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BYU defensive end Tausili Akana celebrates after a sack against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Here’s what’s going on inside Darnell’s head as I wonder why we keep broken chairs and moldy moving boxes in our garages but our expensive cars out in the rain, snow and sun?

(And by “we,” I mean “me.”)

As a journalist, I’ve always strived to ask good questions. So good, in fact, that the player or coach I’m interviewing pauses and says, “Good question.”

When Patrick Kinahan (of the DJ and PK radio show) was covering the Cougars for the Salt Lake Tribune, he got that golden moment after asking a question of then-BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and he teased me about it all season. Finally, at the Las Vegas Bowl, I asked Mendenhall something in the post-game and he responded with, “Good question.”

I swear I saw Mendenhall smile at us after that. Did the coach know?

So my question now is, “Just how good is this BYU football team?”

Is that a good question?

We kind of saw it all on Saturday, didn’t we? The defense struggled in the first half and there was a second-quarter offensive possession by BYU that should have been accompanied by circus music.

Yet the Cougars dominated the second half, holding Arizona scoreless and playing a brilliant final eight minutes to put the game away.

As I evaluate the game as a whole, it felt like two really good teams going at each other, with Arizona having the advantage in the first half and BYU taking control in the second. It was give and take, back and forth. Cougar fans expressed frustration because they want to clearly be the best team from start to finish, but that’s not how it works when you play another power conference team.

Just ask No. 6 Oregon, which shockingly took it on the chin at Oklahoma State on Saturday.

BYU has two straight road games on the schedule at Colorado State next week and at TCU on October 3. The Cougars don’t return to LaVell Edwards Stadium until October 9 against Iowa State. We’ll find out a lot about BYU over the next four weeks.

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

PRO No. 1: BYU forgot about giving LJ Martin the ball in the first half.

Sure seemed that way, didn’t it? Martin had just four touches in the first half, then had 16 in the second. There were some unusual circumstances in the first 30 minutes that kept the Cougars from utilizing Martin, not the least of which was Arizona playing keep away with the ball. The Wildcats had three drives of 10 plays or more that chewed up more than 16 minutes and resulted in 17 points. Arizona ran 42 plays in the first half to 23 for BYU and led in time of possession 21:29 to 8:31. The Cougar defense needed to get off the field to give Martin a chance to get going, which they did in the second half.

Martin was stellar in helping BYU burn the final five minutes off the clock with five carries for 30 yards.

PRO No. 2: Arizona dominated BYU on both lines.

It definitely started out that way. The Cougars defensive line was especially ineffective in the first half as Arizona consistently won easily on first and second downs. There was not a lot of resistance by BYU on those three long drives in the first half, with the exception of the chaos blitz that resulted in Cade Uluave’s interception to set up the home team’s first score. Frankly, the Cougars offensive line didn’t establish itself early, either. Senior tackle Andrew Gentry particularly struggled with three penalties (two for holding).

Kalani Sitake commented after the game that he thought both lines played much better in the second half and I think that made the difference in the game. The Cougars did a much better job of containing the Arizona running game and collapsed the pocket on Noah Fifita instead of letting him escape. The offensive line asserted itself in the fourth quarter and locked up the game with three first downs on the ground.

PRO No. 3: Kyler Kasper is BYU’s new Alpha wide receiver.

Kasper was terrific on Saturday, especially in the red zone. At 6-foot-6, he joked after the game that he kept telling wide receiver coach Fesi Sitake that he was taller than the Arizona DB’s and to get him the ball. Here’s the thing about the wide receivers, though: I’m not sure there is an Alpha yet. We saw what freshman Legend Glasker did in Game 1 and he made the play of the game with a 61-yard catch in the fourth quarter. When you take into account tight ends Roger Saleapaga and Walker Lyons, any one of about five or six pass catchers could lead the Cougars in receiving in a given game. Good in some ways, but it will be interesting to see who Bear Bachmeier consistently looks for in crunch time.

And finally, PRO No. 4: Kalani needs to go for the jugular, not kneel late in the game.

Seems we’ve had this conversation before. Yes, Sitake is a gentleman coach. He’s friends with many of the coaches he competes against and doesn’t want to embarrass them by running up the score. On Saturday, Sitake chose to kneel twice at the Arizona 3 with a minute left in the game instead of scoring.

On social media, some BYU fans ranted about how a 35-17 win looks better to the Football Playoff committee than a 28-17 win.

Frankly, I kind of see both sides of this coin. You also have to give Sitake some credit for his decision making because no one has ever lost a game kneeling down to run the clock out. Crazy things can happen in football and kneeling avoids any disasters.

On the other hand, the beauty pageant that is college football can’t be ignored. Margin of victory is definitely a thing.

Here’s what I think: The CFP committee will latch on to whatever data point fits their narrative. If they can’t point to margin of victory they will find something else. It’s up to BYU to take the decision out of the hands of a committee by winning all of its games or winning the Big 12 title.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs?

I always felt one of Jay Hill’s strengths as a defensive coordinator was halftime adjustments. The Cougars seemed to be consistently better in the second half and finishing the game strong. So props to new DC Kelly Poppinga, Gary Anderson and the rest of the defensive coaches. Holding Arizona scoreless in the second half and to just 87 yards of offense is elite.

Final eight minutes

With 8:24 to go on Saturday, Arizona trailed BYU 21-17 and faced a fourth-and-4 at the Cougars 21-yard line. The Wildcats opted to go for it and Fifita tossed a short pass to Rodney Gallagher III. Safety Tommy Prassass was first on the scene and Cannon DeVries came flying up to help stone Gallagher. Officials gave Arizona a first down but replays showed the receiver was short and the call was reversed, giving the ball to BYU.

Two plays later, Bachmeier teamed up with Glasker on a 61-yard bomb and then found Kasper for a 12-yard touchdown. Cougars up, 28-17.

Arizona took over at it’s own 25 but Tausili Akana sacked Fifita on consecutive plays, forcing a punt.

BYU got the ball on its own 45 and ran the final five minutes off the clock with nine straight running plays.

If there’s a better way to close out a game by forcing your will upon the opponent, I haven’t seen it.

Get off my lawn

Really, NCAA? BYU commit Jakob Urbaniak isn’t eligible to hoop for Kevin Young and Cougars because he played in a low-ranked pro league overseas? I’m not sure if anyone has told you, but college players are being paid now. Have been for nearly five years. THEY ARE PROS. Get it together, would you?

Maxed out

A few weeks ago, BYU hosted two women’s volleyball matches in the Smith Fieldhouse and one soccer match at South Field over a two-day period. Total attendance was 12,674. The Cougars hosted UCLA at the SFH on Friday for a big volleyball match and 5,034 showed up. I know head coaches Rob Neilson (volleyball) and Jennifer Rockwood (soccer) are grateful for the support. The athletes love it, too. Must be a gas to play in front of such large, responsive crowds and BYU fans consistently show up.

She’s the queen

I covered the Spanish Fork at Orem high school football game on Friday and it was homecoming for the Golden Tigers. I noticed a student on the sideline in a gown shooting photos and cheering for Orem. At halftime, they crowned the homecoming queen — and it was the same girl I had seen earlier.

Becca Harris, you are a boss.

That’s all for now, but for this: Why do doctors “practice” medicine? I want one that has learned how to do it.

Enjoy your week and remember to treat other’s kindly. What’s it going to hurt?