As BYU was getting thumped the other night by a team — LSU — it had never played before, a question kept arising around that matchup and it now emerges with the coming test against an opponent — Utah — the Cougars have played a hundred times:
Are these guys simply too talented for BYU?
That question can be answered, at least partially, by what both Kalani Sitake and Kyle Whittingham have repeated over and over: “It’s about the players.”
The Jimmys and the Joes, to quote Barry Switzer.
That sentiment leads to another question and to a sometimes-slippery answer to the original one: 1) If a program’s success is really about the players, why is it the coaches who make millions of dollars? and 2) Go back and check the recruiting rankings over the past few years for the Tigers, the Utes and the Cougars.
They’re uneven, not unlike the wins and losses have been of late, with LSU ranking near the top, Utah in the 30s to 40s, and BYU in the 50s. Those rankings vary, and they are far from definitive, as the Utes’ famous win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and their subsequent success in the Pac-12 against teams with higher recruiting rankings show, but they are certainly notable.
Is there a talent gap between Utah and BYU?
Yes. Yes, there is.
Is it enough to shape the rivalry game into a lopsided blob?
You know the truth. If the Utes win on Saturday night, it will be seven victories in a row, and 12 out of 15.
The Cougars, the players and the team, are not as good as the Utes.
Utah has more better players. If you don’t think so, you have an aversion to what is plain to see.
If coaching can make up the difference, or development, or motivation, or tactics, or home field, or luck, or living right, or magic, it has not shown itself since 2009, which, not coincidentally, was back when a major talent gap did not exist.
Count the number of former Utes and Cougars presently in the NFL and the totals are one-sided: Utah 29, BYU 9.
Some might predict that to be the score of Saturday night’s game.
The NFL numbers, when they’re close, don’t always reflect the quality of a program, considering that even Utah State has more NFL players — 12 — than the Cougars. But when a program has three times as many, it’s an inarguable indicator of a wild talent imbalance.
The reason the coaches make those aforementioned millions is because they are the ones who attract the talent which then makes the difference on the field. Whittingham has done that better than anyone at BYU. And development of players has been a big factor for the coach.
There are those who downplay the importance of conference affiliation in recruiting, but even Whittingham has said that the Utes’ entrance into the Pac-12 has had a major beneficial impact on Utah’s success. Coaches are now annually in the running for athletes who a decade ago wouldn’t have let them in the door.
BYU, of course, has no league to sell, to brag about or rely upon, and, worse, in terms of football, has that infamous behavioral code the enforcement of which scares away as many athletes, even Mormon players, as it draws in.
Are there enough clean-living, faith-espousing, Book of Mormon-believing, scripture-reading, religion-class-attending, hallelujah-shouting, Eagle-Scout-achieving, weed-and-booze-avoiding, short-hair-wearing, smooth-face-appearing great athletes on the planet to level out the playing field for BYU?
Not as is. Not right now.
Will it always be this way?
The talent gap between Utah and BYU has ebbed and flowed through the years, probably related, at least in some degree, to the quality of coaching at the schools. Everyone remembers the early LaVell Edwards years, when BYU dominated the Utes because it had superior players, and better coaching, and more money. And when the Honor Code may have been … let’s put it this way, a bit less stringent.
The P5 league-affiliation thing hurts BYU because the Cougars are missing out on some promising LDS athletes who think their opportunity for playing big-time college football is greater elsewhere. And, right now, it is.
On the other hand, it’s interesting that pressure on BYU’s admissions office is growing more and more extreme for regular students, officials ever ramping up the academic requirements at the school because so many Mormon kids from around the country and the world want to get in. Grade-point averages and ACT scores for incoming freshmen are off-the-charts.
How that affects football now and how it will affect it in the future, with other important factors so heavily in play, remains to be seen. One of the reasons Sitake was hired was to warmly wrap his big arms around and then advance BYU’s recruiting.
As is, though, Utah is a more attractive option than BYU for many football players.
The number of stellar athletes there indicate that, and, more significantly, the results prove it. The games have been close, including last season’s thriller that came down to a two-point-conversion try, but … the irascible (for BYU) two words are indisputable: six straight.
What’s left to say?
GORDON MONSON hosts “The Big Show” with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.
Follow @GordonMonson