What’s At Stake For BYU Football Against Boise State

PROVO, Utah – BYU football has emerged as one of the best storylines on the college gridiron this season. The independent Cougars opened up the season with three consecutive wins over members of the Pac-12 South. Then they’ve taken care of business against a pair of Group of Five programs they were favored against.

WEAR NAVY!!

BYU vs Boise State – Saturday – 1:30pm MT pic.twitter.com/QwPgbyKWS0

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) October 8, 2021

Now they welcome rival Boise State to Provo for a network television game in an afternoon viewing slot.

Boise State comes into the game with an uncharacteristic 2-3 record, but BYU coaches aren’t sleeping on the Broncos’ talent. Two years ago, BYU was 2-4 entering a rain-filled game against an undefeated highly-ranked Broncos team and they pulled off a massive victory. A win that ultimately saved Kalani Sitake from the hot seat and has since catapulted the BYU program they haven’t experienced in more than a decade.

BYU-Boise State games are always some of the top matchups the west has to offer. Today should be no different.

Here’s what is at stake for BYU in this game.

A case for the College Football Playoff?

Let’s face it, sometimes in college football, the narratives around a team matter more than the actual on-field results. BYU on network TV against a program in Boise State that has national cache is a chance to gain more supporters for BYU to make a run at the College Football Playoff.

Interesting to see Coastal Carolina having better College Football Playoffs odds than #BYU. pic.twitter.com/4WWCfkt8Ea

— KSL Unrivaled (@KSLunrivaled) October 6, 2021

The Cougars have been the late-night darling through the first month of the season. Network TV against the Boise program who once pulled off the Statue of Liberty play in the Fiesta Bowl (yes, that is still brought up) is a game to bring more awareness to mainstream sports fans about this year’s BYU team. Put together a dominating performance against Boise State and you could see Kalani Sitake’s team emerge as the darling of the nation. Right there with Cincinnati.

6-0 start for BYU Football

BYU could hit the midway point of the season with an undefeated record at 6-0 if they take down Boise State. Despite being the 10th winningest college football team over the last 50 years, 6-0 starts are not typical for BYU.

If BYU defeats Boise State, it would be only the sixth time since 1979 that the Cougars have started the 6-0. In addition, it would be the first time it happened in back-to-back seasons.

Sweep the rivals

Since becoming an Independent in 2011, the top rivals for BYU football have been Utah, Boise State, and Utah State. BYU has never defeated all three in one year during their Independent run. However, they’ve already taken care of business against the Utes and Aggies. A win over the boys on the blue would give BYU a clean sweep over their rivals and provide them with the chance to put an emphatic checkmark on the “Beat the rivals” goal they set out to accomplish every year.

Prove the Big 12 was right

When the Big 12 Conference was exploring expansion after the departures of Texas and Oklahoma, according to Brett McMurphy, the league narrowed down its pool of candidates to eight teams in four different pods.

UCF was stacked up against USF. Houston and SMU represented Texas. Cincinnati and Memphis were the eastern wing teams that could partner with West Virginia, and then the western teams were BYU and Boise State.

The Big 12 ended up going with BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. While teams like Boise State were on the outside looking in. It’s possible the Broncos could find themselves in the league down the road. But for now, I’m sure the Big 12 would love nothing more for one of their new members in BYU to continue rising up the rankings.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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