There Is Still Hope: Five Reasons Why BYU Can Still Make a BCS Bowl

After two straight conference titles ('06, '07) and three straight 10 win seasons ('06, '07, '08), Bronco Mendenhall has BYU football back on the right track. Despite last week's devastating loss to Florida State, the Cougars' future is very bright.

BYU's season is at a crossroads. Will they let their one loss, which shattered hopes of a Cinderella national championship bid, ruin their season? Or will they come back and run the table, giving themselves a shot at a BCS bid?

If BYU wins the remainder of their regular season games, I think it is very likely that they will earn a BCS bowl bid. If not, they could still finish the season ranked in the top 10, which would be an awesome accomplishment. Hopefully they have learned their lesson from last year and are able to move past this loss.

I think they will. Here's why.

1. The Florida State game was an aberration.

After reviewing the tape of the game, Bronco Mendenhall said that his defense made fundamental errors in positioning on a third of the snaps in the game, errors that they held in check in their first two games. Their defensive woes are correctable, and I see them getting back to their dominating ways once we start conference play.

2. BYU will not face a team as athletic or fast as Florida State this season.

TCU and Utah have some athletes, but nothing like what Florida State had.

3. The last four times BYU has had a senior QB, they have won the conference title.

John Beck, Brandon Doman, Kevin Feterik, and Steve Sarkisian all won conference titles in their senior campaigns.

4. BYU's toughest road game remaining is at UNLV.

In that game, BYU fans are likely to outnumber UNLV fans, and BYU has not lost to UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium going back to when the Mountain West Conference was first formed.

5. An 11-1 BYU team has a solid BCS argument over a 12-0 Boise State team.

Unless Oklahoma and Florida State fall apart and Oregon wins the Pac-10, an 11-1 BYU team would have a convincing argument based on their strength of schedule to be chosen over a 12-0 Boise State team. There could also be a scenario where BYU and Boise State could both be included as at-large teams.

Despite having their Cinderella national title game dreams shattered last Saturday night, BYU has a chance to have their best season since 1996, where they went 14-1 and finished No. 5 in the polls.

With a good defense, a great offense, and their four toughest games remaining all at home, I project BYU to go 11-1 and have an excellent shot at playing in their first BCS bowl game.