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PROVO — Through six games of the 2020 college football season, BYU hasn't just had to overcome Navy, Troy, Louisiana Tech, UTSA, Houston and Texas State.
The Cougars have had to overcome the coronavirus pandemic, too, which took them to the brink of canceling the season — and back — before athletic director Tom Holmoe rallied the season back.
They've also had to overcome injuries, illness and cuts and bruises — and plenty of them. From Matt Bushman to Sione Finau to James Empey, Tristen Hoge and Gunner Romney, there have been a lot of hurts.
And outside of Hoge, who missed several weeks while battling pneumonia, those injuries haven't had much (if anything) to do with COVID-19.
The program didn't have much personnel or staff change from last year, which is a good thing. The only coaching shakeup in the offseason came when running backs coach AJ Steward took the same job at Arizona, and he was quickly replaced by longtime graduate assistant and former BYU all-time leading rusher Harvey Unga.
Good thing, then — as is the case with all football teams in any year, the Cougars faced plenty of adversity from other locales. But midway through the 2020 season, they've come out victorious in six of the currently scheduled 10 games this season.
And with that comes a new adversity: success.
BYU inched up the national rankings Sunday, arriving at No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 following a 52-14 win over Texas State. It's the first time they've reached the top 10 in either poll since the 2009 season, when Max Hall, Austin Collie and then-coach Bronco Mendenhall led BYU to a ranking as high as No. 7 overall before finishing at No. 25 in the AP poll.
And while BYU head coach Kalani Sitake and his players don't like talking about it, success breeds challenges just as much as injuries, illness, suspensions and on-field losses.
"We've talked about how our team has handled adversity really well, and been able to bounce back," Sitake told reporters Monday as the No. 11 Cougars prepared to host Western Kentucky on Saturday night (8:15 p.m. MT, ESPN). "But I think that our players have handled success really well, too. They're staying humble, and trying to get better — not focusing on what they've done, but trying to get focused.
"It's a fine line, but I really believe our guys have found the balance."
Doing so isn't always easy. It can be tempting to "drink the poison" of weekly honors and accolades, as offensive line coach Eric Mateos likes to say. Each player — and most of the coaches, for that matter — has a news subscription, or a Twitter or Instagram account, or internet access that keeps them updated on the world. They watch ESPN, where highlights originate before going viral and pundits discuss the chances of every team making the College Football Playoff or a New Year's Six bowl game.
They understand that's the job of the media — both to praise, and to criticize. But it takes maturity, both in years and in the numbers of games played, to accept praise as well as criticism.
The Cougars can sometimes be their own worst enemies, trying to fix mistakes and find weaknesses in a team that ranks in the top-10 nationally in most major offensive and defensive statistical categories.
But they've also experienced the other side of success — most of the seniors remember the 4-9 season just three years ago, and almost every player remembers the struggling mediocrity of back-to-back 7-6 campaigns the past two years. Remembering those years and not receiving the praise of rankings or polls or lofty numbers takes maturity, and that's something this year's Cougars have in spades, defensive end Bracken El-Bakri said.
"We've obviously got big hopes and big dreams," he added. "But that's no different this year from any other season.
"We want to succeed. We want to go places as a brotherhood. But the way to do that is to take things week to week."
BYU's 6-0 start is the best in the program since 2008, and only the fifth-such start in program history. A win over Western Kentucky (2-4) would be just the fourth 7-0 start all-time, joining the 1979, 1984 and 2001 seasons.
Lofty territory, indeed.
But that's a thought the Cougars are actively trying to avoid.
"I've never been a great history student, as some of my professors will probably tell you," El-Bakri said. "But it's fun to be part of this history, and we hope to make more history out of it.
"For me, personally, I'm just more excited that we're playing great, making plays, and just want to keep it rolling."
Keeping it rolling starts this weekend against the Hilltoppers, who struggled to outlast FCS level Chattanooga 13-10 over the weekend but are just one season removed from a 9-4 campaign in 2019 under Conference USA coach of the year Tyson Helton.
Success can come quickly in college football. But it can evaporate just as quickly, as well.
"I think the key is to try to focus on every week being different," Sitake said. "Whether it's good or bad, you've got to move on in the next one. More than anything, we try to keep this feeling of gratitude that we get to play this game … and trying to represent ourselves, our families and the church in the right way."
On the Air
No. 12 BYU (6-0) vs. Western Kentucky (2-4)
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. MDT
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
Radio: BYU Radio, KSL Radio
