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PROVO — Five days after BYU scheduled a late addition to its schedule involving a cross-country road trip to the No. 14 team in the country (No. 18 CFP), the Cougars reported to the practice facility Monday morning with their undefeated season over and shot at a New Year's Six bowl bid closed for the time being.
Between last Thursday, when the then-No. 8 Cougars (No. 13 CFP) finalized a deal to play No. 14 Coastal Carolina, and Monday, BYU turned its attention to former Mountain West rival San Diego State on Senior Night this Saturday (8 p.m. MT, ESPN2).
The 22-17 loss to the Chanticleers — the first loss of the season for the Provo Cougs — ate at them, gnawed at them, led to a very silent flight home and a bitter taste every time coaches and players recalled it.
But after everything was done — with the Cougars' always-slim playoff hopes dead and a chance at a New Year's Six bowl virtually extinguished — there was no doubt if they would ever do it again.
"If there's a chance we could play a doubleheader and back-to-back games, we'd take that," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "I love coaching these guys, and they love to play football. They're a bunch of football guys.
"We just want to play football; I let everyone else do the talking on rankings and that stuff. But you know what you're made of when you compete and put yourself in uncomfortable positions and just compete."
"If there's a chance we could play a doubleheader with back-to-back games, we would take that ... I have a bunch of football junkies who love the game. When we're not playing football, we're watching it," -- #BYU coach Kalani Sitake after the Cougars' first loss of the season. pic.twitter.com/ktiLwZ6z69
— KSL.com Sports (@KSLcomSports) December 7, 2020
As an FBS independent, BYU gave up the chance for a conference title in the Mountain West to play on a national stage against national opponents with national implications (and a national spotlight).
On Saturday, they got all of that — and then some — against the Chanticleers, who along with Notre Dame are the only 10-0 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Even losing that game doesn't take away from that exposure. Simply adding the game, which few teams nationally would have done, deserves credit — just as the loss invites plenty of criticism.
For a school that uses its football program as a missionary arm of its sponsoring institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that kind of exposure is as valuable as the reward of a New Year's Six bowl game.
"When I became the head coach here, Tom Holmoe showed me the schedule, and I wished I was a player," Sitake said. "That's what we recruit here … Dax Milne turned down scholarships to come here, and he came here to compete against the best. I get to coach these awesome kids, and they love playing the best."
Even Milne, whose 1,012 receiving yards and seven touchdowns rank seventh nationally, agrees with his coach. Any time, any place includes playing the best competition — even if that competition bests you on a given day.
"Losing is part of the game. It happens, and it hurts," Milne said. "I think that happening is just going to constantly put a chip on our shoulder. We're not done yet; we've got a lot more to say. And we'd like any opportunity to get to go prove ourselves."
Even with the loss, BYU (9-1) has had a good season while playing in the midst of a global pandemic — the Cougars were, at one point, the only team west of Texas still playing the sport, after all. Zach Wilson is still one of 16 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, given annually to the nation's top quarterback, and Milne was named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award given the country's top receiver on Monday, as well.
Even Jake Oldroyd was selected as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, or college football's "Heisman for kickers" whose past winners include former Utah standout, Utah Valley soccer player and current LA Rams kicker Matt Gay (among others).
The Cougars can also erase the sting of the loss in Conway, South Carolina, with a win over San Diego State, whose 4-3 record includes losses to Mountain West contenders San Jose State and Nevada in addition to Colorado from the Pac-12 — a schedule that belies its average record. The Aztecs boast a defense that allows just 16.29 points per game, and a special teams unit that scored 23 of San Diego State's 29 points in a win over New Mexico last week.
They also have the most recent win in a series that dates back to 1947 and that the Cougars lead 28-8-1 all-time — a 13-3 loss in San Diego. That caught BYU's attention last Monday, when they started preparing to face San Diego State with no game on the schedule.
Now that preparation becomes reality.
"We got a brief background of who they are, just because we had no other option because we didn't have a game at the time," Milne said. "I think that helps move forward this week. We'll refresh that, and keep game planning for them."
On the air
BYU (9-1) vs. San Diego State (3-2)
Kickoff: Saturday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. MT
TV: ESPN2
Radio: BYU radio, KSL radio 1160 AM/102.7 FM
Series: BYU leads, 28-8-1
Note: Due to coronavirus restrictions, families of players and coaches will be the only fans permitted at LaVell Edwards Stadium
