On Saturday, no. 2 BYU lost in heartbreaking fashion to UCF on the road. It was BYU's first loss to an unranked opponent since 2024. Almost 24 hours later, we're unveiling our thoughts with another edition of the Sunday Notebook.

BYU controls its own destiny

The good news is that BYU earned some wiggle room with a win over Notre Dame. The bad news is BYU used most, if not all, of that wiggle room with a loss to UCF. BYU fell from no. 2 to no. 8 with a loss to UCF. In other words, if the season ended today, BYU would host a game in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. All is not lost and BYU can still accomplish all of its goals this season.

BYU is 6-1 with a win over a top five team in Notre Dame. If the Cougars win out, they will be in the College Football Playoff, and it's very likely that they will be in the Big 12 championship game as well.

Not only that, but an unbeaten finish could land BYU in the top five or six of the final CFP rankings.…