Why Saturday against Arizona State is actually No. 14 BYU's biggest game of the season

PROVO — Call it a mental lapse, a mulligan, a bad loss or a missed opportunity; all of those things can be argued true of BYU's 17-13 loss to Kansas that dropped the Cougars eight spots to No. 14 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

But accept those terms, and the following must also be true: BYU still controls its destiny, both in the Big 12, in the postseason, and with regards to the CFP.

Wins have a way of making a lot of people forget about a lot of things. And a win over No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) could be just the amnesia spray the Cougars need.

The biggest game of the year is still in front of BYU. That starts Saturday (1:30 p.m. MST, ESPN).

No pressure, right?

"We live for this," BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said after Wednesday's practice. "There's no pressure; this is what we do. This is exactly why you play this game. We're in the moment, and we're loving this."

A win over the Sun Devils won't clinch a Big 12 championship game berth for BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) — unless rival Utah also happens to snap a six-game losing skid with a win over No. 22 Iowa State on the Utes' senior day. Barring both upsets, that won't happen until a win over the Cougars' own senior day against Houston.

But a win will push the Cougars perilously close to a flight for AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with No. 16 Colorado (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) being the most likely opponent.

Of course, there's only one part of that scenario that BYU can control, and it's the same one unofficially given by the CFP selection committee Tuesday night when it ranked the Cougars two spots behind Mountain West contenders Boise State and a spot lower than SMU — the ACC upstarts whose only loss of the season came Sept. 6 against BYU.

Just win, baby.

That was part of the message delivered by Baylor transfer quarterback Gerry Bohanon to the Cougars after the loss to the Jayhawks.

"To have a guy like him on our team, with his leadership and his experiences, he got up and he told us he's been part of a lot of good teams, a team that won the Big 12 championship … and he told us how special of a team we've got," BYU running back Hinckley Ropati said. "For a guy to acknowledge that, to be able to pour his heart out day in and day out in practice to help the team win, it's inspiring to the rest of the team."

Champions are remembered for how they win. But often, they're made by how they respond.

"Obviously, nobody likes losing," Ropati said. "We hated the result last weekend. But we knew the type of team we had. It was amazing in that first team meeting we had, when we came in on Monday, and everyone knew what we needed to get done this week to earn the right to play well this Saturday. That's been everybody's focus."

Responding won't be easy. Arizona State has Big 12 title hopes on its own mind, and every scenario starts with a win over the Cougars.

Picked to finish last in the Big 12 back in July, the Sun Devils have won five of the last six behind strong-armed quarterback Sam Leavitt and bruising running back Cam Skattebo, the senior Sacramento State transfer with 1,074 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns to go with 448 receiving yards and two scores.

With a pre-sold out crowd awaiting second-year head coach and Phoenix native Kenny Dillingham, the game will feel like the Super Bowl to Arizona State.

It should be for visiting BYU, as well — at least in terms of conference (and potentially Playoff) implications.

"We're definitely looking forward to the challenge," Ropati said. "Everything's still in front of us for us to accomplish; it's not like with a loss, we need to hang our heads. The fact that everything is still ahead of us, this is that game. I think everybody is looking forward to the challenge."

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