Gameday

BYU continues to be a well-kept CFB secret

National View

With the arrival of Week 6, the age-old question has arisen again.

How good is BYU?

At 4-0 for the third consecutive year, the Cougars have led a reasonably charmed life while tucked comfortably for decades under the covers of the WAC and Mountain West conferences.

In the poll era, BYU clinched the 1984 national championship before Christmas by beating an unranked Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl.

Over the last 20 years, the Cougars have endured only two losing seasons.

Including last weekend's 17-10 win over TCU, BYU is 27-4 since the start of the 2024 campaign.

That TCU game is symbolic of BYU's good fortunes.

Since 1972, the Cougars have won only three games when passing for 62 yards or fewer. The victory over the Horned Frogs was one of those games.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee's final rankings for 2025 positioned BYU at No. 12, but Tulane and James Madison bumped the Cougars from the postseason as two of the five highest-ranked conference champions.

Slowly ascending this season's national rankings, BYU entered last weekend with the fourth-best winning percentage (.867) among FBS teams since 2024. The top three were Indiana (.939), Oregon (.879) and Notre Dame (.875).

At the start of this season, BYU ranked No. 7 in total wins over the past 50 years.

That's enough history.

With wins over four unranked teams thus far, BYU will get a better handle on its viability as a national championship contender when Notre Dame visits Provo on October 17.

No matter the outcome of that game, there's plenty to admire about the program run by head coach Kalani Sitake, who appeared headed for Happy Valley as James Franklin's successor late last fall.

BYU has the pedigree to mix and mingle with the elite of college football, but it hasn't marked its territory in the CFP yet.

And that's where the big dogs run.

Fitting tributes

A day after Yale announced that former head coach Tony Reno had died at the age of 52, Reno's son Dante threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a 41-24 win over Merrimack.

Yale honored the memory of Reno prior to Saturday's game, and a moment of silence was observed at all Ivy League home games. Dante dedicated his efforts to his father.

Coach Reno led the Bulldogs to five Ivy League championships over 14 seasons and the program's first-ever postseason victory last fall as the Ivy League's first automatic qualifier to the FCS playoffs.

Bittersweet reunion

When Alex Golesh was an offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Tennessee, he played a vital role in the recruitment of running back DeSean Bishop.

Now the head coach at Auburn, Golesh was the unintentional primary motivation for the career numbers Bishop posted in Tennessee's 24-14 win over the Tigers last Saturday.

With the Vols trailing 7-3 at the half, Bishop rallied his team with rushing touchdowns of 25 and 44 yards on back-to-back offensive snaps in the third quarter and capped the scoring with a 5-yard run.

Bishop is the only FBS player to total 220 rushing yards and three scores on the ground in a game this season.

"This game was personal for me," said Bishop, a senior. "(Golesh) was one reason I came as a walk-on at Tennessee. Every time I touched the ball, I had a purpose."

Scary sights

Halloween is weeks away but South Carolina fans have already experienced more horrors this season than they care to remember.

This past Saturday turned into fright night as visiting Kentucky rallied from a 17-0 second-quarter deficit to beat the Gamecocks in overtime, 35-34.

For Kentucky, the game represents the biggest comeback road win in school history.

For South Carolina (2-3), the loss is the eighth straight in SEC play.

Two weeks prior, South Carolina squandered a 16-0 lead in a 41-34 loss to Mississippi State.

"So really, really hurt for everyone involved with Gamecock football and certainly a tough, tough night," said head coach Shane Beamer. "But proud of the players on this team. That's a hurt locker room. It's a hurt fan base right now, and I get it."

Notables

■ Based on available records, Indiana's win over Rutgers last Saturday marked the first time since at least 1972 that the Hoosiers did not commit a turnover or incur a penalty in the same game.

■ With wins over Washington and Michigan, Minnesota defeated ranked opponents in consecutive weeks for the first time since 1968.

■ In the last three games, Florida Atlantic (4-1) has allowed only three total second-half points, shutting out the last two opponents over the final 30 minutes.

■ Will Stein is the first Kentucky head coach since Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1946 to start his first season at the school at 4-1.

■ With Texas Tech's 29-7 victory over Colorado, Joey McGuire became the first head coach in program history to reach 40 wins in 58 or fewer games.

■ Alabama is the only team in the country to score at least 40 points in every game to date.

■ James Madison (5-0) trailed for the first time this season when Marshall opened the scoring with a touchdown last Saturday, but the Dukes led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, scored four touchdowns in the second quarter, and won convincingly, 45-17.

■ By toppling then-4-0 South Florida, 17-13, Temple earned its first road win over an opponent that entered the game with at least four victories and

no losses since defeating No. 14 Virginia Tech, 28-24, in 1998.

■ With a 57-3 romp past Stanford, Wake Forest set a program record for the largest margin of victory in an ACC game.

Quotable

"Besides my marriage and my kids being born, this might be the best day of my life."

-- Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck after Minnesota defeated Michigan at home for the first time since 1977

"Over time, it's kind of like statistics and rankings. We'll all know more here in Week 7, Week 8. If it's a panic situation, I'll let you know."

-- Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz on the inconsistency of his team's offense after a 31-14 loss to Ohio State

"Fire Lincoln! Fire Lincoln!"

-- USC student section chants when the Trojans fell behind Washington, 21-10, in the second half before Lincoln Riley's squad (5-1) pulled out a 25-21 triumph

"I've been in this profession 40-plus years and this is maybe the biggest challenge I've had."

-- Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham after absorbing a 20-14 loss at Minnesota

Jim Caltagirone, a former member of Penn State's sports information department, comments on the national scene for Gameday. He can be reached at jimclion4ever@gmail.com.