BYU is sealing itself for a BCS Bowl
……And you thought realignment talk would cease with the opening of the College football season upon us? Sorry but it is not done. Sloppy Joe and Nellie have already had a take on this basically believing that BYU would be wise in claiming independency and joining the ranks of Notre Dame, Army, and Navy.
To recap the latest rumor circulating has to do with Brigham Young University making the jump from the Mountain West Conference to being an Independent in football and in the WAC in other sports. Okay, at first blush like anybody who lives west of the Mississippi you ask yourself why, you may even ask what exactly is BYU trying to do. Those who root for programs that either play BYU regularly or live in a market that has enjoyed a healthy rivalry with the Cougs will ask what has BYU done to warrant to display this type of arrogant behavior? Okay, there’s that little thing called a National Championship in 1984, and a Cotton Bowl in the ’90 where the Steve Sarkisian (he actually did play football) led blue crew finished 13-0 after beating Kansas St.. Beyond those moments, however BYU’s history from the Cotton Bowl victory forward has been very pedestrian; no undefeated seasons, no BCS bowl games and most importantly no BCS Bowl game wins. The fact is this BYU’s football program has been just speed bump albeit higher than let’s say SDSU or UNLV in the road for the real power programs in the MWC; TCU and Utah. BYU at this point is New Mexico with better DVD history in terms of football success in this decade. Heck at this point WAC member, Hawaii has a better BCS bowl resume than BYU.
BYU’s athletic department and particularly the football side of the brain trust is arrogant enough to believe that BYU’s path to a BCS bowl game could be more realistic as an independent than if it were a member of the MWC. This thinking would speak loudly to the MWC; the reason we (BYU) are not going to ever be considered as a legitimate contender for a BCS bowl game is not because of our performance on the field but because of the other schools in the conference; never mind that the criteria actually starts with winning the league, and finishing your regular season schedule undefeated. BYU might want to crawl before it walks so here is what they may want to concentrate on doing first, how about beating or staying within two scores of TCU, but I digress.
Okay I am sure BYU could craft a schedule if they were an independent that would afford them an opportunity to challenge for a BCS bowl game. A sample schedule would be; Utah, Utah St, Notre Dame, Army, Navy, and then they could fill in the schedule with a few Pac-10 programs (Arizona, Arizona St., Stanford, UCLA, Washington) alternating, and a few Big-12 programs and of course programs from parts of the country that have large Latter Day Saint populations and of course four WAC programs that they are mandated to play. You also figure that there will be MWC programs that will continue to play BYU; New Mexico, Wyoming and even C-USA member UTEP enjoyed fierce rivalries with BYU in the WAC days and the Cougs are still a huge draw in those communities.
So what I am saying is that BYU will not have trouble filling out a schedule but is that schedule any better than let’s say the schedule they played last year as an MWC member? The answer is no. My question is would that sample independent schedule, if you add one marquee program, be enough to make the Cougars BCS contender worthy if and this is a big if; if they navigate that schedule undefeated or with one close loss? I don’t know but my feeling is no. There is something BYU should consider, there is a little secret that many choose to ignore. There are many programs that will not play the Cougars, there are programs that do not want to put their 18, 19 and 20 year olds against the 21, 22, 23 and 24 year-olds that dot the BYU roster, the term men vs. boys applies here. BYU should understand as attractive as they may believe their program and fan believe they are, the fact that the PAC-10 grabbed little brother Utah in favor of BYU should speak loudly regarding the national perception of BYU.
A question or even a thought that should be asked is, will BYU finish an independent schedule undefeated? Answer, probably not. Look no further than this; TCU is a program that is a lot like many BCS programs in terms of the athletes they have. In fact, TCU has athletes that are notch below what you find at many BCS schools, and BYU has had no success lately versus the Frogs. So how would they fare versus an SEC program, or even an upper tier ACC program (see Florida St last year). So I ask how relevant will BYU be finishing 9-3 or 8-4 on a regular basis. How relevant is BYU now considering that it has less BCS bowl appearances than Hawaii.
