No more asterisks. No more fine print. BYU is the real deal.

BYU is 6-0. It's been an unreal start to the season. BYU boasts two road wins over P4 schools, two wins over ranked opponents, and three wins within the Big 12 Conference. The Cougars have a fantastic resume through this point in the season - the third best in the country, according to ESPN. The first half of the 2024 season has been simply spectacular.

And yet, every step along the way, there have been statements about this BYU team made that seemingly discount what the Cougars are putting together. Let's take a walk through the season so far.

Week 1: "It's an FCS team and anyone can do it against an FCS team."

BYU beat the pants off of Southern Illinois. If we go back in time, the conversation leading into the SIU game was about the quality of FCS foe the Salukis were. Nobody predicted that BYU would lose that game, but there was a general tone throughout the BYU world that was laying the ground work for a soft landing in the event that BYU played poorly against SIU. The spread was less than two touchdowns at kickoff. The game was supposed to be close.

Instead, BYU routed Southern Illinois. Jake Retzlaff threw for nearly 350 yards and didn't turn the ball over once. The defense allowed a couple of big plays but, for the most part, shut the Salukis down. BYU ran away with a 41-13 win.

At the end, the conversation about Southern Illinois being a quality FCS foe didn't matter. Those all went right out the window and the conversation turned to BYU simply 'doing what they are supposed to do.'

But prove it to me against an FBS team...

Week 2: "The defense won that game despite the offense's performance and SMU probably isn't very good."

SMU struggled in Week 0 against Nevada. A strong fourth quarter comeback was enough for the Ponies to get the win, but nobody was impressed. When SMU played an FCS team in Week 1 and hung 66 on them, it didn't matter. SMU was a flawed team in the minds of the people.

BYU won a tight game 18-15. The Cougars went on the road and picked up their first road win over a P4 team since beating Arkansas the year before. Retzlaff fumbled the ball once and threw two interceptions - bad interceptions. The rushing game couldn't find any momentum and it was solely because of the defense that BYU won that game.

SMU was flawed - there was no room for debate. BYU's offense was bad - there was no discussion about how Retzlaff and the offense led a fourth quarter drive for the go-ahead field goal. The season was destined to get ugly - there was no discussion about any notion that SMU might actually be a good team.

Now, just a month later, SMU is nationally ranked. They beat the doors off of Florida State. They pummeled TCU. They picked up a road win over a ranked team when they beat Louisville. They are a very, very good team and look to be legitimate contenders in the ACC. BYU's win over the Ponies is one of the best wins of the season - even if it was an ugly path to get there. SMU has made a lot of teams look ugly. As ugly as BYU was, SMU was uglier. This win meant something.

"But Retzlaff was terrible and the SMU hype was unrealistic. This win won't look good in a couple of months."

Week 3: "It's Wyoming. Wyoming sucks. They're basically an FCS team."

Honestly, there isn't much to disagree with here. Wyoming is a terrible team. BYU pummeled them and looked great in the process. All things considered, we really didn't learn much from this game. BYU looked good. Wyoming is terrible. It's hard to disagree with the critics on this one.

But, what we did learn is that Retzlaff is mentally stronger than we thought he was. He could have crumbled and fallen back into his old ways. He made a bad throw off his back foot on the opening drive and it was picked off. Fans took a deep sigh and cursed his name. After that moment and the SMU game, Retzlaff could have crumbled.

Instead, he responded with a fantastic game. That was something.

"The REAL test will come against Kansas State. Wyoming is meaningless."

Week 4: "That was not a repeatable performance. K-State probably wins that game if they play again. Flukey plays. Flukey win."

Avery Johnson looked like a shell of a quarterback. He was rattled and threw a pair of interceptions. The BYU defense completely dominated the game.

Parker Kingston ran a punt back for a touchdown. It was beautiful. It started out as a really bad play and then turned into a really good play.

The offense was set up with short fields but quickly capitalized on them. Retzlaff was 15/21 for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The running game found some momentum behind the legs of Sione Moa. They offense did exactly what an offense should do with short fields and plus field positions.

FINALLY BYU was going to get the respect they deserved, right?!

Nope. Instead, the conversation turned into one about how flukey this game was. A defensive score. Short fields. A punt return for a touchdown. It was all stuff that wasn't repeatable. It was all stuff that BYU can't count on happening each week. K-State is probably the better team. If that wasn't a night game at LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU wouldn't win. Flukey fluke stuff.

BYU beat the betting favorite to win the Big 12 Conference and, somehow, the win was more about K-State's inability to win than it was about BYU's strong start to the season.

"Avery Johnson must not be the quarterback we expected him to be. He looked terrible. BYU will still be in a dogfight for bowl eligibility."

Week 5: "They almost collapsed in the second half. Terrible performance after a flukey start and they got bailed out by a turnover late."

Coming into this game, the Baylor fanbase was clamoring for a coaching change. They had lost faith in Dave Aranda. When BYU jumped out to a very quick 21-0 lead, the boo birds in Waco were REALLY loud.

But after that, things weren't as rosy. BYU still came away with a win, but it took a Crew Wakley interception in the closing minutes of the game in order to bring BYU fan's heart rates back to a normal level. Baylor came roaring back behind the arm of backup quarterback Sawyer Robertson. Retzlaff threw a couple of interceptions in the game, including one to a defensive lineman. BYU let Baylor back in the game and the Cougars were fortunate to come out of Waco with a win.

BYU won the first quarter, Baylor won the last three, they said.

This game happened the same day that Arizona beat Utah in Salt Lake City. The Cougars next opponent was going to be the one to finally end this Cinderella madness happening in Provo. The Cougars were 5-0 but somehow didn't have any real national attention. They were ranked #17, but Arizona was looming and BYU still hadn't really proven anything.

"Did you see what Noah Fifita did to Utah? If Robertson can do what he did to BYU, Fifita is going to crazy nuclear."

Week 6: Time for OUR statement - BYU is the real deal.

BYU crushed Arizona. Fifita looked pedestrian at best and terrible at worst. He threw three interceptions. Tetairoa McMillan was largely a non-factor. The BYU defensive line lived in the backfield. BYU's offense moved the ball up and down the field throughout the game. A finally healthy running back room averaged 5.4 yards per carry. It was the most complete game that BYU has played all season long.

The stage that BYU did it on was the biggest stage BYU has been all year. Fox's Big Noon Kickoff was in town for pregame. BYU played on the big Fox for a national audience. Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt called the game. The stage was big. BYU showed out in a big way.

It was a complete team win. The defense won. The offense won. Special teams won. BYU won in every facet of the game. It was a completely dominating performance from the Cougars.

There isn't anything else that can be said about BYU. There is no way to discredit what BYU is doing anymore. This team is 6-0. Retzlaff is a good quarterback. This defense is fantastic. Kalani Sitake has his team bought in and the culture inside the locker room is phenomenal.

We don't know what is going to happen the rest of the way. For all we know, BYU's magical start to the season could come crashing down on Friday night against Oklahoma State.

But right now, BYU is legitimately good. They look like they will be legitimately good the rest of the way. There are no more asterisks that go along with this team. There is no more fine print that is meant to discredit everything BYU has done. The Cougars are legitimately good and a bona fide threat to win the Big 12 Conference.

This time, it's time for our statement: BYU is the real deal in 2024 and nobody else can say otherwise.