BYU Football has found itself in an all-too-familiar hole. Flushed with success after going 2-2 against superior talent, they just lost a winnable game against Toledo, leaving many to wonder just who are the Cougars. Are they the disciplined team that won against USC, or the sub-par unit that showed up against Toledo?
No one can downplay their achievements. At the beginning of the season, nobody believed in them. Almost everyone except their fan base expected the Cougars to finish September with zero wins against superior Power Five talent. As noted by the local Daily Herald, losing a winnable game to Toledo has left a damper on the program and the fanbase.
Now BYU football finds itself on a bye week. Can they turn it around and avoid mediocrity?
No time for the dumps
Last year, BYU suffered a disheartening loss to Washington and all crashed from there. BYU football barely managed a 7-6 season, switching quarterbacks mid-season to freshman Zach Wilson. Now leading offensive weapons Zach Wilson and RB Ty'Sonn Williams are out with injuries.
BYU cannot let this stop them lest this turn into a repeat of last year. Next up is an ailing team from Florida (USF), then Boise and Utah State, both decent, but beatable teams. It is easy to sink into the depths of despair at this point, but this team has already dragged themselves back from the brink once, after losing their opener to Utah by 30-12.
Both the Daily Herald and Blastings News have noted that Kalani Sitake's job security is tenuous at best. Last year's 7-6 season culminating with a bowl win over Western Michigan helped matters, but if he cannot improve that record, BYU football may be looking for a new head coach come early next year.
Backups coming forward
One positive of this season has been the depth of this team. Losing their top playmakers before the season even began, the back-ups have been spectacular. Names no one outside of the coaches have heard of have stepped forward. Three of them have proven critical: Max Tooley, Payton Wilgar, and Lorenzo Fauateau have become stars lately.
Without them, the season could very well have been zero wins by this point, and Kalani Sitake would likely be out of a job.
According to the Deseret News, with the two top playmakers out on offense, BYU football has now turned to freshman QB Jaren Hall to direct an impotent offense that has won games but hasn't put up more than thirty points yet this season. It seems that he is ready.
"I feel like I can do a good job," Hall said. "You never wish injury upon anybody, but you gotta be ready to go when your number is called.”
Let's hope he is. Jaren Hall has a daunting schedule in front of him. Biggest of all is nationally ranked Boise State, currently undefeated as of today, looming in three weeks' time. The time to turn around an anemic season is right now.
