That split is the real question for Saturday. Is No. 2 BYU a Texas Tech or Baylor, a team that runs Arizona State off the field? Or is BYU the version that has ground out tight wins all month? The Cougars beat TCU 17-10, Iowa State 24-10 and Notre Dame 28-24. Those are good wins, but they weren't blowouts. BYU has mostly won by squeezing opponents, not burying them.
Health is a problem for both teams. BYU is down 2 running backs, L. Martin (ankle) and S. Moa (undisclosed), and neither has a timetable to return. For an offense that has won with ball control, that matters more than usual. Arizona State's list is longer. Losing a guard and a tight end for the year (W. Helton, K. Anderson), plus CB L. Rawls out with a leg injury, means the Sun Devils are thin both up front and in the secondary. Linebacker Z. Fiaseu is on IR and expected to miss the rest of the season, and WR H. Hassmann is out with no return date.
The forecast a week out calls for 48 degrees and light drizzle, with nearly even odds of rain, so this could be a sloppy, physical late-October game. That should suit BYU's defense. It also takes away some of Arizona State's chance to make it a shootout. For the Sun Devils, the Kansas State win shows they can beat a decent Big 12 team. Now they have to show it holds up on the road against a team that has taken the toughest punches on its schedule and stayed standing.