BYU Football: losing to ASU may have saved the Cougars' season

After a 9-0 start, BYU football has fallen in back-to-back weeks to turn a 9-2 record heading into their final week. For a stretch in this game, the Cougars looked ready to roll over and give up the ghost as Cam Skattebo and the Sun Devils took control of the game early on Saturday afternoon.

Jake Retzlaff and company entered the halftime locker room down 21-3, and by all accounts, the game seemed over already.

The blue giant star was imploding, but that deficit provided to be the shockwave that BYU needed.

Sure, their comeback efforts fell short in the end--only a few yards short, in fact--but prior to their second-half surge, this team looked lifeless on both ends. Missed tackles, dropped passes, and more plagued a BYU team that simply couldn't progress.

And despite all that stood in the path of a conference championship, suddenly the once untouchable Cougars are now dependent on a loss to either Iowa State or Arizona State in their season finales. It's not ideal for a team who once controlled their own destiny only to fumble at the goal line, but it's where BYU stands now.

A shot at the conference championship is more than anyone could have hoped for in this iteration of BYU football. A 5-7 season last year has become a potential 10-2 season with only one year's distance between them. Love them or hate them, you can't deny that BYU football is in a great spot.

We aren't here to mourn the 2024 season that could have been, however. We're here to analyze this team and determine if BYU's second-half explosion should be a cause for applause or a haunting vision of what could have been.

BYU outscored their host by a score of 20-7 in the second half, and the Cougars were a JoJo Phillips reception, an interception, or a Hail Mary away from stealing a victory from the Sun Devils in Tempe.

Seriously, they were this close.

The Cougars came alive in the second half, and if they get another shot at the conference crown, I have no doubt they'll be up to the challenge.

Just as a pupil dilates when focusing on a task, BYU football's comeback situation allowed the Cougars to expand their output when focused on reviving their season. The defense contained the diesel truck wearing number 4 in ASU's backfield, the offense started moving the ball through the air with ease, and this football team sincerely had a chance to win the game before an overthrown pass landed right in the Sun Devils' outstretched arms.

Though the loss was heart-wrenching, surely Cougar fans should feel more optimistic about their team following this matchup than they did after a home loss to a 3-6 Kansas team (which has beaten 3 ranked opponents in a row, by the way).

After narrowly failing to convert on fourth down against Kansas, and barely underthrowing what could have been two touchdown scores, BYU is only a few yards away from being 11-0.

These Cougs should hold their heads high entering their final game of the season against Houston. If the conference breaks in BYU's favor, they may steal the season.

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