PROVO — Saturday’s contest against Utah State marks the final regular-season game of a wild 2016 campaign for BYU football.

Here are three storylines.

Seniors’ last home game at LaVell Edwards Stadium

This season’s senior class for BYU has seen a lot of highs and lows in its four-plus years in Provo. The seniors have been a part of some thrilling wins and some very bitter defeats. This season has been no different. Regardless of the outcomes on the field the last few seasons and whatever happens Saturday, Cougar fans owe the guys donning pads for the last time in LES a debt of gratitude for all of the hard work they have put in at practice, in the weight room and studying their playbooks to provide entertainment for a few hours every Saturday.

Many of the senior players have sustained devastating injuries and have had to go through grueling rehabilitation. They and their families have also had to make many sacrifices to give their all to the program. Most of the players whose eligibility runs out at the conclusion of this season will not be moving on to professional football careers where they will make millions of dollars. They will be like the rest of us — trying to scrape by and make a living the best they can. This weekend is the last time many in Cougar nation will get to show its appreciation in person for all that the players have given for the program and the school.

Dallin Leavitt returns to Provo

After the 2014 season, former BYU safety Dallin Leavitt left the program and transferred to Utah State. At the time, it was a not very well-concealed secret that Leavitt was upset at his lack of playing time after inconsistent play on the field. It was even less well-concealed that he had problems with some members of the Cougar coaching staff. In an article with in Deseret News, Leavitt stated he was drawn to Utah State because head coach Matt Wells was “genuine” and that Aggie players had “respect” for defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.

Perhaps the biggest draw to the Aggie program, though, was that they had fun unlike the “over-the-top seriousness” at other programs. It is not exactly hard to read between the lines of what he thought about his time playing for the Y. Still, Cougar fans should forgive and forget. BYU, like any other school, is not the right fit for everyone. Also, it is hard to hold a grudge against a guy who is playing for a 3-8 squad and took this vicious block from USC’s JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is well-known already for a beautiful stiff-arm on the Utes’ Dominique Hatfield. Wonder how much fun Leavitt is having now?

Football is just a diversion

All good-natured roasting aside (good luck to Leavitt, for this year and for the rest of your career), it is important to note that football is just a diversion that we, as sports fans, are lucky to have. It provides entertainment and reprieve away from the sometimes painful realities of life. Cougar fans were again reminded of that this week with the awful news that former BYU star and current running backs coach Reno Mahe’s 3-year-old daughter Elsie was taken via Life Flight to Primary Children’s Hospital after being found suffocating, hanging from a drawstring on window blinds. Fans, coaches and players from BYU, Utah State and Utah have looked over petty rivalries and rallied to provide support to the Mahe family.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via twitter @DylanCannon11.

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