Jim Mora Believes BYU Could Compete in the PAC-12
Since Kalani Sitake took over as BYU's head coach in 2016, BYU has beaten P5 teams like Michigan State, Mississippi State, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and USC among others. They've also taken down schools like Ole Miss, Texas, Cal, Virginia, and Nebraska since going independent in 2011. As much as BYU would love to compete for a spot in a power five conference, however, no number of P5 wins can gain them P5 status.
BYU's non-P5 status hurts them on the recruiting trail. I asked former UCLA head coach Jim Mora how coaches out west view BYU as a football program. Mora believes BYU is "kind of right in the middle" of the P5 and G5 division in college football. "It's almost like they are in purgatory and it's tough on them," Mora added. You can listen to Mora's complete comments in the video at the top of this article.
As a former head coach in the PAC-12, Mora offered his opinion on BYU's ability to compete in a power five conference. "Teams like BYU and Boise State, when you watch them play, you say 'these guys could compete in the PAC-12.' Could they compete in the SEC? It would be tough right now because of the type of athlete...I can tell you this, they are very very well respected."
BYU had a successful 11-1 2020 campaign where they finished #11 in the final AP poll. Their success last season is discounted by some who believe the Cougars' dominance was a result of their strength of schedule. 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. BYU instead scrambled to put a schedule together that featured Navy, Boise State, Coastal Carolina, Houston, and San Diego State.
In order to take the next step, Mora believes BYU needs to take on the college football blue bloods and beat them. "I don't know if those teams necessarily want to schedule BYU, I think BYU scares them a little bit."
Mora concluded by comparing BYU to its arch rival Utah when they played in the Mountain West. "It's like the old Utah before Utah got in the PAC-12. It's like, 'Man I don't know if I want to play Utah. They've got something there and that scares me a little bit.'"
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