BYU’s Wins Over Kansas State and SMU Have Aged Well

No on Saturday. 11 BYU improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 over UCF in Big 12 play. As the calendar turns to November, BYU is in a tight hunt for the College Football Playoff. BYU can guarantee a playoff berth by winning the Big 12 championship. If the Cougars aren’t the Big 12 champions, they could also make the cut as an overall team if their record and resume is good enough.

In terms of resumes, BYU has a really good resume right now thanks to wins over ranked teams SMU and Kansas State. But BYU’s resume nearly took a few hits when it was just minutes away from losing to SMU and Kansas State on Saturday night. Instead, both SMU and Kansas State made just enough plays to survive games against Duke and Kansas. With these wins, SMU and Kansas State are 7-1 overall and 14-0 in games against anyone other than BYU.

These wins have aged really well, and they could be the difference between whether BYU earns an at-large bid down the road or not.

SMU blocked a Duke field goal at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Duke attempted but failed for a two-point conversion and the win, and the Mustangs held on to win 28-27. SMU was minus-six in turnover margin and still won. It’s worth noting that Duke has been a good team this year. The Blue Devils entered this game ahead 6-1.

SMU has a legitimate chance to win and play in the ACC Championship game. Next up, SMU hosts undefeated Pitt. If the Mustangs beat Pitt, they will have very winnable games against Boston College, Virginia and the remaining Cal. A win against a championship-caliber ACC team will look really good on BYU’s resume in November.

Kansas State forced Jalon Daniels to take the ball back late in the fourth quarter. A few plays later the Wildcats kicked a 52-yard field goal to take the lead. The Wildcats forced a turnover on downs on the next possession to hold on for the win.

When the first College Football Playoff rankings are released on Nov. 5, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see BYU edge out several teams thanks to their resumes. Outside of Oregon and Georgia, few teams have two wins as quality as BYU’s first two.