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BYU fans hold up signs in a Big 12 football game against UCF at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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

We were fooled.

All of us, fans and media.

When BYU was accepted into the Big 12 in 2021, we thought the days of being on the outside looking in were over. Finally, the Cougars were going to be on an even playing field with the Notre Dames, Georgias and Ohio States of the world. The same access to the playoffs, weighed fairly based on the outcomes.

Oh, how naive we were.

There is a huge hypocrisy in a system that claims to be equal but is actually a hierarchal society where some groups have more privileges and power than others. The College Football Playoff committee (I’m not giving them the honor of a capital ‘C’) operates this way in plain sight and with no oversight or accountability, which means things aren’t likely to change.

George Orwell wrote “Animal Farm” in 1945 with the message that “all are equal, but some are more equal than others.” I can’t help but think of that message when considering the situation BYU currently finds itself in.

The Cougars are 11-1 with a resume that if it were attached to any team in the Big Ten or SEC (or Notre Dame), would push that team easily into the CFP.

The committee has clearly shown that the only way they will include BYU in the playoff field is if they are forced to do it. The Cougars could do just that if they win the Big 12 Championship against No. 5 Texas Tech next Saturday. A very daunting task, for sure, but not impossible.

College football is mess. Instead of a plus or minus equation (like in the NFL), college football becomes the worst form of algebra: Who did you play? How much did you win by? What is that team’s record now? What conference do you belong to? How big is your brand? Where did you start in the preseason football polls?

It might promote discussion, and that pleases the CFP committee, but to be honest, it’s exhausting.

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

PRO No. 1: Parker Kingston is BYU’s best offensive player.

I would say that BYU’s best offensive player is running back LJ Martin, who leads the Big 12 with 1,229 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. But Kingston is the Cougars most explosive player. Get him the ball in open space and watch him turn on his speed. He’s currently BYU’s leading receiver (57 catches, 804 yards, five touchdowns) and has added four other scores on three rushing TD’s and one punt return for six. I think the Cougars need to find a way to get Kingston loose if they have any hope of beating Texas Tech on Saturday.

PRO No. 2: The slow start against UCF looked bad to the CFP committee.

That’s assuming they were watching in the first place. I think the committee has two modes with BYU: Watching just enough to assume the worst or checking the final score and seeing the Cougars gave up 21 points to a 5-7 team. In-depth analysis, curiously, is not their forte. To be honest, I think the committee made up its mind about BYU after its loss to Texas Tech on Nov. 8. The only way in for the Cougars is to win the Big 12 Championship.

PRO No. 3: BYU has done enough to be worthy of a CFP berth.

I came across this gem from the “First and 16” Big 12 podcast. Here’s the past decade of where the lowest-ranked power conference one-loss team finished the regular season:

2016 Washington 4

2017 Georgia 6

2018 Ohio State 6

2019 Baylor 6

2020 (COVID)

2021 Notre Dame 5

2022 Ohio State 4

2023 Alabama 8

2024 Indiana 8

2025 BYU 11 (projected)

So the answer is, “Yes, BYU has done enough to be worthy of a CFP berth.” But that clearly doesn’t matter to the CFP committee, which picks and chooses the data points that support their position and ignores the ones that don’t.

And finally, PRO No. 4: The post-game senior walk is the coolest thing the Cougars do all season.

Most of us never had the privilege (or talent) to compete in a sport at the collegiate level. Those who have know what a tight brotherhood (or sisterhood) you form when you spend hours working out, traveling and winning and losing with teammates. But I’ve been around college sports long enough to get sense for what it means. So, yeah, watching BYU football seniors walk arm and arm from goal line to goal line to the tune of “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum after Saturday’s win against UCF was emotional for more than just the players.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs?

My nomination would be Kingston. The Cougars were without Chase Roberts and while Martin was banging out 5,6 and 7-yard runs, they needed some explosiveness to crush the Golden Knights will. Kingston’s fourth down touchdown catch and punt return for a TD did the trick.

Something to think about

There are rumors that Penn State is making a play for BYU football coach Kalani Sitake.

I would be surprised if Sitake were to leave Provo for State College but I will say this: If Penn State was 11-1 and had BYU’s resume, the Nittany Lions would be safely in the field for the CFP. No question at all.

Funny stuff

I had a good time watching “Zootopia 2” with my children over Thanksgiving weekend. A horse was the mayor and said something like, “Is it wrong to fight crime? I say ‘Neigh!'”

I know, it’s dad humor. But it made me laugh out loud.

Staying on target

The BYU men’s basketball team (6-1) has this schedule remaining in the non-conference: Cal Baptist at the Delta Center and Clemson at Madison Square Garden, then home games against UC Riverside, Pacific, Abilene Christian and Eastern Washington. That looked like 11-1 to me, and that’s actually better than I anticipated. Cal Baptist will probably be closer than expected and Clemson has some talent, but I fully expect the Cougars to win out. The first NET rankings don’t come out for a few days but BYU is No. 12 in Ken Pom so far. The scheduling plan assistant coach Chris Burgess laid out to me when I talked to him this summer is playing out pretty well to earn the team a nice NCAA seed in March.

That’s all for now, but for this: I got called a “young fart” the other night by some old dude in a crosswalk who didn’t like my driving. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t understand how, at my age, I took that as a huge compliment.

Hope your Thanksgiving was all you wanted. Stay safe and treat each other kindly this week.