DICKSON: Bowl games used to mean something completely different than they do now. Five years ago, BYU to the Pop-Tart Bowl (or any bowl near the first of the year) would be reason to celebrate like mad. Now it’s still cool but the burn from missing out on the College Football Playoff is still pretty fresh. The good news is there’s a little less than three weeks for Cougar fans to get over the CFP snub. I’m curious if fans, who spent thousands going to the Big 12 Championship Game, are going to spend more thousands going to Florida. It’s a sweet venue, though, and BYU should be plenty motivated to play well.

GURNEY: It’s probably the best matchup BYU could have hoped for outside of a coveted game versus Notre Dame, which was on tap before the Fighting Irish decided to, well, not to fight. Georgia Tech is a good team that started the season very well prior to losing three of its final four games of the season.

What type of team will the Yellowjackets present during the game is anyone’s guess, but I also feel what BYU will ultimately present deserves some introspection. Will top players like LJ Martin and Chase Roberts even play, or will they opt out in favor of preparing as best they can for the NFL draft. That course of action seems to be catching on, and it remains to be seen if BYU’s top players will follow suit.

2. What’s the biggest benefit to playing in a bowl game?

GURNEY: It’s absolutely the added practice time, but it’s become increasingly hard to assign any other benefit with the expansion of the college football playoff. It’s also a nice way to send off your seniors, but in the ultimate scheme of things, does it even matter?

Last season was a prime opportunity to show well on a national stage, and I feel BYU gained a good measure of prestige by how it crushed Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. This time around it’s honestly hard to see any benefit to be gained in that regard. But still, the added practice time is a big thing and should benefit the program heading into next season.

DICKSON: I agree with Gurney (will wonders never cease?) but I would add that the Pop-Tarts Bowl is a really good opportunity to play on a national stage and show off. Last year, the national focus going into the Alamo Bowl was almost exclusively on Colorado, Coach Prime, Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, etc. Then the Cougars went out and dump trucked the Buffaloes, building momentum for 2026.

3. Are conference championship games still worth playing?

DICKSON: I never really thought they were worth it. The conferences loved them because it allowed for another big pay day. but in the current college football environment, it doesn’t make sense. College football is moving toward a professional model, so they might as well start to mimic the playoff system in the NFL. Could you imagine the top two teams in the AFC East playing for the division title in a game that would have no bearing on the actual playoffs? The biggest problem with championship games is that conference are just enormous now. Teams don’t play other teams in their own conference and then we get to be  thrilled by tiebreaker explanations when five teams tie for second place, which is what happened in the ACC. I expect conference championship games to go away at some point.

GURNEY: I think so, if only for the caveat of obtaining an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff. Of course this didn’t happen with the ACC this season, which certainly hurts that argument, with the CFP not really even considering ACC champion Duke. I’d like to think this is an outlier, but who knows?

Still, BYU absolutely would have received an automatic bid had it won the Big 12 Championship game, and with that prize still a viable proposition, playing the championship game is absolute worth it, at least for BYU.

4. BYU football coaches are already hard at work looking into the transfer portal. Where do the Cougars need the most help?

GURNEY: Running back is the easy answer here, even if LJ Martin surprised people and opts back in and returns for 2026. I’m still relatively amazed that Martin was able to play in every game this season given his workload and I feel expecting as much from anyone moving forward is a shaky prospect. The program needs running back depth and needs it badly.

Defensive tackle is second in need, and pretty close to running back with regards to need, and particularly so if Keanu Tanuvasa decides to move on to the NFL instead of returning.

DICKSON: Gurney has some good ideas (again, will wonders never cease?) at running back and defensive tackle but I would also add wide receiver. Chase Roberts is graduating and Parker Kingston is going to need some real help. I’m not sure Jo Jo Phillips is the answer. There are some other decent guys on the depth chart but I think the Cougars need a WR1, or at the very least a WR1A. Go out into the portal and pull a Darius Lassiter or Keelan Marion type of player. And while you’re at it, it was nice having a threat at tight end so another Carsen Ryan type would be nice.

5. Projecting way out there, what record will BYU men’s basketball post in its 18-game Big 12 schedule?

DICKSON: Have you seen this league? Commissioner Brett Yormark said recently that the Big 12 is the second best league in the world behind the NBA, and I think he’s telling the truth. Arizona just moved into the No. 1 spot in the AP (the Cougars play the Wildcats twice in Big 12 play) and Iowa State is No. 4 after pounding previous No. 1 Purdue in West Lafayette. Then there’s Houston, the national runner-up at No. 7, BYU at 10, Texas Tech at No. 16 and Kansas at No. 19. Every game in the league is going to be an absolute battle. Just getting to double-digit wins in the Big 12 will be an accomplishment. If the Cougars play like they’re capable, I could see 12 or 13 wins. Remember, it’s more about your NET than anything else in NCAA seeding.

GURNEY: I’ll say 13-5. That seems about right to me considering how strong the conference will be again this season. I think depth is a concern, and particularly at the guard line, but what makes me optimistic, to the point where I’m thinking my 13 win prediction is too low, is that BYU is ahead of schedule opposed to where it was a season ago when it finished 14-6 in conference.

BYU is a better team this season, and when factoring in the strides that are probably well in motion, BYU should manage at least 13 wins in Big 12 Conference play. To me, that’s the bar.