BYU Is the Last Team Standing Out West
Before COVID-19, BYU was preparing to play a 2020 schedule that would be one of the most difficult in program history. Its original schedule included three teams (Utah, Arizona State, Stanford) from the Pac-12, two teams (Michigan State, Minnesota) from the Big Ten, and one team (Missouri) from the SEC. In addition, it was set to travel to Boise State to play on the blue turf.
The schedule that took years to organize, however, crumbled in a matter of weeks. First the games against the Big Ten were canceled, then the Pac-12. One domino after another fell until BYU had two games left on the original schedule. Today, BYU has four games on its 2020 schedule—two of which were scheduled over the last few weeks.
@Navy - 9/7
Troy - 9/26
Houston - 10/16
North Alabama - 11/21
The schedule is not flashy, but flashy is inconsequential in the current college football landscape. A schedule alone is a scarce commodity in 2020. In fact, BYU is the only team west of Texas with games on the calendar this fall.
Brett McMurphy of the Stadium put out a map of the states that are playing football this fall. Geographically, the closest team to BYU will be UTEP—the two schools are over 800 miles apart.
There are both known and unknown risks to playing football during a pandemic while surrounding schools are postponing until the spring. The hazards that BYU faces are well known—they are the same risks that all college football teams are facing. However, being the lone team out west could come with a variety of perks:
1. Exposure
BYU went independent in 2011. Gaining more national exposure was one of the main goals of independence. In fact, then-BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said national exposure was the biggest advantage to being independent. The COVID-19 pandemic might create a platform for national exposure that BYU has never experienced before. The Cougars are the only candidate to fill the prime late kickoff times that were originally filled by the Pac-12.
2. Recruiting
BYU does most of its recruiting on the west coast. For those recruits looking to play west of Texas, the Cougars would be the only team to watch on Saturdays. Will it matter during such a unique recruiting cycle? Time will tell, but it's an opportunity to make an impression on recruits that BYU is excited to have.
While intriguing, rewards are not guaranteed and they do require a considerable amount of risk. There are many variables that could derail the college football season. If football is played, however, BYU needs to add more games to its schedule. There are a few different avenues they can explore, all of which require a lot of travel.
From most preferred to least preferred, here are three ways BYU will fill the holes in its schedule:
1. One or two P5 teams
BYU would love to add one or two P5 teams to the schedule. ACC schools like Clemson, Virginia and Notre Dame are still looking for a non-conference opponent. Per ACC rules, the game would need to take place in the home state of the ACC team.
2. AAC
Next, BYU will turn to the AAC to schedule as many games as possible. UCF, Cincinnati and SMU are looking to fill a few holes in their September schedules, for example. The greatest challenge for BYU is finding opponents in October and November once conferences settle into conference play.
3. Conference USA / Sun Belt / Independents
Finally, BYU will turn to Conference USA, the Sun Belt and fellow independents. It wouldn't be surprising to see independent teams like Army or Liberty later in the season. It's rare for the Cougars to face teams from Conference USA and the Sun Belt, but BYU will make exceptions in 2020. Yesterday, BYU added a game against Troy in Provo.
If college football continues to press forward, BYU will look to finalize its schedule over the next couple weeks.