Three things (and a bonus fourth) that I do not have opinions on.

I have a confession that I feel compelled to make today: I did not have an opinion on the Super Bowl halftime show.

I know, in today's world, I'm probably making a mistake by not having an opinion. If the internet has done one thing to society today, it has made it crystal clear that you must have an opinion about all things. If you don't have an opinion about everything, you're clearly doing something wrong.

But I didn't have an opinion about Bad Bunny. I don't know if the show was good or bad, about politics or about spreading the NFL, or if Bad Buddy is actually talented or not. I have no opinion. I just didn't care.

Whew!

This feels nice, ladies and gentlemen. This confession has me feeling like Nic Cage in Con Air. The breeze is hitting my face, and I'm basking in the warm sun like a rooster pheasant on opening morning. What a feeling!

This non-caring confession has inspired me this morning. I've got a few more confessions that I'd like to get off my chest. By the end of this, I might feel so light and free that I float away and ascend into the clouds on the spot. Here we go...

Confession 1: I have no idea who will kick, punt, or long snap for BYU this season... and I don't care to find out who it will be until they take the field against Utah Tech in September.

Is Sam Vander Haar coming back for another year? Will Matthias Dunn replace Will Ferrin? How good is Brody Laga, and can he beat Dunn out fresh off his mission? Is the Snow transfer good enough to replace Garrison Grimes?

The answer to those questions is all the same for me - I have no idea.

I know BYU needs to find solutions at all of those special teams positions, and I know that those positions are critically important to the game. But I just don't care.

I have tried to care about kickers, I really have. I love Will Ferrin. When I was last at Rice-Eccles Stadium, I went to the spot he hit the game-winner in 2024 and stood there and tried to have a Patrick Swaze in Ghost moment so that I could BE Will Ferrin.

But I felt nothing.

I met Matt Payne at a Weber High football games, and am now covering his third son to pass through the program. I love Matt Payne. He's an elite kicker and provided some all-time BYU special teams moments.

But I feel nothing.

I work with Moose Bingham throughout the football season. I talk with him every week. He's broken down the kicking position and tells me every day how important it is.

But I feel nothing.

So, as football season officially ends and we move into full-fledged offseason mode, know this: I don't have answers about the kickers, punters, or snappers. It's not that I like they're bad people or unimportant, but I just can't bring myself to care.

Confession 2: I recognize the role the media plays in the broader scope of college football, but I don't really care much when a national podcaster doesn't give BYU a ton of respect.

Full Disclosure: I have a podcast, and a newsletter, and a website, and a reasonable social presence. Does that give me bias? Maybe!

Bias or otherwise, I don't care much about what Bud Elliot thinks about BYU, or where Josh Pate's power ratings slot BYU, or what nonsense Kirk Herbstreit starts spewing as he shills for a paycheck. I know we're supposed to be up in arms about their BYU opinions that are, at best, off-based or ill-informed, but I just can't get there.

I love Pate. He's one of my favorite national voices. I think his power ratings are terrible, but I generally love his thoughts on the sport and the business of college football. I think he's informed and well-connected when he starts talking about the sport.

When he starts digging into individual teams, I tend to tune out. Not because he doesn't have valuable opinions, but because I don't really care what his opinions on individual teams might be.

I especially don't care about his opinions of BYU. Frankly, I don't think he could name five players on BYU's roster, and I'm supposed to value his opinion on the Cougars? How could he even really have an opinion on the Cougars? I can't sit here and break down Minnesota football, and then give you a discourse on Wake Forest, so why would I expect him to be hella detailed about BYU?

That doesn't mean I don't like Pate - I like him a lot - but I don't have to care what he says about BYU.

(Sub-confession: When he says good things about BYU, I'll share, cover, and hype it up to no end because there is NOTHING we BYU fans like to do more than give traffic to folks saying good things about us. It's all about them clicks, BABY!!!!)

There is a growing narrative out there that voices like Pate's start to shape the narrative of the sports, and thus have an indirect impact on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. And it's because of that growing narrative that I'm supposed to care about what he says.

But....

Scroll through Pate's YouTube channel and most of his videos over the last month average something like 50-60k views. Some have more, some have less, but that's a rough range on average.

Those are great numbers. I wish my YouTube channel had those numbers.

Those numbers also don't sell out LaVell Edwards Stadium, and I'm supposed to be up in arms about all of his opinions because a less-than-full LES is influencing the CFP Committee?

Cover 3 Podcast is less than that; many videos are getting less than 10k.

I know these videos are spread in articles and online more. I know the YouTube count is not the end-all, be-all.

But come on... right?

I used to believe and care a lot about what the national discourse regarding BYU was. But now? I don't care.

BYU didn't get left out of the CFP (twice) because of podcasters or media members; they were left out because the system is designed with the specific intent to keep schools like BYU out.

The narratives might make it easier to justify keeping BYU out, but the CFP selectors were keeping BYU out regardless. That's why I choose to direct all of my cares nowadays.

But to the national talking heads hustling to cover our favorite sport more thoroughly? They don't matter nearly as much as we want them to matter. And the more BYU fans care about correcting them, the more they'll dig deep into the notion that BYU needs correcting.

Confession 3: I don't care that Indiana won a National Championship this year; they have not permanently altered the blueprint for winning in CFB.

Indiana was a damn good football team this year. Fernando Mendoza was really good, that defense was really stout, and Curt Cignetti is actually awesome. Their title run this year was awesome to see. The only downside was that the Big Ten gets to take credit for a national champion again when they have refused even to acknowledge that Indiana football exists for the last 40 years.

The Hoosiers were great. The trophy is theirs. They were the first non-blueblood/traditional power to win a national championship since.... BYU.

Good for the Hoosiers, and I'm taking nothing away from them.

But they didn't provide anything that should become the next model for all college football teams. They just didn't.

What Indiana did do was pull a QB out of the portal who will be the #1 overall pick, have a legendary coach who wins everywhere he goes, and have a ton of continuity on their roster, as those players, mostly, followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana.

What has Indiana done since they have started this resurgence as a program? Try to recruit ELITE talent. They have something like 10 four-stars in this recent recruiting class and are ranked a little bit higher than BYU.

"Well, Jeff, of course they're trying to recruit better... they're winning!"

Exactly, and that's my point. Even Indiana doesn't believe that they unlocked some kind of secret formula. They believe they hit the lottery and took advantage of it. Now they're trying to capitalize on the opportunity and rake in more and more talent.

Elite talent wins national championships - hard stop. BYU (still a much more talented team than most of the country realizes) broke that model in 1984. Indiana broke that model in 2026. In every other year, elite talent has won. Two data points over a 42-year span do not a blueprint make.

This doesn't mean that BYU can't win that same lottery, too. That doesn't mean that a national championship is impossible. It just means that the blueprint has not changed.

Stellar quarterback play, senior leadership, and as much talent as you can possibly stack around them is the formula for BYU. That has always been the formula for BYU. That will always be the formula for BYU.

So, no, I am not taking much from Indiana's championship win. It's an awesome story, and I've loved seeing their program rise to the top... but it doesn't mean anything for BYU, and therefore, I don't really care.