BYU Football: Utah State game is season defining for the Cougars

BYU Football’s Friday night matchup with Utah State will be pivotal for the Cougars as they look to become bowl eligible and finish the season strong.

Assuming BYU Football becomes bowl eligible, the 2018 season is only 38% complete but the Cougars have already won 75% of the games they won in last year.

That alone is cause for celebration, especially after playing four Power 5 opponents, two of which started the season in the Top 10. Given the lingering PTSD-like effects of 2017 and the front-loaded 2018 schedule, BYU’s players, coaches, and fans should be proud of a three-win September.

But not too proud.

This Friday, BYU takes on the Utah State Aggies at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Ags have had two weeks to prepare for the Cougars, while BYU is still recovering from the veritable butt-whooping it endured in Seattle last week. And Friday’s game is far from a “gimme.”

BYU fans like to denigrate the Utah State Aggies on a number of fronts. The BYU faithful mock USU’s agricultural prowess and pretend we’re not sure which city the Aggies call home (omitting the fact that many BYU students were ready to call Ogden home for college if things didn’t go well with admissions).

Perhaps the biggest reason BYU fans don’t give their cow-loving cousins from Cache Valley much credence is BYU’s record against the Aggies the last four decades. Since 1980, BYU is a lopsided 27-5 against their bovine brethren. But if the last four years are any indication, Friday’s contest is a coin-toss: the teams are 2-2 in their last four meetings.

BYU’s historical success against Utah State aside, beating the Aggies in Friday’s game could be a team-defining win. Utah State is averaging 51.5 points per game, and their sole loss is a nail-biter against the Big 10’s Michigan State. It’s not clear whether this BYU squad is the team that knocked off national powerhouse Wisconsin on the road or the team that lost to a middling Cal in LaVell’s house.

Or somewhere in between.

On Friday, the BYU faithful will find out exactly what this BYU team is made of. If the Cougars lose to its secondary rival on Friday, it’s uncertain whether BYU is really that much better than Hawaii, Northern Illinois, or (gulp) UMass, leaving one to wonder whether BYU will earn its bowl-qualifying wins.

If BYU earns the win against the Ags, BYU’s chances of making a bowl are almost assured, as it will only require 2 more wins in the soft portion of BYU’s schedule to qualify, and the Cougars will have a clear advantage against the rest of its Group of Five foes not named Boise State.

In short, BYU needs to bring home the wagon wheel to feel confident that it can qualify for a bowl.