BYU’s test in Tempe: A challenge of character

For Kalani Sitake, it’s déjà vu all over again.
Another test of your Cougars’ mettle, and the critics are already lining up, ready to bury you. The same noise we heard during the summer — that your ship’s sprung a leak, that the hype’s run its course, and you’re just another average team.
They’re still talking that way, despite your No. 14 ranking, as you head to Tempe to face No. 21 Arizona State. But after last week, the doubters are louder than ever.
A heartbreaker at home to Kansas, lost on a punt play that could’ve been out of a horror movie, and now, like vultures circling a dying carcass, the so-called experts are circling you. Dropping from No. 6 to No. 14 is like a slap with a seven-pound trout — a reminder of how quickly your fate can change when you’re out of sight and out of mind.
SEC teams lose games and slide down two spots, at worst. Big Ten teams drop a game, and they get “quality loss” credit. But when your 9-1 team stumbles, they come after you like a pack of wolves.
Even the College Football Playoff committee took a moment to remind you that your time at the top was short-lived, dropping you from a top-three seed to No. 12. They didn’t just doubt you, they kicked you to the curb. They might as well have taken you to a cliff and pushed you over the edge.
But here you are. And this week, it’s more of the same. The soothsayers, the pundits — they all say Arizona State is going to cook you. They’re already placing the desert sun as your executioner, saying the Cougars’ Cinderella run is over.
All that early-season love, all the national attention — it’s done. Now it’s time to be humbled and dismissed.
You’ve heard it before — back when no one thought you’d even get to the point where you’re at now. The chip on your shoulder, the doubt that drove you to beat expectations, has started to feel like it’s been worn down to a nub.
But that’s where you’re wrong. Because now, you get to prove everyone wrong again. Saturday in the desert, in front of a crowd that’ll be hungry to see you fall — you have one last chance to show you’re more than just a flash in the pan.
Arizona State has everything to play for — Senior Day, a trip to the Big 12 championship game. They’re on fire, the Cinderella story of the season. And so are you. Both teams were picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings, and look where you both are. The stage is set for a clash of wills, a game that could determine whether either of you are for real or just another mid-tier also-ran.
If you’re not hungry, if you’re not fired up, then it’s time to check pulses. This is no longer about just winning a game; it’s about proving your place in the national conversation.
Arizona State, fresh off a surprising surge, is rolling. The Sun Devils are ready to prove that their early-season stumbles were nothing more than a fluke. They’ll be itching to push you around, to make your dream season disappear in a puff of desert dust.
And you’ve got a right to be ticked off. The College Football Playoff committee, as predictable as a broken record, continues to slant things toward the SEC and Big Ten. It’s a game of Tetris they play — constantly reshuffling the pieces to advance the blue bloods. But your strength of schedule, your strength of record — they’re among the best in the country, and yet you’re left out in the cold. It’s the same old rigged game, the same bias that’s been on full display for years.
So now, you’ve got a chance to say, “No more.” Prove that you belong. Prove that you’re not just a feel-good story, not just a team that got lucky on a few plays. No, you’re a top-10 team — or at least you can be. But only if you stand up and take it.
And then there’s Arizona State, with a freshman quarterback, Sam Leavitt, who already turned heads with a 275-yard, three-touchdown performance against Kansas State. Can you stop him? Can you stop Cam Skattebo, the running back who has been torching defenses all year? These are the questions you have to answer.
Because this is the kind of game that tests your soul. It’s not about the hype. It’s not about the rankings. It’s about what’s inside you when the lights are brightest and the pressure is on.
This is your championship week. Arizona State has something to prove. So do you.
Elsewhere in the state, the Utes have their own battle. After a crushing six-game losing streak, can they pull themselves out of the gutter and become bowl-eligible? Can they find a way to salvage what could be Kyle Whittingham’s final season? Or will they go down in flames?
And out in Logan, Utah State has its own mountain to climb. Can the Aggies prove they’re for real with a dominant win over San Diego State? A whipping, any kind of whipping, would do.
But that’s for later. For now, it’s all about you. Are you going to step up in Tempe and answer the bell? Or are you just another also-ran, a team whose luck finally ran out?
The world is watching. Don’t let them down.
Last week: 8-7; overall 141-50 (.738)