Is it time to talk about the College Football Playoff after BYU’s 6-0 start?

PROVO – In six straight games, No. 13 BYU has taken care of business, winning in impressive – and sometimes less than – fashion against a number of teams, including SMU, Kansas State and most recently a 41-19 homecoming win over the Cougars over Arizona.

The Cougars (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) are 6-0 for the sixth time in program history and second time in the last four years, halfway through their second season in the Big 12 Conference. A bowl game is all but guaranteed, if not more so, based on meeting the minimum standard of six wins and BYU’s broad national fan base.

A worthy goal at the start of the year when the Cougars were projected to finish 13th in the conference, that goal is now higher. But by how much?

“There are only 14 of us in the country; We’re better than this,” BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff said after completing 18 of 32 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns against the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. “We have a really good football club here. I’m really excited to see what we do the rest of the season.”

“6-0 is great, and to say we qualified for the bowl is great – great – but we just want to get better and better every week and these guys have the right mindset to do that. So I’m excited to see what happens. That’s what we’ll do over the course of the season.”

At a school with a quarterback pedigree that includes Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, Steve Sarkisian, John Beck, Max Hall, Taysom Hill, Zach Wilson and, most recently, Jaren Hall, Retzlaff is quietly adding his name to the List at QB U. with 1,426 yards, 14 touchdowns to nine different receivers nationally and five interceptions for a QB rating of 65.5, ranked 49th nationally according to ESPN.

“I spoke to Steve Young before the game. “It’s just incredible. I get to walk around and talk to Robbie Bosco every day, all those great quarterbacks and great players in the building.”

“And all they do is build us up. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are. … But I’m more grateful for the guys in the locker room who do that to me.”

But how high can this team go? What is the cap on the BYU football team?

Right now, in Week 7 of the 2024 season, beginning Oct. 13, the sky is the limit until the second half of the season, which begins Friday against Oklahoma State (8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN).

“I mean, we’re bowl eligible,” said cornerback Jakob Robinson, who had his 10th career interception against the Wildcats, “but that’s not really what I was thinking about. I just want to get to the national championship.”

Here we go again, right? BYU finds a little success and then it immediately goes to their heads, right? Big 12 titles, CFP appearances and national championships for the team that hasn’t won a major hardware title in the sport since 1984.

And yet…

That’s the thing about the Cougars’ ambition: They should have it, and they deserve it — at least for now. The preseason No. 13 team in the Big 12 is ranked No. 13 by Associated Press voters, one of 11 teams nationally that are undefeated and just two in the Big 12 with No. 9 Iowa State .

That’s important because BYU’s ambitions are no longer just about “style points” or impressing the College Football Playoff committee, as they did in 2020, when the Cougars were ranked No. 8 in the AP and No. 13 on the road the CFP advanced to an 11-1 season as an FBS independent.

Because the top five ranked conference champions are automatically eligible for the 12-team playoffs, the Big 12 Championship in Arlington, Texas, guarantees a playoff spot most years.

In the immortal words of late Raiders owner Al Davis: Just win, baby.

The Cougars will be widely favored the rest of the way — likely at least until the Nov. 9 game against in-state rival Utah — and could face fellow unbeaten Iowa State at AT&T Stadium in a postseason matchup that absolutely no one expected .

They are currently ranked No. 9 in Yahoo Sports’ top 10, No. 4 in On3’s latest playoff prediction and No. 9 in CBS Sports’ latest playoff prediction tool.

It’s still a dream, and dreams require work to turn into reality. But why not allow the Cougars to dream of more than the Independence Bowl or the Alamo Bowl now?

“It’s cool, but the bowl game is not what we want,” BYU receiver Parker Kingston said. “We want to get to the playoffs, we want to get to the national championship. We’re looking forward to that and we’re not really settling for a bowl game this year.”