Holy Score: BYU beats Utah and stays perfect as brutal Big 12 schedule looms

BYU survived the most psychologically taxing game of its season last weekend with a 3-point victory over Utah in the 103rd installment of the Holy War.

It was in doubt for 59 minutes and bruising for all 60, with 79 rushing plays, eight fourth-down skirmishes and consumed by the vitriol we have come to expect from the nastiest rivalry this side of the Rockies.

Now comes the hard part.

The Big 12 did the Cougars zero favors with the back end of the schedule and, in particular, with this week's assignment: They hit the road to face one of the best teams in the conference, Iowa State, which is coming off a bye.

Few challenges in college football are more daunting than road games with standard rest against a host with extra rest.

In this case, the Cougars have six days to recover; the Cyclones have 13 to prepare.

There are only a handful of instances in the Big 12 this fall in which the visitor is on normal rest and the host is coming off a bye. The conference does its best to avoid the situation when creating the schedule, but with 16 teams playing nine conference games across an 11-week stretch (in most cases), a handful of short straws are inevitable.

That said, BYU's schedule has been favorable thus far. Portland State, Stanford and East Carolina hardly posed serious threats, and the opening weeks of conference play, with trips to Colorado and Arizona, were manageable despite the road locations.

It proved the perfect path for freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier to settle into his role without facing first-rate opponents or intimidating environments. (Stanford and Colorado have two of the lowest-ranked defenses in the country.)

But the schedule giveth, and the schedule taketh away.

In order to qualify for the Big 12 championship game and a possible berth in the College Football Playoff, the Cougars (7-0) must navigate an exceedingly difficult stretch run.

It begins this week in Ames, against a host that should be both fresh and angry. (The Cyclones have dropped two in a row after their sizzling start.)

The first weekend in November brings a needed respite for the Cougars, who head back on the road the following week to face Texas Tech.

Then comes a home date with TCU, followed by a trip to Cincinnati that looks vastly more challenging than it appeared at the start of the season.

That concludes the quintuple-whammy against opponents with a combined current record of 27-6. The three road opponents (Iowa State, Texas Tech and Cincinnati) are 17-4. All five are ranked in the AP Top 25 or have been ranked at some point this season.

By the time the Cougars return home for their regular-season finale, against UCF, their path should be clear.

If they sweep this five-game stretch or sustain just one loss, the Cougars will be headed to the Big 12 championship game.

If they lose twice, then the conference tiebreaker, with its unforgiving impartiality, will determine BYU's destiny.

And as we saw last year, tiebreakers hinge on variables that cannot be known in the moment. In the Big 12, where parity dominates and life exists on the margins, that's doubly true.

The Cougars are example 1A. Two of their four games have been decided by 3 points (Utah and Colorado) and a third went to overtime (Arizona). That won't change in the stretch run, not one iota.

To this point, the Cougars have done everything necessary to become relevant on the national scene — they were written off after quarterback Jake Retzlaff left school in the offseason — and should be commended for their relentless resourcefulness.

For putting Bachmeier in positions to succeed.

For standing tall on fourth down and taller in the red zone.

For doing the small things that result in big plays.

They are the only undefeated team in the Big 12 and one of just five in the power conferences, along with Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Ohio State and Indiana.

They have passed test after test, which means absolutely nothing moving forward.

Now comes the hard part.

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