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BYU football: Cougars need to break Utah’s Holy War streak

By Nathan Cunningham

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - SEPTEMBER 10: Terrell Burgess #26 of the Utah Utes fumbles the ball after he was hit by Alema Pilimai #45 of the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half of an college football game, at Rice Eccles Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - SEPTEMBER 10: Terrell Burgess #26 of the Utah Utes fumbles the ball after he was hit by Alema Pilimai #45 of the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half of an college football game, at Rice Eccles Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) /
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BYU football hosts the Utah Utes on Saturday. The Cougars have to end Utah’s streak… it can change everything about 2017.

After BYU football was crushed by LSU, it’s tough to remain positive about the Holy War game on Saturday.

Sure, Utah isn’t LSU. But something most BYU football fans don’t want to admit is that Utah is slowly creeping in that direction. Being in a P5 conference and having a great head coach are turning the Utes into something most of us never thought was possible back in the mid-2000s.

So here we are. Utah trending up, grabbing top-level recruits from all around the nation. BYU football trending… somewhere. Kalani Sitake and his staff are better recruiters than Bronco Mendenhall and his staff – so that makes me think the Cougars are trending upwards, too.

The trouble is, the way BYU recruiting works, you never know if/when your class will ever take the field together.

Some players redshirt a season, then go on a LDS mission. Some depart right out of high school. Others never go. So who knows when the bulk of a recruiting class becomes upperclassmen?

It’s a tough thing to traverse, but I for one am glad that Sitake is the one doing it. I have full faith that he’ll continue to make BYU football better.

I’ve yet to say that any game is a must-win for him and his team. We BYU football fans have been spoiled over the years, expecting nine wins or more every year. But Sitake has only been on campus for 21 months.

But here’s the thing…

BYU football must beat Utah on Saturday.

If BYU knocks off Utah on Saturday, it changes everything about the 2017 season.

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The bitter taste left in the mouth after LSU? Gone. Lose to Wisconsin next week? Doesn’t matter.

Beating Utah makes everything that happens in 2017 better. I know that some BYU football fans might not want to give that much credit to Utah – I know that a lot of Ute fans claim they don’t care about this game – but I believe that’s the reality.

BYU is the “little brother” in terms of conference affiliation. We can poke fun at the Pac-12 Network, stadium sizes and everything else – but there’s a reason that Tom Holmoe is trying to get BYU into a conference.

There’s not much I like to give credit to Bronco Mendenhall for, but he was right about independence. It isn’t sustainable forever.

But BYU doesn’t have to be the “little brother” on the field. Wins change the narrative. Right now, what else can we do but tip our hat and call the Utes our daddy? (Bonus points if you caught the Pedro Martinez reference there.)

The answer is, of course, to win. Wins change everything. The argument goes from “BYU is the little brother” to “we don’t need to play BYU anyway.”

As a Cougar fan, I can live with Utah not wanting to play BYU. At least you could spin it into the Utes being afraid that BYU might ruin their season.

But I can’t live with being the little brother. At least not on the field.

It needs to happen quick.

The thing is, however, the gap in recruiting might only get bigger. The last few Bronco Mendenhall years have finally caught up to BYU football. Recruiting classes in the low 60’s and high 70’s won’t win you many games when you schedule the opponents BYU does.

Sure, Kalani will have the Cougars back in the mid-40’s soon enough, but Utah will continue to hover around the top 25-30.

It may be tough for BYU to consistently match Utah’s recruiting classes from top to bottom. Sitake, during his media availability on Monday, even said it.

The Cougars want to recruit like Utah. They want to be as deep as their opponents.

Can it happen? Absolutely, and Sitake would be the man to do it.

Realistically, will it happen? I don’t know. It’s tough to recruit with the Honor Code and it’s tough to recruit when you don’t beat your rival.

Just win, baby.

I know, it’s difficult to be positive after last week. The weight of not beating Utah since 2009 hangs heavily on our shoulders.

But it isn’t impossible.

The last two times BYU met with Utah, the Cougars started horrendously. Avoid literally the worst possible start, and you’ve got a chance.

Anything can happen in a rivalry game.

But when the clock hits 0:00, BYU football better be victorious.

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