BYU may be arrogant enough to believe that they can make more noise as an independent. They have great facilities, nationwide fan base, and its own network which would seem to be the major components that need to be present, however the problem will be this; does the BCS powers that be look at BYU as a program that will fill seats and bring eyeballs to the television? Certainly, but the challenge is getting to the point where they can contend for a BCS bowl, which is highly doubtful.
Comments
You are missing the point. The whole thing is about television revenue. A BCS bowl game would be nice but you don’t have to go to a BCS bowl game to get a better TV deal than what BYU has in the MWC. As for the BCS argument, going undefeated is a bit of a ridiculous requirement. A 9-3 Illinois team got to go to the Rose Bowl. Would that team have gone undefeated against BYU’s schedule. I doubt it. BYU has had a very nice run of 10+ win seasons. It isn’t the BCS but it isn’t mediocre either. I am not sure they will do well as an independent (not even sure they are going independent anymore) but the argument that they have never been or never will be BCS worthy is a bit ridiculous. They have been more worthy the last 4 years than the 2004 Pitt team ever was.
Sounds like someone else is arrogant as well. BYU could go undefeated for 10 years and your kind will still be a negative voice. When you talk about BCS the reality is 65% of those football programs are worse then BYU and you know it. Each BCS conference with the exception of the SEC has a lower tier that has a losing record over the past 30 years (same schools)… But you still ignore that. How bout rotating them out of the BCS and put winners in on a five year grant). Non BCS draftees prove better then their BCS hyped up wannabes in the NFL so that leaves only one thought in my mind…. (Except for the top two teams in each BCS conference) The rest of the BCS is more smoke then fire.
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Good write-up. I actually went to BYU yet harbor similar feelings.
BYU moans all the time about the BCS while posing as a more solid and developed program than they really are. I’m not a fan of their recruiting methods nor of the fan base, much of which doesn’t have a clue about college football.
It would be one thing if BYU were a legit team just trying to scrape out some exposure and attention for what they deserve … you know, an up and coming program. But it’s another thing when they cry for something while acting like they’re already at that level or better.
Last year proved this point resolutely: BYU prepared arduously for the Oklahoma game, their big chance to show the BCS world, and what do you know … Oklahoma pooped out in the spotlight (like that’s never happened before).
But then what? No one seemed to give too much of a rip about ‘mediocre’ Florida State coming to Provo. Geniuses. I told several friends before game-day that it was a mistake to feel overly confident, like we had it in the bag. After all, it was Florida State and Bobby Bowden … not some garbage, podunk little team from the west.
Let’s not even mention further what happened when TCU stepped up to the plate …
Anyway, the one point in this article that truly is misguided is with reference to the age of BYU’s players. Sorry but when you say, “the term men vs. boys applies here” completely fails. Ask any LDS guy who has served a mission if those years magically contributed to making him bigger, better, and stronger. The overwhelming majority says no without reserve.
Heck, ask me. I was pretty fit when I left, about 190 1bs with hardly any fat. Two years later I still didn’t have much fat … but I didn’t have much muscle either at a super skinny 170 lbs. It took heavy working out six days a week and at least six months to recover my former physical state.
If you see such a process as being some magical benefit that BYU football players enjoy over their competition, then be my guest. And if after all this you want to argue for their mental or intellectual superiority in some way, then think again. BYU has plenty of clown football players just like everywhere else (see ‘Exhibit A: Max Hall’).
Now, as you can tell, I like to moan like the rest. But I’m coming from a different direction here. It has been my opinion for years now that BYU’s main cause for whining should stem from the fact that they should be better than they are. Not from the false notion that they are better than they are. Catch the difference?
With all this so-called national audience and support, BYU should sit pretty and pleased whether anyone gives them a leg-up or not. Yet every year it’s the same old crap, like the annoying little brother who doesn’t know when to shut up and wait his turn.
Get real, BYU fans. Sit down, be quiet, and learn football first. Then truly help and support your team on to victory instead of whining about undeserved accolades. Actions speak louder than words.