In the first act of the Dreamworks hit animated film, Megamind, the titular blue super villian defeated his lifelong nemesis, Metro Man, to the shock of all who watched in horror as the savior of their metropolis fell to the seemingly incompetent anagonist who was flaunting a black jumpsuit and baby-blue cranium.
When the BYU Cougars defeated the SMU Mustangs as double-digit underdogs, Kalani Sitake's blue-clad squad received a unanimous reaction from the football media. That reaction was taken verbatim from Megamind, as the world repeated in unison: "He did it."
As shocking as the Cougars' victory was, expectations for the season remain low. Though Jay Hill's defense was dominant, the offense underwhelmed and led many to step away from BYU's first true test of the season with an undeniable feeling of unease.
AP voter, Dave Preston, was especially impressed by the Cougars' weekend result and reflected his feelings by slotting the BYU Cougars as his pick for the 24th best team in college football.
Our hero Dave Preston, the one voter who has BYU in the top 25 🫡 https://t.co/uoouCXBuME
— Robby McCombs (@rtmccombs) September 9, 2024
Preston has seemingly no connection to BYU, yet has given the Cougars their only votes in this week's AP Top 25.
Standing at 2-0 with a road matchup against Wyoming looming in week 3, the Cougars will be favored to start their season with a 3-0 record.
If Sitake's roster meets those expectations, they could accumulate a few more AP Top 25 votes in a week's time, but I certainly don't expect the team to crack the rankings before running into a brutal season-opener against Kansas State.
For now, we may find peace in simply enjoying the small victories.