BYU 1-on-1: Last week of regular season has Cougars in the thick of things
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- BYU junior Keelan Marion carries the ball during the Big 12 game against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
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- BYU players and administration attempt to leave the field as Arizona State fans rush the field for a second time after the final play of the Big 12 game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
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- BYU players celebrate with the fans after the Big 12 game against Oklahoma State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024.
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- BYU’s Carmen Alder (right) and Taylor Lowell (left) celebrate with teammate after learning they had won the NCAA women’s cross country team title at Verona, Wis., on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Taylor Lowell 149
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- The BYU men’s cross country team celebrates winning the NCAA title at Verona, Wis., on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
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- BYU students hold up and wave a flag while the song “Turbulence” plays at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept, 21, 2024.
Daily Herald sports writers Darnell Dickson and Jared Lloyd give their opinions on the hot BYU sports topics this week:
1. The Big 12 fined Arizona State $25,000 for fans rushing the field (twice) after its home win against BYU. Was that enough?
DICKSON: First of all, I was kind of surprised that Arizona State fans rushed the field in the first place. It was a game between two ranked teams and while it had Big 12 Championship Game implications, it wasn’t anything more than that. Maybe they just hate BYU that much. I mean, I’m not the “rush-the-field” police, I just found it interesting.
It was a very unique situation because of the way the stadium is designed, which didn’t allow the fans to get back to their seats very easily. Fines don’t seem to curb any of the field storming, anyway. I also thought it was kind of scary when the officials were watching the replay to determine if there was any time left on the clock while surrounded by thousands of ASU fans (and an obviously mentally disturbed Sun Devils coach).
The concern here is safety for everyone involved. The end of the game created a situation where some dumb, drunk college student or students could get in a fight with an athlete and who do you think gets demonized for an incident like that? I’m not sure there is an easy solution.
LLOYD: On the surface, it doesn’t seem like the fine matches the current market rate. Oklahoma got fined $200,000 when Sooner fans rushed the field twice, so the Sun Devils only had to pay 1/8th of that price. And with modern athletic department budgets being so bloated, $25,000 is a mere slap on the wrist.
The reality, though, is that fines aren’t a significant deterrent for this type of behavior — and I’m not sure it’s the right approach anyway. Celebrating a huge win is the dream of most fans and getting on the field to do it is a time-honored tradition.
But there need to be serious talk about rigid consequences when it puts the safety of opposing teams and official at risk. That needs to be clearly spelled out so there is no ambiguity and any offending individuals are held accountable.
2. BYU football moved the ball much better in the second half by playing at a faster tempo. Jake Retzlaff seems more comfortable in the two-minute offense. Should the Cougars just (if you’ll excuse the expression) “Go hard, go fast?”
LLOYD: I don’t think it was as much the tempo as the aggressiveness that resulted in BYU’s success in the second half against the Sun Devils.
Since the Cougars were in a big hole, they couldn’t just try to overpower an ASU team that was shutting down the run game. Instead, BYU put the game in the hands of its playmakers by getting the ball to Chase Roberts and Darius Lassiter (with others mixed in as well).
I know the Cougars like being physical and have faith in the abilities of LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati, but it often feels like BYU is trying to force the run game to be successful when it’s not working.
I think the Cougars should use the pass to set up the run more, get teams backing off to slow the ariel attack and then hit them with Martin and Ropati. When BYU does that well is when the Cougars are most successful offensively.
DICKSON: Remember when no-huddle offenses were all the rage? Now it seems a lot of teams have gone the other way, getting a good look at the opposing defense before deciding what play to run. That limits the number of possessions by the opposition and BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has addressed what happens if you go fast and give the ball back to a team like that in just a couple of minutes.
Down 21-3 at halftime, the Cougars were forced to pick up the pace and it seemed that Jake Retzlaff got into a good rhythm. I think Arizona State might have gotten a little conservative defensively in the second half as well.
In any case, I don’t think we’ll see the Cougars turn to the “go hard, go fast” approach full time. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they increase the pace of their offense on Saturday.
3. BYU football is 9-2, 6-2 in Big 12 play after being picked to finish 13th. Do you consider the season a success?
DICKSON: Success always leaves fans wanting more. It should work that way for players and coaches, too. Regrets come later when you start to think about what could have been in any given year.
