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BYU sophomore LJ Martin carries the ball during the Big 12 game against Houston in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Here’s what’s going on inside Darnell’s head.

There have been so many late-night football games this season and I’ve had a hard time winding down to get to sleep. Not Saturday night/Sunday morning. Got home at 1 a.m., went right to bed and slept like a baby.

I suppose it was because the anxiety of covering a team that just might make the Big 12 Championship game was over.

I also thought of this: BYU celebrated 100 years of football this season and 98 of those years, the Cougars have been a member of a mid-major conference or independent. I’ve covered a ton of November games that meant exactly squat. Even though Saturday’s game became a little less meaningful early in the second quarter after Kansas State lost to Iowa State, it was still a November to remember. The Cougars went 2-2 this month, but one of those wins was at Utah. The two losses were by a total of nine points.

There was more out there for BYU — even Kalani Sitake lamented what might have been in his post-game address on Saturday — but 10-2 in its second year in the Big 12 is pretty good. The Cougars will go to a decent bowl game with a chance to go 11-2. It’s a good year and should give the program plenty of incentive to take the next step in the future.

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

PRO No. 1: BYU should run the two-minute offense all game.

The Cougars have been pretty successful with the two-minute offense this season, although they couldn’t quite complete last-gasp drives in close losses to Kansas and Arizona State. But there are reasons why running the two-minute offense all game wouldn’t work. First of all, BYU is most successful when it plays complementary football. An offense that tries to push tempo all the time puts tremendous pressure on its own defense, either by going three-and-out too often or scoring too quickly. In addition, many teams are doing their best to limit their opponents offensive possessions. Ten years ago a lot of programs were pushing tempo. Now, they break the huddle, come to the line of scrimmage and look to the sideline for the play call based on what the defense is showing. Then the defense makes a substitution and deliberately has the players run slowly off the field. More often than not, the offense is snapping the ball with under five seconds left on the play clock. The NCAA has messed with the play clock to try and keep games from running more than three hours. In response, coaches have changed the way they call offenses and defenses. We’re getting less and less football and more and more strategy and gamesmanship. Not my favorite.

PRO No. 2: The Cougars are not a playoff team, anyway.

While November was memorable, BYU clearly wasn’t playing its best ball down the stretch. Arizona State and Iowa State did, and they are playing in the Big 12 Championship game. The Cougars led UCF 34-10 entering the fourth quarter on October 26 and ever since then everything has been a struggle, on both sides of the ball. It’s on the coaching staff to figure out why and to be better next November. A lot of fans point to BYU’s 18-15 win at SMU, now ranked No. 8 in the AP poll, as a reason the Cougars should be in the playoffs. Folks, that was more than two months ago. That BYU team doesn’t exist anymore. Take the 10-2, take the bowl game, and be glad the Cougars aren’t sneaking into the playoffs and getting destroyed by a team playing much better to end the season.

PRO No. 3: BYU coaches didn’t have the team ready for the game against Houston.

Saturday was a sloppy performances in all phases. The offense had drops and fumbles, the defense wasn’t wrapping up and special teams, other than Talan Alfrey’s return for a touchdown on an onside kick, wasn’t very special. If BYU plays a cleaner, crisper game, it probably ends up 45-10. Instead, Houston had the ball with eight minutes left down by six and a chance to win it. The players found out they weren’t going to the Big 12 Championship Game, win or lose, at halftime but the sloppy play started way before that. It was definitely a challenge for the coaching staff to get this team ready to play pretty much all month. That preparation needs to be better.

Finally, PRO No. 4: The Big 12 Championship Game matchup should be determined on the field.

I’ve taken some criticism for speaking out about the changes in the college game being short-sighted. NIL, the transfer portal, teams changing conferences every year, all of these are decisions that could have significant negative impact on college sports. One of those negative impacts is conferences having way too many members. The Big 12 tiebreakers that decided BYU’s fate had more to do with conference teams the Cougars DIDN’T play this year than actual wins and losses. A four-way tie for first in a 16-team conference where not everybody plays everybody else creates a mathematical puzzle that didn’t favor BYU. Like I said, Arizona State and Iowa State are probably playing the best ball right now and deserve to be in the Big 12 Championship game. But there are discussions now that the Big 12 shouldn’t play nine league games but only eight and schedule a sure win instead. I stand by my premise: These changes aren’t all for the better.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs?

That BYU was sloppy and unfocused overall against Houston doesn’t mean there weren’t guys who stood out. Wide receiver Chase Roberts made some big plays on offense (and needed more targets), safety Tanner Wall had a team-leading 13 tackles and linebacker Jack Kelly had seven tackles (2.5 for loss), an interception and a forced fumble. But I felt like senior defensive end Tyler Batty impacted the game more consistently than anybody else on the field. He ended up with nine tackles, which is a lot for a defensive end. He had 2.5 tackles for loss, an interceptions and two quarterback hurries. I think he deserves first team All-Big 12 honors.

Travel plans

I’m hearing the most likely bowl game destinations for BYU are the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando or the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, both on Dec. 28. I suppose there is an outside chance the Cougars could make the field of 16 for the College Football Playoffs but it’s highly unlikely.

Decisions

BYU honored 20 seniors on Saturday and added Roberts and safety Ethan Slade to the list. Roberts and Slade do have a year of eligibility remaining and may come back. Roberts will likely test the NFL waters to see what level of interest teams have in him. I think he’s going to make a great pro but the Cougars could sure use him in 2025.

First test

I was encouraged by the performance of the BYU men’s basketball team in San Diego. The Cougars lost an overtime game to really good Ole Miss team and responded with a dominant victory against North Carolina State the next day. I still feel like there is a lot of work to do defensively but the talent is definitely there. The coaching staff will get better as well as Kevin Young adjusts to the college game. The Big 12 schedule is still a gauntlet but I believe BYU will continue to get better and be a beast by the time tournament play comes around.

Family brag

My daughter Shelby had her last home game in the BYU Marching Band on Saturday. She’s a clarinet player but when she auditioned three years go the band was in need of saxophones, so that’s what she played. Allow me to give her some props here for the hours of practice and pass offs that resulted in a lot of great memories.

Look to the sky

The drone show was back on Saturday. The first time we saw it was back on Oct. 18 for the Oklahoma State matchup. This time, the show was just on the north end but included some pryo during the third quarter break. I got a bit of a look behind the curtain a few weeks ago when I visited on the phone with the drone company, which is based in Texas, for a story I wrote about the BYU fan experience. It’s a pretty cool technology.

That’s all for now, but for this: Man, if I had a dollar for every time I typed out (but didn’t send) a brutal, sarcastic social media post in response to what a nutjob wrote, I would have many dollars. My self control is impressive, isn’t it?

Enjoy your week off from college football and don’t stress about Christmas. Everybody will love whatever gift you give them. Promise.