BYU independent for football?

BYU obviously puts a lot more value on its football program than, say, everyone else ... unless the mtn and the MWC's other TV partners were pushing for Sunday games, which BYU won't do. And why would the WAC make such a deal, except to save face after going from one of the premier mid-majors to the Big West on steroids in a decade?

 

Obviously if they get their own TV deal there will be a lot of dollars involved with this, which may be the most important thing in college football anymore, but I think this has a lot to do with BYU thinking they can go out on their own and have an easier path to the BCS. They can't beat Utah, can't beat TCU so they go out on their own. Funny thing is, that article in the Salt Lake paper said they would play four WAC teams a year. How does that help their strength of schedule? It's not like they'll be able to fill the rest with Pac 10 teams. I don't think it equals an easier path to anything. And it's not like being an independent has helped Notre Dame the past two decades (other than the paycheck of course).

 

This is an interesting idea. It reads like the BYU leadership has decided they need to become the Mormon Notre Dame. Only difference is I can't see the CCA (which runs the BCS) giving them the same access point they're giving Notre Dame. They'll be lumped in with Army & Navy.

Schedule-wise, if the WAC gives them four games - which I'm sure they will as BYU is a big draw in that part of the world - and they continue to play Utah, that's five games already set each year. Figure they play at least one FCS school (like Weber St. or Southern Utah) and they only need to find six games. I would guess UNLV would want to play them as the Cougars usually draw well in Vegas. Find one other MWC school that wants to continue their series and now you're down to four games, which is only one more than other schools need to find every year. That's doable scheduling-wise.

 

One article also said BYU was going to get Hawaii as an annual opponent.
So that means a 13th game every other year and, maybe, a made for TV money game.
Or at least a home game in Provo that will bring in some decent bucks since it is a guaranteed sellout.

 

They could also target games in towns with large Samoan/Pacific Islander populations. That's a big part of their recruiting base.

They could load up on "church" schools too:

Baylor
Wake Forest
Notre Dame
Boston College
SMU

 

But if you want to be a national presence with a schedule that matches your ambitions, then four WAC schools, Utah, an FCS and a couple of MWC holdovers aren't going to get you there. Unless, of course, you can hit a couple of home runs (Pac 10, Big 12) with the remaining slots.

 

True, but I don't think they can assume they'll be able to schedule eight "national" games. Even Notre Dame can't do that.

What they can do is set up a fairly static "conference" schedule of 5-6 games out of a mix of a few WAC teams, Utah & the MWC then fill the other six or seven (if they play at Hawaii) spots with name opponents or opponents from name conferences or a service academy or two.

That's pretty much what ND does now. They have a "conference" schedule of Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Navy, USC & Boston College that they play pretty much every year. They also have a spot for a west coast team on a home-and-home schedule opposite of USC so they can play one game out west every year. That's seven games pretty much locked in each season.

They also usually have a couple of teams on a two-to-four year rotation and three slots that they rotate annually.

BYU can do that too. Whether it gets them into a BCS game or not remains to be seen.

 

What's somewhat hilarious is that the Mtn. West was poised to be a big boy. Scavenge the bones of the dead Big 12, once they lost Texas and the rest to the Pac-10, plus Boise and they're looking at being an automatic BCS qualifier and with Kansas and the rest, a basketball power.

Instead, ESPN hit them in the face with a claw hammer and kept the Big 12, umm 10, alive and now the MWC is looking like the Sunbelt of the Rockies.

Good job, ESPN!

 

Yeah, but they can more or less do that now with the schedule they already have. They're going to play Utah and Utah State every year for the most part, the MWC hasn't been a slack schedule, especially the past five years, and then they could still get another name school, which they've always been good at landing. Going independent and playing a bunch of WAC schools and a few MWC schools isn't going to scream BCS.

Notre Dame might not have 12 marquee games, but they have a heck of a lot of good teams generally. If Notre Dame went undefeated every year I'd venture they'd pretty much be in the title game every year. BYU isn't going to get that by being independent. In fact, I think they'd have less of a chance than if they did it in the MWC. I think this is a step down for them, but in their view it will give them more money and a better chance to run the table thus a better chance at getting a BCS game.

 

And to add to the silliness, MWC has just issued invites to Fresno State and Nevada. Preemptive strike, or the death blow to the WAC?

 

Could be both.

 

It all hinges on BYU. It they follow through with going indie in football and WAC for everything else, Fresno and Nevada may be better served by staying in the WAC. Yes, it's the Sun Belt with hula dancers in football, but solid in everything else, especially men's basketball. And the CSU system is so strapped financially, where will Fresno State come up with the $5M buyout? If BYU stays in the MWC, moving to the MWC makes sense for Fresno and Nevada.

And with Fresno and Nevada gone, stick a fork in the WAC. Yes, there's Hawaii, and presence in major markets in San Jose State and Utah State. But there's not much else ... and SJS is an afterthought in the Bay Area sports scene. And who can the WAC invite from in the West or Mountain time zones? Portland State? Sacramento State? UC Davis? Montana?