, 4-2) in a way that shows the committee that they were right, not only in their recent ranking, but in the all-important future projections as well.
Everything is in BYU’s hands. Are the Cougars good enough to seize the moment or just good enough to garner the consideration? We’ll see starting Saturday (1:30 p.m. MST, Fox).
FILE – The College Football Playoff logo is shown on the field at AT&T Stadium before the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Alabama in Arlington, Texas, Jan. 1, 2021. | Roger Steinman, Associated Press
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.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
