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SALT LAKE CITY — Heading into bye weeks, strangely enough after both played Friday night, BYU and Utah have identical records in and out of conference five weeks into the college football season.
Despite the similarities, based on expectations, each team has a separate vibe. One is labeled a pleasant surprise, while the other is dealing with disappointment amid a host of issues moving into the heart of the season.
The Utes and Cougars are each 4-1 overall, having split their opening two conference games. Both teams are on the path to success, but the standards aren't close to the same.
Simply put, Utah has entertained dreams of making the four-team playoff. For BYU, it's bowl eligibility and go from there.
"We're sitting at a real good spot going into our bye week," said BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
The Utes are in flux, depending on Cam Rising's status. Obviously, the quarterback's return will determine the season's level of success.
After two consecutive Pac-12 championships and the accompanying Rose Bowl appearances, the Utes have talked openly of a three-peat and taking the next step. Playoff possibilities may have died before the dawn of October.
Utah is a team at a crossroads, divided evenly between its substandard offense and outstanding defense. No need to point fingers when the culprit is abundantly obvious.
To the point of embarrassment, the offense has fallen grossly short of success by any measure in the first two conference games. Rarely known as prolific during Kyle Whittingham's 19-year reign as head coach, this season's version needs substantial improvement to reach the level of average.
Scoring a total of two touchdowns in the last two games, one each in the win over UCLA and loss to Oregon State, the unit's best attribute right now is to avoid putting the defense in short-field situations. The numbers are abysmal in virtually every metric.
"We're not doing anything real well on offense right now, other than taking care of the ball," Whittingham said after the Oregon State loss.
As expected in this situation, the two available quarterbacks have yet to find consistency. Redshirt freshman Nate Johnson and former walk-on Bryson Barnes have each showed a flash or two, but neither appear capable of leading the team to another championship.
The on-going saga with Rising isn't helping, either. Still only nine months removed from a major knee injury suffered in the Rose Bowl, Rising continues to participate in practice — where quarterbacks are off limits to any contact — but has yet to play in a game.
With games ahead against nationally ranked USC, Oregon and Washington, the Utes await Rising's medical clearance. But here is where it gets tricky, depending on which doctors have the authority to approve his return.
Having already suffered two significant injuries in two of the last three seasons, counting the abbreviated COVID year in 2020, Rising likely can't afford any more setbacks in the eyes of NFL teams. His return could mean the difference between staying in contention or falling to the middle of the Pac.
Then there's the Cougars, who have got to be thrilled to sit at only two wins from bowl eligibility. Only those with the thickest blue-colored glasses had this team with four wins already.
Yet here they are, even if it has looked far from pretty at times. Plenty of room for improvement remains.
"We did enough to win the game," Sitake said after BYU gained its first Big 12 win by beating Cincinnati. "Am I proud of the guys? Of course. Am I happy with how we did it? No."
For a team picked 11th out of 14, style points don't count in its first season in a new conference. With nationally ranked Texas and Oklahoma still ahead, BYU probably won't contend for the Big 12 championship, anyway.
But several winnable games remain, allowing the Cougars to establish a solid base moving forward with recruiting. Like most teams, they also have several issues to rectify, but, in the end, the only thing that counts is the final score.
