Patrick Kinahan: National respect at stake next two games for BYU, Utah


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SALT LAKE CITY — Each one game shy of reaching the halfway point of the college football season, nationally ranked BYU and Utah both will learn the actual identity of their teams over the next two weeks.

Both teams are 4-1, suffered a disappointing loss on the road and own impressive victories over mostly suspect competition. The next two games will determine the direction of each's overall season.

For BYU, up next is Notre Dame in Las Vegas followed by Arkansas at home. Utah makes a return trip to the Rose Bowl, where it lost on Jan. 1 to Ohio State, to play UCLA before the anticipated showdown against USC at home.

Sweeping the Los Angeles schools guarantees No. 11 Utah a spot in the Top 10, where it started the season before falling out following the season-opening loss at Florida. BYU sits at No. 16 but needs to win the next games to prop up a relatively weak schedule over the final five games.

As an independent, thankfully for the last season before joining the Big 12, BYU obviously has no chance at a conference championship and the accompanying acclaim that comes with it.

Even if a conference is watered down, as the Pac-12 was last season, winning the championship game brings a measure of respect and usually results in a national ranking. Look no further than last season when Utah and Utah State both won their respective conference championships and finished in the Top 25.

To date, BYU's best win has come at home in overtime against then-No. 9 Baylor. The Bears lost to new No. 9 Oklahoma State last week, somewhat devaluing BYU's thrilling victory that ended with the hometown fans storming the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The Cougars fell flat the next week and lost in embarrassing fashion to Oregon in Eugene. Coach Kalani Sitake was correct in stating BYU wasted a great opportunity to prove worthy of a high ranking.

Coming off an 11-2 season that ending with a No. 8 ranking, Notre Dame was expected to be the highlight of BYU's schedule this year. For the first time, the Irish will play a game in Nevada at the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium.

The game lost much of its luster after Notre Dame began the season at 0-2, falling as expected to No. 3 Ohio State, followed by the stunning defeat at home to Marshall. After a quarterback change due to injury, the Irish bounced back to beat Cal and then rolled up 576 yards of total offense in the win over North Carolina.

Even if the Irish are down this season, this is still the marquee game on BYU's schedule. No individual brand is bigger, historically, than Notre Dame.

After finishing last season ranked No. 21, Arkansas raced out to a 3-0 record in September but has since lost to Texas A&M and superpower Alabama. Still, BYU beating a Southeastern Conference team would be more noteworthy than anything that follows.

For Utah, the next two games represent the first chance to beat a nationally ranked team this season. No. 18 UCLA and No. 6 USC, two conference opponents with a combined 10-0 record. The truth is, given the mediocre competition so far, the Utes need to win to prove worthy of a high ranking.

UCLA feasted on lousy teams in starting the season 4-0 but caught Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's attention by beating No. 21 Washington last week. New coach Lincoln Riley and Heisman hopeful quarterback Caleb Williams have quickly returned the Trojans to elite status in their respective first year in the program.

As BYU did, the Utes squandered an excellent opportunity to maintain a Top 10 ranking throughout the season with the loss at Florida. The loss looks even worse since the Gators have started 0-2 in the SEC.

Barring a total collapse, Utah can grab a stronghold on the Pac-12 by winning the next two weeks. BYU can take a giant step toward winning at least 10 games for the third consecutive season.

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Patrick is a radio host for 97.5/1280 The Zone and the Zone Sports Network. He, along with David James, are on the air Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

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