What national writers said about BYU football’s upset of Wisconsin

Reaction to BYU’s stunning 24-21 upset of Wisconsin was, well, just that — people were stunned.

Predictably, some national or regional writers focused on the top-10 team blowing it and the Big Ten having a bad day while others looked at BYU’s win as a sign of a sure turnaround from last year’s dumpster fire.

Let’s take a look around.

BYU proves point with big push against Wisconsin (Associated Press)

“BYU will not be pushed around. The Cougars proved their point against one of the Big Ten’s most bullish teams.”

Genaro C. Armas follows up on what it took for BYU to win in Madison.

LSU and BYU show the power of identity (SB Nation)

Bill Connelly bestows “Team of the Week” honors after each weekend. While LSU took Week 3’s crown, BYU came in 2nd among 10 teams recognized.

“BYU out-Wisconsin’d Wisconsin. Cougar backs, led by Squally Canada, rushed 21 times for 191 yards (UW star Jonathan Taylor had 26 carries for just 117 yards) ... Every time Wisconsin looked like it was about to seize control, BYU responded.”

BYU bounced back from one of its worst seasons ever by shocking Wisconsin (SB Nation)

Alex Kirshner looks at 3 topics: The upset being extra notable because of how bad BYU was in 2017, how Jeff Grimes is doing as offensive coordinator, and takes a stab at what BYU’s ceiling is.

BYU stuns No. 6 Wisconsin in Madison to deliver the season’s first major upset (Sports Illustrated)

SI writes about the upset, especially what it calls “tricky mind games” by Kalani Sitake, who speaks about his use of timeouts at the end of the game.

10 takeaways from a college football Saturday that went terribly wrong for the Big Ten (Yahoo)

“The Cougars essentially knocked the Big Ten’s second-best College Football Playoff contender out of the race. It provided an exclamation point on a day in which the Big Ten scoreboard was filled with scarlet numbers...”

Ohio State is the Big Ten’s best CFP hope after Week 3 (ESPN)

More Big Ten handwringing caused by BYU: “Wisconsin was a 23.5-point favorite against BYU and had a 93.1 percent chance to win, according to ESPN Football power Index, but couldn’t overcome a fourth-quarter deficit.”