As a BYU fan I was a bit disappointed the Big 12 thing didn't work out, but I'm pretty "meh" about the Big East. I still think indepedence could work out well--yes, this year's schedule was pretty awful, but they said from the outset that it was hard to line up opponents in the short time necessary for this year. Next year's schedule seems a little improved, and what has been announced so far about the 2013 schedule is pretty darn good (
https://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-13/mtn-west/2013-byu-cougars-football-schedule.php):
Texas
Hawaii
Utah State
GA Tech
Houston
Boise State
Notre Dame
Utah
Washington State
The 2013 schedule is without a doubt shaping up to be excellent, but I think it provides a couple of good examples of the problems BYU probably cannot fix as an independent:
-It's pretty unreasonable to expect BYU to go undefeated with a schedule like that, but it's also going to be impossible for BYU to get into the BCS without being undefeated. So aside from an 8-and-4 type of season, what does BYU gain from a schedule like this? Obviously it also doesn't benefit BYU to schedule a bunch of patsies in route to an undefeated season. The BCS door would still be shut. Welcome to the netherworld that is football independence for BYU.
-Even if BYU had a good enough team that could finish 2013 undefeated, are they going to be able to pull that off if during the first 4 or 5 weeks of the schedule they have to play: Utah, Ga Tech, Notre Dame, and Texas? Their schedule is almost certainly going to be too top heavy year in and year out. It's not fair to ask any team in the nation to start a season off like that withouth losing a game. Add to that the fact that Bronco Mendenhall teams usually seem to struggle early and get better as the season goes on.
Personally, I don't think BYU will ever be able to solve the problem of top heavy schedules. What BCS conference schools are going take breaks in conference play during November to accomodate the Cougars? Add to that the fact that it sounds like BYU hasn't made many friends in the college world during these flirtations with bigger conferences. I dont' think Big East or Big 12 schools are going to go out of their way to help BYU after they basically told both conferences: "We're a pretty big deal, now bow to our terms if you want us to join". The Pac12 has no interest in helping BYU out. They already refuse to let Utah play BYU in November. And have fun trying to get an SEC or ACC school to come anywhere west of the Missippi during the last month of the season.
It will be interesting how Cougar fans are going to deal with this long term. I honestly believe that BYU wants to play a very ambitious schedule year in and year out, but that most likely means a bunch of 7 or 8 win seasons for a fan base that has become accustomed to double digit victories each year. It probably also means year after year of Novembers with 3 or 4 WAC teams on the schedule or maybe even a couple of byes. A front loaded schedule also means many years in which Cougar fans know BYU is destined for the Armed Forces Bowl very early on in the year. It's pretty hard to sustain fan excitement that way.
It's just my opinion, but it just seems too unbalanced to work.
