A lot is on the line.

It’s becoming increasingly apparent that BYU is unlikely to receive an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff, so only a Big-12 Conference Championship will pave the way. In order to advance to the Big 12 Championship Game, the Cougars will likely have to win out the regular season in games versus the Bearcats and then against a struggling UCF team to close the season. Should BYU fall short against Cincinnati, then it’s (gulp) Utah that likely assumes the pole position due to tiebreaking scenarios that would dictate that a two-loss Utah team gets the nod over a two-loss Cougar team despite BYU’s 24-21 win over the Utes about a month ago.

I know, it’s all confusing, although that’s what the numbers bear out. But the simple fact everyone can rally around is that the Cougars simply have to win come Saturday to receive even a ghost of a chance at a coveted slot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Fortunately none of these facts are lost on BYU coaches, and more importantly on the Cougar players, who have exercised a great deal of focus throughout the past week in preparation for their trip to Cincinnati on Saturday.

“We had a sense of urgency last week, and I can feel that again,” commented BYU Offensive Coordinator Aaron Roderick to the media following Tuesday’s practice session. “The games get bigger each week and everybody knows what’s at stake. So today was really good.”

Should BYU hope to get by the Bearcats, it hopefully pieced together good days of practice and film study on days other than Tuesday should it hope to come away from Cincinnati with a win. Sure, too many people could probably overlook the Bearcats due to the consecutive losses they took to both Utah and Arizona, but don’t count Roderick among them.

“First of all they’re just a very good team,” Roderick assessed. “That’s the first challenge, right there, in that we’re playing against a good team. They have good players, good schemes and they’re well-coached…Secondly, we’re on the road, and last time we didn’t handle that very well…It’s a huge challenge, for sure.”

Last time on the road saw the Cougars take a 29-7 pounding at the hands of Texas Tech, which provided the most hostile road environment BYU has faced this season. Roderick mentioned the noise in Lubbock as a factor in causing much of the offensive futility in that game, and hopes to rectify most, if not all of it come Saturday.

On the defensive side of the ball, BYU Defensive Coordinator Jay Hill observes a lot of the same, focusing in on Bearcat quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who has compiled a lot of yards both through the air and on the ground this season.

“Obviously the quarterback is very good,” Hill observed. “He can run it (and) he can throw it. I like the way he competes a lot. He has a lot of weapons around him…So you can tell why they had so much success early in the year. They’re a talented group and well-coached.”

Hill drew on a lot of similarities between Cincinnati and a TCU offense, guided by quarterback Josh Hoover, that his defense handled quite well in a 44-13 win last Saturday.

“I think Sorsby is similar. He throws a very good ball,” Hill said. “He’s very athletic and more willing to run than some of the quarterbacks we’ve faced the last couple of weeks. But he’s one of those quarterbacks who can hurt you with both his feet and his arm. We have our work cut out for us with him, for sure.”

The onus for BYU’s defense will rest a lot of a secondary that has proven remarkably deep and talented this season, as opposed to most years, with Hill able to get creative with his defensive play-calling, as a result.

“The more man we can play, the more we can load the box and blitz and do some other things,” Hill said. “In this defense it’s very important. Having guys on the perimeter who can play press-man and off-man I think mixes what the quarterback and offensive coordinator are seeing. I think that’s a big deal.”

BYU will likely have to prove at least this good on Saturday as it was last week, in light of the venue and Cincinnati’s motivation and overall ability as a team, should the Cougars hope to come away with a win and keep their CFP hopes alive.