The long and winding road

BYU’s undefeated football team appears slightly ahead of Utah’s 2004 pace ‘ the year the Utes finished undefeated and fourth in the A.P. poll.
The Cougars started this year rated No. 16, while Utah was No. 20 in ’04. After three games, Utah was ranked 17th in ’04, while BYU is rated 14th.
This is where BYU’s reputation comes in. While Utah was still educating poll voters in early ’04, BYU has been on the national radar since the ’80s. Thus, BYU started higher and has risen slightly faster in the early season polls.
Still, one problem the Cougars will run into as they shoot for a national title is the same as Utah four years ago ‘ the number of undefeated BCS-conference teams ahead of them. Remember, Utah couldn’t get a national championship game because, Oklahoma, Auburn and USC were all undefeated at season’s end.
When Utah was 3-0 in 2004, there were 11 undefeated teams ahead of it in the poll. BYU currently has 12 undefeated teams ahead of it.
However, on the strength of their rout of UCLA and East Carolina’s narrow win over Tulane, the Cougars have already hurdled one obstacle ‘ the possible BCS-busting Pirates. That makes the Cougars the highest-ranked non-BCS team. Likewise, after three games in ’04, Utah was the highest rated non-BCS team.
What do all the comparisons mean?
The Cougars are in a good place, but it’s still an uphill battle for a shot at a championship.