If you previously thought it was too early in the season to take BYU’s winning streak seriously — if you thought the odds would catch up with the Cougars and they would ultimately live up to preseason expectations — then you are now forced to to reconsider.

The Cougars, picked to finish 13th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 Conference, could be for real.

They are FIVE AND OH.

That includes two Big 12 opponents.

And three road wins.

They are tied for first place in the Big 12.

They are ranked number 17 in this week’s national poll.

Some of their best work: They went out and handed SMU its only loss of the season, a win that looks better every week. The Mustangs have defeated TCU and Florida State since the loss to BYU.

They handed Kansas State, ranked 13th at the time, its only loss of the season, another win that’s looking better and better. A week later, Kansas State defeated 20th-ranked Oklahoma State 42-20.

If you still can’t quite believe in the Cougars, that’s understandable. There is nothing pretty about the way this team is playing. It would be hard to say WHY they win.

The Cougars were defeated by Baylor and Kansas State, the latter by more than 120 yards.

The Cougars didn’t do much on offense against Kansas State, at least not until the end zone was put right under their noses. Their scoring drives were 29, 27 and 38 yards – thanks to two interceptions and a fourth down stop. Their other scores came via a fumble return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown.

The Cougars threw an interception that gave SMU the ball on the BYU 3-yard line. The Cougars eventually claimed a 3-point victory with a field goal with 1:58 remaining.

It took an interception with 59 seconds left to seal the 6-point win over Baylor.

When you get right down to it, it’s hard to say what the Cougars are doing right (calm down, we’ll get to defense in a moment). The Cougars rank 74th in the nation in total offense rushing at 385 yards per game – more than 200 yards behind Ole Miss and Miami. They rank 14th out of 16 teams in yards per game among Big 12 teams.

There’s a lot of talk about BYU’s defense, and it’s certainly the team’s strength, but the Cougars rank a good, but not great, 26th in the country in total defense.

What the Cougars do well is keep teams out of the end zone (they’ve given up just eight touchdowns in five games) and create scoring opportunities for an erratic offense. They have collected seven interceptions and caused six fumbles (three of which were recovered). The Cougars have returned a kickoff, a punt and a fumble for touchdowns.

So the Cougars win. This shouldn’t have happened. Their second season in the Big 12 would go much the same as last season, when they finished tied for 11th place with records of 2-7 in conference play and 5-7 overall. They ended the season on a five-game losing streak. Now they are on a five-game winning streak and boast the best overall record in the Big 12.

There is still a long way to go. After a bye this week, the Cougars will play Arizona, which just mauled preseason favorite/10th-ranked Utah in Salt Lake City, on Oct. 12. They play Utah, now in 18th place, in Salt Lake City on November 9. They have road games against Central Florida (3-1) and Arizona State (3-1).

Now the stakes are much higher. The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams advance to the newly expanded national playoff.

The Cougars have had similarly fast starts in recent years. In 2021, they won their first five games before losing two in a row. In 2020, in a pandemic-stunned schedule, they won their first nine games before falling to Coastal Carolina. Time will tell how far they can take this current streak.