No. 11 BYU is undefeated but not taking anything lightly.
In college football, one loss can ruin chances for a championship, and the Cougars understand that they must be careful to win the Big 12 championship and earn a place in the expanded College Football Playoff.
BYU (7-0, 4-0) is set to play against struggling UCF on Saturday, where they are seen as 2 1/2-point underdogs, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This is surprising since BYU is unbeaten and the Knights (3-4, 1-3) have lost their last four games.
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff isn’t worried that some people doubt how strong BYU is.
“Our team has done a good job of keeping the main thing the main thing and that is going out there and winning games,” Retzlaff said.
“We know whether it’s being hyped up or being the underdog, the only people who knew what we were going to do this season is us. Regardless of what it is, we still have the mentality to prove people wrong.”
BYU had a close game last week, with Retzlaff throwing a 35-yard touchdown pass to Darius Lassiter with just 10 seconds left to come from behind and beat Oklahoma State 38-35.
The Cougars started their winning drive with 1:13 remaining and moved 75 yards in eight plays, keeping up with 10th-ranked Iowa State (7-0, 4-0) at the top of the competitive Big 12 standings.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake believes every team left on their schedule will challenge them as the season goes on.
“We’re in a spot we thought we could be in,” Sitake said. “It doesn’t really matter if people believed us or not. We can control what we can control and get after it every week.”
