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2014 College Football

My coworker/friend who's a big BYU fan just showed me cougarboards meltdown this morning all because Utah won last night. Holy ****, it's so epic!
 

Just go to cougarboard.com and browse through the top 10 threads. I hate to give them a free plug but there's some gems on there today. It ranges from topics like how BYU basically could have had Andy Phillips but they screwed it up to stuff like Coug fans bickering amongst themselves about how badly Utah has passed them by.
 
Immediately after the game, all the posts were about how Utah had surpassed BYU as a program, BYU was irrelevent, Utah would destroy BYU this year, BYU needs the rivalry game and Utah doesn't...

Basically it was everything I've been saying the four years and been mocked for.

Pure comedic gold. Pure gold.
 
Just go to cougarboard.com and browse through the top 10 threads. I hate to give them a free plug but there's some gems on there today. It ranges from topics like how BYU basically could have had Andy Phillips but they screwed it up to stuff like Coug fans bickering amongst themselves about how badly Utah has passed them by.

To be fair they seemed about half realist half delusional from what I read.

Really bad navigation. Why would they make it so that you only see a single post at a time?
 
Really bad navigation. Why would they make it so that you only see a single post at a time?

I agree. I clicked on just a couple of posts before deciding "to heck with this, I'm going back to the good life at jazzfanz." :-)
 
Yes, I'm a BYU alum and I do agree openly that Utah has passed up BYU in regards to athletics. BYU was arrogant in going independent. But I can see why they did: most top teams were making money hand over fist and BYU was break even or lose due to having to share their lousy bowl revenue in conferences which only saw 1 or 2 teams get invites.

Coug administrators also dropped the ball by vacationing in Hawaii while the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT sports decision remained undecided and unattended. Sorry Bronco, you are no Whittingham. But fundamentally, it just doesn't matter. BYU won't play on Sundays. For that reason they won't be invited to join any major conference. And BYU has a strict honor code. For that reason, most elite athletes immediately cross BYU off the list. BYU will continue to compete for the best LDS athletes in Utah, CA, etc. They also get a handful of decent non-Mormons who believe in the moral code and aren't offered scholarships by major universities. Occasionally, they'll have a great run when the stars align. But they just aren't relevant on a yearly basis.
 
BYU is a great program with a great history. BUT, they need to realize what their niche is and really take advantage of that.

Because of Sunday play and the Church's stance on social issues, they will probably never get into a P5 conference.

BYU is a big fish in a little pond. Accept it. Go back to a G5 conference, be ranked every year, play in big bowl games again, puff your chest out again, and when you lose to Utah, talk about had you played Utah earlier/later in the year, you would destroy them. It's what BYU is.

Because of the Honor Code, they will never have the depth needed to compete in a P5 conference.

BUT, they have access to some really good players. They have a loyal fanbase. They have great facilities and can offer a lot to a mid-tier college football player.

They need to go back to the MWC or AAC. If they are looking to renew old rivalries, and take advantage of the history between them and Utah State, Boise State, San Diego State, Wyoming, etc, then go back to the MWC.

If they are looking for exposure, then go to the AAC. They could have one game in the Northwest every year, one game in Florida every year, and one game in Texas/South every year. The exposure is just as good as what they have right now. Plus, their basketball would be in a fantastic conference. UConn, Temple, Cincinnati, etc. Great basketball conference.

Their schedule hasn't improved as an Independent, and in some ways has gotten a lot worse. I'll put down their remaining schedule vs an AAC schedule vs a MWC schedule:

Nevada vs Temple vs San Jose State
@ Boise State vs @ UCF @ San Diego State
UNLV vs Army vs Utah State
Savannah State vs Eastern Carolina (they are ranked) vs Boise State
@ Cal vs @ Cal vs @ Cal

I like tradition, and I think the MWC schedule would be very exciting for BYU fans. Heck, I'd be excited for the rest of the year. Compared to now? Where no one cares?

If you like exposure, imagine having the east coast (Temple), Florida (UCF), the nation (Army), the south (Eastern Carolina, maybe even the nation, as that game might be between two ranked teams) and then the West (Cal) watching you to finish the year.

Plus, and here is the kicker, if BYU had two losses right now, and were in the MWC or AAC, they would still have a shot at a NY6 bowl game.

Independence was a bad move. Time to admit the mistake and fix things for your fans.
 
I think short of an offer from the BIG 12(personally I don't think they want to share recruits with BYU) they should go back to the MWC. Then go after one of the Texas schools that aren't Big 5. N Texas, Texas ST, SMU, Houston.(recruiting presence) That would put them in a MWC east of BYU, USU, Colorado ST, Air force, New Mexico, Wyoming, and a Texas school. 14 teams would allow then to still schedule 4 out of conference games most years.
 
I think short of an offer from the BIG 12(personally I don't think they want to share recruits with BYU) they should go back to the MWC. Then go after one of the Texas schools that aren't Big 5. N Texas, Texas ST, SMU, Houston.(recruiting presence) That would put them in a MWC east of BYU, USU, Colorado ST, Air force, New Mexico, Wyoming, and a Texas school. 14 teams would allow then to still schedule 4 out of conference games most years.

Actually you know what scratch that. They should go back to the mountain west and form the first conference with a relegation system.
 
I don't think Independence was the wrong decision for BYU. Utah and TCU left the MWC and BYU was left sitting there with a HORRIBLE tv deal (probably the worst tv deal in sports history tbh), their in-state rival had just jumped to a conference that would eventually pay them $30 mil + annually, and the likes of Boise State and Utah State had yet to join the MWC. I'll defend BYU here and say that at the time, going INDY was BYU's only option, and props to them for doing so. Let's face it, their ESPN deal is awesome, they don't have to share any money, and they are one of the few schools in the country that could pull such a move off.

Now, while I feel like it was the right move, it cannot be a permanent move if BYU and it's fan base ever expect to see anything close to what they consider their "glory years". I don't agree at all with the belief that BYU can never go P5. I do think the Big 12 is their one and only chance. If reports are true, BYU botched the last invite to the Big 12 over BYUtv issues, not Sunday play. I feel almost certain that the Big 12 is the only P5 conference that will work with them on Sunday play, so if BYU can ever get them back to the bargaining table, they better pull their heads out and realize the BYUtv issues need to go away.

If the Big 12 never shows anymore interest, BYU could still entertain offers from the MWC or AAC. BYU is a big enough get for those conferences that I bet they'd bend over backwards and let BYU keep it's own ESPN deal for home games. I think a return to the MWC under the right circumstances should be embraced by BYU fans. It gives you a legitimate shot to go undefeated in your conference in the up years and if your OOC is strong enough, who's to say that New Years Bowl games and playoffs (in an 8 team format) would be off the table?
 
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