Courtesy BYU Photo

Here’s what’s going on inside Darnell’s head as we hurtle down I-80 with Sean Walker at the wheel of a vehicle with a KSL logo on the side.

Yes, we carpooled (Jared Lloyd, Sean and I) and Sean did a fine job keeping us safe, dodging all the semis like a pro. We ate lunch on Saturday at a really cool 1950’s style restaurant in Rock Springs called “Broadway Burger Station.” The shakes were amazing and we were helped by an energetic 78-year-old waitress. Thanks, Sharon. You’re a gem.

Anyway … While I was sitting in the ancient press box at War Memorial Stadium (they are tearing it down and replacing it after the season is over) I suddenly realized that Wyoming football is one of the reasons why I love college football.

The Cowboys represent college football the way I like it: A program the community supports and loves, regardless of outcome or lack of NIL or transfer portal pick-ups. There will probably come a time when college football becomes super conferences with 60 teams and Wyoming will be excluded, and I won’t relish that moment at all.

5, 6, 7, 8 …

I would love to dance like no one’s watching. But this is 2024, and you’re all watching. I’m not a great dancer, and you’d make fun of me or put my on blast on social media.

Life can be cruel sometime.

Now it’s time for Perfectly Rational Overreactions (PROs) from BYU’s 34-14 victory at Wyoming.

PRO No. 1: Jake Retzlaff didn’t do anything to convince me he should remain the starting quarterback.

Man, BYU fans are tough on Retzlaff. Yes, he underthrew a pass in the first quarter and was picked off on a pretty good play by Wyoming corner Wrook Brown. But you have to like the way Retzlaff responded. If not for a questionable holding call on a 40-yard scamper, Retzlaff would have accounted for nearly 400 yards of offense. This weekend, Retzlaff was the highest rated Big 12 quarterback by Pro Football Focus.

So why do some Cougar fans hate him so much?

I’ll be the first to admit that Retzlaff isn’t perfect and missed some throws. And now that BYU fans have gotten a decent look at Gerry Bohanon (3 of 3 for 27 yards on the Cougars’ final possession) we’re going to hear more rhetoric this week that Retzlaff isn’t the answer. But he’s 3-0 this season. He makes some pretty awesome plays, too. Tough to argue with that. Obviously, Kansas State will be a big test for Retzlaff and an offense that needs to keep improving to compete in the Big 12.

PRO No. 2: Chase Roberts is an NFL receiver.

He certainly looked the part against Wyoming, catching six passes for 129 yards. Several of his catches were impressive one-on-one grabs, but he also found the soft spots in the Cowboys zone and made big plays. Roberts is kind of a freak athlete at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, which is what works pretty well in the NFL. He’s a different kind of receiver than Puka Nacua, who had a hugely successful rookie year with the Rams, but I think Roberts could make an NFL roster and contribute. His speed and ball skills make him an elite college receiver and he could be the same at the next level.

PRO No. 3: The BYU defense is in for a rude awaking against Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson.

The perception is that running quarterbacks have been having a field day against BYU. Here’s a look so far.

DJ Williams, Southern Illinois: 15 carries, 121 yards, 2 TD’s

Kevin Jennings, SMU: 9 carries, 38 yards

Preston Stone, SMU: 4 carries, -25 yards

Evan Svoboa, Wyoming: 10 carries, 32 yards, 2 TD’s

It should be noted that BYU has given up only 32 points in three games this season. You sometimes give up some things with your defense in order to take away something else, and that strategy has worked pretty well so far for Jay Hill.

Johnson ran 17 times or 110 yards in K-State’s 31-7 drubbing of No. 20 Arizona on Saturday. In three games, Johnson has 52 carries for 296 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns. He’s also completing 64% of his passes for 490 yards, six scores and one interception.

Let’s just say that Johnson is a level up from anybody BYU has faced so far.

Finally, PRO No. 4: The win over Wyoming wasn’t impressive enough.

BYU beat Wyoming by 20 points, with the Cowboys’ final TD drive coming against the Cougars’ freshman and backups in the fourth quarter. Cougar fans would have loved it to be 45-14, or 52-14. Chase Roberts said after the game he thought BYU should have beaten Wyoming 60-0, but only in the context of leaving points on the field.

So BYU wins by 20 and BYU fans are grumbling that it wasn’t good enough.

Why not?

Well, the Cougars made some mistakes. It was 14-7 late in the second quarter. Keelan Marion’s kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half probably put the Cowboys away at 24-7. But a ton of young players got reps late in the game for BYU. Everyone knows Kalani Sitake doesn’t like to run up the score so the Cougars won’t have a lot of victories with eye-popping numbers.

In the post-game interviews, Retzlaff and Roberts were both asked about how this 3-0 team was different than last year’s 3-0 team. They did their interviews separately so neither knew the other’s answer. They both said pretty much the same thing: this team loves each other and has each other’s backs.

That ought to be worth a few more wins in long run, right?

Think of it this way: If BYU was 3-0 and had beaten every team 45-0, you’d be overconfident against Kansas State on Saturday.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs?

This is Roberts, who was uncoverable all night. The junior wide receiver is a big play waiting to happen and had four receptions of 20 yards or more. Surprisingly, he hasn’t gotten into the end zone yet. Saturday against the Wildcats would be a good time to have a TD (or as former Cougar and radio host Ben Criddle calls them, a “tuddy.”)

Play of the night

Lots of folks will like the flea flicker in the third quarter or Keelan Marion’s kickoff return for a score, but I loved the opening touchdown pass from Retzlaff to Keanu Hill. Hill slipped out into the flat after the Wyoming linebacker ran with the wheel route and Hill could have walked into the end zone he was so wide open. That’s great play design.

New phone, who ‘dis?

At the beginning of the BYU-Arizona State women’s soccer match at South Field last week, a Cougar player found a cell phone lying in the grass near midfield and handed it to the referee. I would love to hear the story about how that cell phone was lost and if its original owner was found.

That’s all for now, but for this: Snow College, coached by former BYU receiver Zac Erekson, won its first three games against the Utah Islanders, Community Christian College of Detroit and the USA Air Force Prep School by a combined score of 188-0. On Saturday, the Badgers edged Lackawanna College (Penn.) on the road 43-40 on an Adonis Tillman one-yard touchdown run with seven seconds to play to move to 4-0.

Never a dull moment, eh, Zac?

Hope you have a great week and someone does something nice for you. Or better yet, do something nice for someone else. You won’t regret it.