This weekend’s clash with the Utah State Aggies is immensely important, and not only because the fate of the Old Wagon Wheel is at stake — it could change the narrative of the BYU football program.
Frequently, fans, media and college football coaches refer to certain outcomes on the football field as “program-defining.” Usually this claim is improperly used and almost exclusively in relation to wins. It does make for a nice post-game cliché to try to attach meaning to the previous victory. It’s a good sound bite and talking point.
Since Coach Sitake took over Cougar football in 2016, there have been 4 occasions where it was posited by fans and media that the course of BYU’s program would be altered by the victory.