First, there are probably a lot of reasons not to schedule 8-10 years in advance, but the possibility of not having an athletic program is definitely not one of them. How could you operate a program at all under that assumption?

Second, I don't have a big problem with USU because they will go up and down over the years, but I would love to see us fill our OOC schedule with at least one big school a year and the rest decent teams. The only way the BCS even thinks about an undefeated non-cartel team for the NC game is if every cartel conference team has at least three or more losses. While this has been a crazy year, that essentially means we are not getting a shot until there is some sort of playoff. Therefore, play the good teams; it means we get to see some great football, and the team is ready to play the good teams when/if we ever see a playoff system.

SanAntonioBlue wrote:

Here's a question for you guys that think we should go with the soft scheduling route. Is that the kind of football that you like to watch? Do you really want to watch mediocre competition the whole season just to get a crack at one good game. Wow I can bet the satellite and cable companies will be scrambling to add the MTN to their lineup with that type of schedule. I'm guessing that the people in this forum who want a cupcake schedule are also complaining about the MTN. The MTN will NEVER go anywhere if the flagship team of the conferences makes a practice of playing nobodys.

To answer a question with a question, would you rather see BYU play Oklahoma, Texas, USC, or Ohio State in September or January?

We watch mediocre competition for at least 2/3rds of the season anyway. Why not the entire season? BYU rarely beats good competition in nonconference play anyway. The last time they beat a nonconference team that finished the season ranked was 1997. I'm not sure what the huge reward of consistently getting beat by the top 25 in nonconference games would be (12 in a row to be exact).

I'm all for a moderate schedule. A Pac-10 team, a Big 12 team, Utah State, and miscellaneous MAC, CUSA, WAC, or Sun Belt team each year. If BYU is great then they will be rewarded with a BCS berth. After a couple of those then we can start talking about scheduling like a National Champion.

mormonrasta wrote:

SanAntonioBlue wrote:

Here's a question for you guys that think we should go with the soft scheduling route. Is that the kind of football that you like to watch? Do you really want to watch mediocre competition the whole season just to get a crack at one good game. Wow I can bet the satellite and cable companies will be scrambling to add the MTN to their lineup with that type of schedule. I'm guessing that the people in this forum who want a cupcake schedule are also complaining about the MTN. The MTN will NEVER go anywhere if the flagship team of the conferences makes a practice of playing nobodys.

To answer a question with a question, would you rather see BYU play Oklahoma, Texas, USC, or Ohio State in September or January?

We watch mediocre competition for at least 2/3rds of the season anyway. Why not the entire season? BYU rarely beats good competition in nonconference play anyway. The last time they beat a nonconference team that finished the season ranked was 1997. I'm not sure what the huge reward of consistently getting beat by the top 25 in nonconference games would be (12 in a row to be exact).

I'm all for a moderate schedule. A Pac-10 team, a Big 12 team, Utah State, and miscellaneous MAC, CUSA, WAC, or Sun Belt team each year. If BYU is great then they will be rewarded with a BCS berth. After a couple of those then we can start talking about scheduling like a National Champion.

Answer Both. Just because we were down for a decade doesn't mean we can't beat them now at home. It does not hurt us to play top 25 teams. If our only loss this year was to any of the teams you just named it would not hurt our ranking at all. What hurts it is losing to Tulsa. By playing the best once a year we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Am I the only one that thinks that with the offense we will return next year, the good play of our defense the last two years, and the way we have played at home that it's not the perfect time to schedule a big time program for our season opener? The timing is right for a David versus Goliath.

I just hope when we play them and they break out into this formation, MWC refs will have the wherewithal to throw the flag for 12 (or more) men on the field....

I have to agree with Mormonrasta. A moderate schedule is probably the best way to go. Play a couple of very good teams and a couple of fair teams. Tough games with four strong opponents can leave you bruised and battered. Injuries could really cost us. BYU's first team can compete with the best but we are not (in most years) as deep as the BCS power teams. Also, I may not get too excited about Utah State, but it sure is more interesting than Eastern Washington or Northern Illinois.