For the optimists

[frdbtr]

BYU is 4-0. We beat everyone we have played and we have not played our best game yet.

[runbyu1]

Amen brother! Hopefully the best is yet to come and we still somehow get Taysom to come back for next year!

[Alphaleonis]

Only for optimists: According to Sagarin, there are only 4 undefeated teams who have played tougher schedules than BYU. These four are Oklahoma, Fla. St., Auburn, and UCLA. Therefore we should be ranked #5.

[NDCougar]

Interesting article with good points. http://lawlessrepublic.com/2014/09/23/n ... -football/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I still do not see any way BYU makes the playoff. The FSU argument would never fly with those in the mix. FSU DESTROYED everyone last year (http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-13/acc/ ... hedule.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), the least amount of points that FSU had was 37 (only game under 40 pts) and they still won by 30 points. They also played a top 10 Clemson team and won 51-14, they also won a conference championship game. Not sure how you refute those points, what does BYU comeback with to fight back....talk about beating bad UT team in big way (not the same cachet) or beating UH/UVA by 8 at home? What is the signature win?

BYU can't simply win, they must destroy every team and win by 3-5 touchdowns on average and put up over 40 pts a game....beating UH and UVA by 8 does not get the media nor selection committee excited (maybe for a top 25 vote but not the CFP). If they don't no way they even get a look and they will be a victim of their schedule not playing any top 25 teams and no marque win. You can spin the numbers, but when the media sees a SEC team with a worse/similar SOS to BYU on national TV (potentially Game Day being there) beat a top 5/10 team the SEC team will always get the nod, same with PAC 12, FSU, ND, etc etc.

Above are mentioned the rankings.....who cares at this point. BYU needs to win and win big, the teams mentioned will likely have hiccups and others will emerge. Again, the disadvantage we have is the schedule and the unfortunate situation of having UT, BSU etc all be down at the same time. If we had last years schedule this year and BYU dominated WI and ND on the road and won by multiple TDs they would have a legit shot, not with this schedule (I also think there is little chance this years team goes to WI or ND and wins by multiple TDs).

Fair or not, for arguments sake does anyone think BYU goes undefeated through a PAC 12, SEC, ND schedule? I don't see it, but we should be happy we have a legit shot to go undefeated, make a New Years bowl game, have a QB in the top 5-10 for Heisman and come back primed for 2015. Any talk of the CFP, in my opinion, is a fantasy......it could happen but not likely at all (I technically COULD win the lottery) and I am not sure we could compete against top 4 teams at the moment.

[scott715]

Maybe we can't compete with a top 4 team but we would compete better than last year's team and I think we are closing that gap as we move forward.

[NDCougar]

Maybe we can't compete with a top 4 team but we would compete better than last year's team and I think we are closing that gap as we move forward.

Agreed, that gap is closing. Last years team was pushed around by WI and ND, I think BYU closing the gap but not to that point yet. I think the defense we have major issues with a top tier offense. On offense I think we could have success if TH did not turn the ball over. In a game vs the top 4 (or even top 10) I think BYU would keep it close early and then a the other team would pull ahead in the 2H.

[Cougarfan87]

Maybe we can't compete with a top 4 team but we would compete better than last year's team and I think we are closing that gap as we move forward.

I actually think we can compete (meaning keep the game respectable with chances to win) with any team in the country on any given day. As for consistently winning those games, I agree that we aren't there yet, but we are building towards that. Our recruiting is improving, and as more talent gets more excited about BYU, our teams will get even better. I believe the coaching all around is pretty solid right now, which hasn't been the case for many years. That continuity will pay dividends in the future.

[YNot]

I still do not see any way BYU makes the playoff. The FSU argument would never fly with those in the mix. FSU DESTROYED everyone last year (http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-13/acc/ ... hedule.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), the least amount of points that FSU had was 37 (only game under 40 pts) and they still won by 30 points. They also played a top 10 Clemson team and won 51-14, they also won a conference championship game. Not sure how you refute those points, what does BYU comeback with to fight back....talk about beating bad UT team in big way (not the same cachet) or beating UH/UVA by 8 at home? What is the signature win?

Florida St. was the consensus No. 1 team last year. BYU isn't.

All we need is #4.

So, look at the 2013 contenders for the #4 spot -

Michigan St. (12-1, B1G Champ)
Stanford (11-2, PAC 12 Champ)
Baylor (11-1, Big 12 Champ)

Michigan St.'s loss was to unranked Notre Dame. Stanford lost twice, including a loss to unranked Utah and #25 USC. Baylor lost AT #13 Oklahoma St. and had extremely weak OOC competition (Wofford, Buffalo, and UL Monroe).

Undefeated BYU would have a fighting chance against those types of contenders.


We will know a lot more about BYU's chances in the next 4 weeks:

BYU will have played G5 Access bid contenders UCF and Nevada.

Texas will have played both Baylor and Oklahoma. Virginia will have played ACC contenders Pitt and Duke. Houston will have played UCF, Memphis, and Temple. We'll know whether our wins mean much.

[NDCougar]

The article brought up FSU not me. Silly comparison if you ask me. Also backs up the point of SOS views can vary, not just on the ultimate rank but the perception on who you beat. FSU had a big win and like I said they destroyed everyone.

I believe MSU and Baylor would both have both gotten the nod over BYU.

MSU beat nearly every team by double digits (yes the BIG 10 is weak, but BYU schedule is not perceived to be tough) and they beat Ohio State (#2 at the time) who was undefeated in the Conference Championship by 10. Also FYI, ND was ranked to end the regular season #25. Not impressive, but a correction.

Baylor crushed every team but their loss. They beat Oklahoma by 29 points. Oklahoma was #4 at the time.

BYU is in a really tough spot. How many ranked teams do we play? What marquee wins do we have? Fair or not we will get lumped in was NIU, Hawaii, Cincy etc etc as good teams but not CFP worthy. I don't like it, but without big wins that is how I see it playing. We both know that every P5 school will be fighting their case in the media why SOS, key wins, conference championships are the keys to entrance.

BYU, IMHO, is not ready to be a CFP team.......we are looking good but not destroying weak competition (ex-UT, that is how these games should have gone if we were a top 4 team).

[scott715]

And those P5 teams will have their conference mates supporting their profile.