- Style points are crucial in college football despite coaches' opposition to running scores.
- BYU and Utah coaches focus on winning but face pressure for impressive victories.
- Utah ranks No. 13 despite losses; BYU seeks Big 12 title with final wins.
PROVO — Both football coaches are in accord, stating strong opposition to running up scores after outcomes are effectively decided, yet their united philosophy is becoming outdated by the week.
Style points matter in today's world of college football, even if Utah's Kyle Whittingham and BYU's Kalani Sitake don't like it. Slipping past an opponent by one or two points might not be good enough anymore, especially for Big 12 or ACC teams fighting the inherit bias that favors the Big Ten and SEC.
Think of it this way: Losing in a non-competitive fashion to Texas Tech two weeks ago undoubtedly hurt BYU's standing with the playoff selection committee. If the game in Lubbock stayed close, the Cougars would be viewed differently.
Only fools or old schoolers think otherwise. Look no further than Utah's football team.
Despite two losses, including by 24 points to Texas Tech two months ago, the Utes have been ranked at No. 13 in both College Football Playoff polls. With No. 10 Alabama losing at home to Oklahoma on Saturday, Utah could move up a spot or two in the poll released Tuesday night.
The respect is not based on beating ranked teams — the Utes are winless against teams (No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 11 BYU) in the current Associated Press Top 25 poll. They did beat Arizona State and Cincinnati, which were both ranked in prior polls.
It all boils down to numbers — namely, the Utes have blown out eight teams. Along the way, they have compiled a host of impressive statistics that rank high nationally in several categories.
Against defenseless Baylor last week, Utah scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with the last coming in the final four minutes. Surely the committee, which includes Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, has noticed Whittingham's team has scored more than 50 points in two of its last three games and reached at least 40 points in seven games.
"I don't believe in humiliating anyone or trying to run up the score," Whittingham said during Monday's weekly press conference. "We don't subscribe to that. There's been games this year where we certainly could have piled on more points, but it's not who we are."
Sitake is in lockstep with his former boss at Utah, often to the disappointment of BYU fans clamoring for wider discrepancies in outcomes. Despite BYU beating TCU 44-13 last week, the coach was forced to address style points after the game.
The topic was again raised during Sitake's weekly press conference on Monday. Give him credit for not lashing out at the repeated line of questioning.
"I know what style points are. I want to win, that's the key," he said. "People look at the metrics — we were favored to win by 3 points, and we won by a lot more than that."
But what about the rankings? The 9-1 Cougars are behind three teams with two losses in the AP poll, a reality that won't inspire Sitake to campaign for things beyond his control.
"I know what people are saying in metrics and the analytics and the style points and all that stuff," Sitake said. "My focus isn't on that, so I understand everything that's out there. I've got to be focused on what we control, and that's playing football."
Prettier numbers in the final two games against Cincinnati and UCF, respectively, could help BYU look more handsome to the playoff committee. But sticking with the controllables, the Cougars will reach the Big 12 championship game by winning the final two games.
Conversely, Utah needs help to get there. As expected, Whittingham stayed in form by saying the focus is on this week against Kansas State but did admit his team is bursting with confidence and momentum.
"We think we're playing good football," he said. "Is it good enough? We'll find out. We've got to take of our business first, starting with this week. When the dust settles and the regular season is over, we'll see where we're at and what kind of opportunities are there."
