I might go pro, but I’ll have to look at my NIL opportunities first.

Kalani is just like you!

Even after BYU’s 27-14 victory against Texas Tech there were a lot of complaints and grouchiness from Cougar Nation. The defense blew a coverage on the Red Raiders first half touchdown and dropped at least three interceptions, the offense was trash in the second half, BYU gave up too many return yards, even with all the turnovers the Cougars didn’t score more points, etc.

It was kind of the same from Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake in his post-game comments.

He did say he was grateful to get the win, which gives BYU a 5-2 record. That’s just one win short of bowl eligibility with five games to play, a great place for the program to be in its first season of Big 12 action.

Sitake also said those missed opportunities are what drives him to keep pushing his team to keep improving. Never being satisfied is a pretty good trait for a head coach.

The Cougars didn’t necessarily back into Saturday’s win, but they didn’t exactly run away with it either. So there are plenty of teaching points for the coaching staff to work with this week.

“I told them we can do better,” Sitake said. “I’ll probably say that after every game.”

Now it’s time for Perfectly Rational Overreactions (PRO’s).

PRO No. 1: With a season-high 150 yards, BYU has fixed its running game.

I’m not ready to go there yet but I did see some good things. LJ Martin’s 55-yard run on the Cougars opening series was extremely well blocked and I saw more runs where the offensive line had a “hat on a hat,” and that’s encouraging. We finally saw the potential of a healthy Aidan Robbins, who was breaking tackles and showing the burst BYU fans had been promised when he transferred from UNLV after a 1,000-yard season. Robbins’ numbers (16 carries, 49 yards) doesn’t really tell the story of how impactful he was on Saturday. Martin finished with 10 carries for 93 yards. The Cougars logged 5 yards per carry, which is about twice what they’ve been posting.

PRO No. 2: Wide receiver Kody Epps is at full strength and ready to make a huge impact.

We’re still waiting for Epps to showcase what he teased last season against Notre Dame and Arkansas before his injury. This was his third game back and he’s starting to look more comfortable. The passing game wasn’t very explosive, other than Darius Lassiter’s one-handed stunner and the trick play to Isaac Rex. Epps caught 3 passes for 26 yards but showed the escapability and explosiveness might be just around the corner.

PRO No. 3: Lassiter’s one-handed catch was the best in BYU history.

As one-handed catches go, it might not even be the best for the Cougars this season. Chase Roberts had a pretty nice gem in the win against Arkansas for the go-ahead touchdown that should be in some “Great Catch” Hall of Fame. Going way back, I remember a Jamal Willis one-hander against San Diego State his freshman season on fourth down that made my jaw drop. However, I’m willing to concede that Lassister’s one-handed spear along the sideline was pretty special.

Finally, PRO No. 4: At five wins with five games to play, BYU is a shoe-in for a bowl invitation.

Hah. You must be joking. Nothing is a shoe-in with this team, is it? The schedule is pretty daunting: at No. 7 Texas and West Virginia, home against Iowa State and No. 6 Oklahoma then the season finale at Oklahoma State. The combined records of those five teams is 26-9 (74%). It’s a tremendous challenge that will probably cause much angst and hand-wringing among the Cougar faithful.

Houston would have at least sent its game against Texas into overtime but for a terrible spot from Big 12 officials late in the fourth quarter and UCF gave Oklahoma all it could handle before falling by two points on Saturday, so take hope in those close calls.

BYU opens as a 20.5-point underdog in Austin next Saturday.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs? (BYU version)

Several candidates come to mind, including defensive back Jakob Robinson. He was picked on quite a bit by TCU in last week’s loss but he really played well against Texas Tech with 10 tackles (8 solo), one interception and one pass breakup. Safety Crew Wakley played with a purpose after his boneheaded personal foul penalty against TCU and had 11 tackles on Saturday.

But the Boats and Logs carrier this week is senior defensive end Tyler Batty, who had 9 tackles (6 solo), one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble and a loogie in his face that resulted in an ejection for Red Raider Jayden York.

“This dude just comes out of nowhere and starts saying all this stuff and just spits in my face,” Batty recalled. “And then actually, at end the game as well, their right tackle, 76 (Caleb Rogers), did the same thing after Josh Singh made that tackle. He came up and I’m like, ‘Hey, man, good game,’ and he’s like, ‘Beep! Beep!’ and then spit at me.”

That’s right, Seinfeld fans, there was a second spitter.

I Must Brag

I should mention that my wife, Barbara, came home with two silver medals in volleyball from the Huntsman World Senior Games and she’s won about three times as much hardware as I have over the years, including two golds last year. Barbara played 51 sets over the past ten days.

Maybe SHE should turn pro.

Replace them annually, I guess

Is there anything as useless and fragile as windshield wipers?

I use them may a dozen times during the fall and winter. Then when fall rolls around again, they aren’t cleaning the windshield very well. Is it too much to ask that they work for more than just one season?

Night of the Vampire

BYU is now 20-1 in its past 21 night games, a trend that’s a little too creepy to ignore in October. Next Saturday’s clash with Texas is at 2:30 p.m. CT, which prompted Sitake to quip, “Maybe an eclipse will happen for us.”

BYU Sports Nation host Jarom Jordan observed that due to the shadows at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Texas Tech’s fumble that resulted in Eddie Heckard’s touchdown started in the light and was recovered in the darkness of the end zone.

Huh.

The Cougars are 4-1 all-time against the Longhorns, and aside from a 17-16 Texas win in Austin in 2011, BYU has outscored the Burnt Orange Boys 128-34 in games played in 1988, 2013 and 2014.

Taysom Hill can’t be on loan from the New Orleans Saints next week, can he?

Looking inside the numbers

BYU allowed 9 of 18 third-down conversions by Texas Tech while managing just 4 of 14. But a closer look reveals that the Red Raiders were just 1 of 5 on 3rd and 9 or more and two of the Cougars third-down conversions came on their final offensive drive to put the game away.

Still it’s been a struggle for BYU on third down defense. When I hear the siren start up at LaVell Edwards Stadium on third downs, I think it’s saying “Pleeeaaassseee!”

Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks ran for 105 yards but did it on 31 carries, a 3.4 yards per carry average. He came into the game averaging 6 yards per tote.

Also, this one is pretty sobering: The Cougars past three opponents have attempted 133 passes. BYU has one sack in those 133 attempts and none in the past two games.

That’s all but for this: Last week while driving about 40 miles an hour down 800 North in Orem a car pulled out from a side street right in front of me. As I got closer (and honked), I could see a University of Utah sticker on the car’s back window.

You’ll be proud of me. I didn’t curse at them or flip them off as I passed by. I only gave them a thumbs down.

Get those Halloween decorations out (if you already haven’t) to dress up your neighborhood and have a terrific week.