After a 10-2 regular season, let’s start with something fun today.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was upset about his team being left out of the Big 12 title game on Saturday. But he found some levity.
He was joking about a video of a fan sitting in BYU’s medical tent in Tempe during the final play of BYU-Arizona State. The fans had rushed the field too early and had to be escorted off the playing surface. But rather than leave, one fan just set up shop in the medical tent and was looking out through the window.
“He probably had the best, most comfortable view,” Sitake said laughing. “I thought that was kind of funny when people showed me that.”
He even joked that when quarterback Jake Retzlaff was in the medical tent against Houston this week, he was probably “just checking if there’s any fans in there hiding out.”
He was happy to report, all clear.
The Big Thing
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cosmo, the Brigham Young Cougars mascot, beats a drum on a platform near the top of the stadium between the third and fourth quarter of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
The bowl game is BYU’s next destination. The question is, where will that be?
At the moment, there are two main options. BYU can go to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio or the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando. Both bowls had representatives in Provo last week.
In the Alamo Bowl, there is a good chance BYU would play Colorado. That’s because the Alamo Bowl still has a Pac-12 tie-in from the old league. Even though Colorado is in the Big 12 now, it would still be considered an old Pac-12 team and could be headed for a meeting with BYU.
Now, there are some caveats to the Alamo Bowl.
If Arizona State loses the Big 12 title game this week, it will be out of the College Football Playoff. And instead, it would re-enter bowl selection. The Alamo Bowl could take the Sun Devils — a former Pac-12 team — and kick Colorado to a different bowl.
But ASU going to the Alamo Bowl might complicate things for the Cougars. Typically, bowl games don’t want rematches from the regular season. BYU and Arizona State played two weeks ago.
So if that is an issue, BYU could be looking at the Pop-Tarts bowl.
That is played between a Big 12 and ACC team. So BYU could get Syracuse there, Georgia Tech or even Miami.
Either way, BYU fans should probably get ready for a Dec. 28 bowl game.
Question of the week
What is your ideal bowl game?
Fourth down
1. Offseason
BYU hasn’t lost a main player in the transfer portal yet. Kody Epps is probably the biggest name, but he hasn’t truly contributed to the Cougars in two years. BYU has to keep its young core on defense together and retain the main pieces like Jake Retzlaff and LJ Martin.
2. Signing day
BYU should add 19 players on signing day. It is not a top-50 class — like Sitake signed last year — but that could change with some additions in February.
3. Retzlaff numbers
Something to monitor, Retzlaff had a 42% completion rate and threw for 167 yards last week. This offense hasn’t been the same since Utah week and is reverting back to the 2023 numbers.
4. Talan Alfrey
Alfrey hasn’t had the season he’s wanted. After playing a lot in 2023, he is mostly a special teams guy now. But even that hasn’t been great. A kick hit him at Arizona State and gifted the Sun Devils an extra touchdown. But against Houston, he got his revenge. The visitors tried an onside kick to Alfrey, but he took it at midfield and scored. It was a redemption arc for a player who’s had a tough year.