If BYU doesn’t make the Big 12 Championship Game it can still end the season on a win in a bowl game, which is way better than what was expected of them in 2024. But there will be regret over having a path to the championship game and failing to take advantage.
Certainly no one on the roster should be satisfied with failure but there have been tons of success this season, too, that can be built upon in future seasons.
To be honest, I’m surprised the Cougars have enjoyed so much success so early in their Big 12 tenure. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it took three or four seasons to build up to what we’re seeing in 2024. I think there’s still sufficient momentum in the program to keep getting better in the future.
LLOYD: I don’t see how anyone logically could conclude that the first 11 games of the 2024 season weren’t a success for the Cougars.
The preseason media poll shouldn’t even be referenced, since it was absurd in July and got more and more exposed as the season progressed. Clearly the voters and the majority of other college football “experts” really had no idea what they were talking about.
But BYU still already has four more wins than it did in 2023 with at least two games left to play, it went to Salt Lake City and beat rival Utah, and it has a shot at winning the conference and making it to the College Football Playoff. That’s a good season right there.
The only caveat is that a truly special season was so tantalizingly close. Still, there is a lot left on the table.
4. How big of a deal is it that BYU men’s and women’s cross country won national championships this season?
LLOYD: It’s monumental. The Cougars accomplished a feat that had only been done four previous times in history (and not since 2004) as they earned victories on both the men’s and women’s championships. That’s crazy to think about.
Did you know that BYU now has the second most national titles in women’s cross country? The Cougars have won six times, trailing only Villanova (nine championships). The BYU men’s squad doubled their total and now have won it all twice.
And I love how the Cougars did it. Both teams didn’t worry about star power but instead focused on running as a team. That’s not easy to do in cross country with hundreds of runners on the course, but BYU had a plan and executed it to perfection.
DICKSON: I got a kick out of the “Mic’d Up” segment on social media following men’s coach Ed Eyestone and his assistants running around the course to cheer on his guys. That’s pretty unique to cross country and something I’ve noticed over the years covering both high school and college events.
Winning a title in cross country is the ultimate team accomplishment. In other sports, stars say they can’t do what they do without support, and it’s true. In cross country, the top five runners are counted for the final standings, so the efforts of No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 are just as important as No. 1. It’s the race within the race.
After the individual winner crosses the finish line, there are all sort of other mini-battles taking place further down the course to determine the team championship. Both Eyestone and women’s coach Diljeet Taylor are masters in getting their athletes to commit to each other, sacrificing individual goals for the good of the team.
5. Following a Thanksgiving theme, what should BYU fans be most grateful for in 2024?
DICKSON: I think BYU football fans should be grateful that they have Kalani Sitake as their head coach. He’s just the ultimate good sport.
There’s video of him dapping with Arizona State fans after they rushed the field, even as he was finding out if his team was going to have one more chance to win the game. He stopped Sun Devils star Cam Skattebo to compliment him and wish him well, even after everything that happened on the field.
There are plenty of examples from other coaches (including Arizona State’s) that should make BYU fans even more grateful for Sitake. His “love and learning” approach may cause some eye rolls among fans but it’s working and represents what BYU stands for, in every way. BYU fans should also be grateful for relevancy in the Big 12. Sure, there are still biases but the Cougars are playing with the big boys now and thriving.
LLOYD: The main thing Cougar supporters should be thankful for is the same thing every year: The fact that BYU is BYU.
Yes, that means the Cougars play by a different set of rules — but that’s something to be appreciated, not feared. This is an institution that places tremendous value on personal growth and improvement with the belief that those characteristics will result in better performance in competition.
In athletic director Tom Holmoe, in coaches like Kalani Sitake, Jennifer Rockwood, Heather Olmstead, Ed Eyestone, Diljeet Taylor and others (I think Kevin Young will join this list but it’s too early to know for sure), and in the hundreds of assistants and staff members, BYU has leaders who have bought into the mission and objectives of the university and have shown it can still win.
In an era where so much focus is on money, Cougar fans should be glad that their athletic program at least tries to look beyond the dollar signs to what is best for the athletes.
