If BYU’s showdown at Arizona State is decided in the trenches, Caleb Etienne will be a happy man. The 6-foot-1, 320-pound left tackle claims he and his guys on the offensive line will be ready.

“This is (like) a playoff game,” Etienne told BYUtv’s “GameDay” pregame show. “We have not come this far for nothing. We will be ready this week after what happened (against Kansas).”

The Cougars outperformed Kansas in every offensive category except the one that matters most: points. Behind Etienne and company, BYU won on the ground (162-73) and through the air (192-169). But in four trips inside the Kansas 20, the Cougars scored just two field goals and lost the game 17-13.

“It was a tough task for us,” said Etienne, who transferred to BYU from Oklahoma State after the 2022 season. “You can’t dwell on it. We have to keep our heads up and come to Arizona State with fire.”

Saturday’s game in Tempe (1:30 p.m. MST, ESPN) is a game everyone saw on the schedule, but few thought it would matter. No. No. 14 BYU (9-1, 6-1) was picked 13th in the Big 12. No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) was picked 16th. To the credit of both programs, Saturday’s winner will have the inside track to the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 7.

“We have to deal with each representative one by one,” Etienne said. “We can’t rush things. We just have to do our 1/11th on the field. We just have to attack it. We have to attack those plays when it’s time to execute them.

Etienne expects a lot of resistance. Arizona State is No. 3 in the Big 12 in rush defense and No. 7 in the conference in red zone defense. For an offense that has settled for seven field goals in its last 10 scoring rounds, the physicality BYU brings to the front lines of the battle will be critical.

“We have to start fast and finish strong,” said Etienne. “We have to go out there and show that we are who we have been all season.”

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and anchor for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at desertbook.com.