The fact is the "big boys" don't need to play us because they are in the "big" conferences. We need to stop the whining about the home and home. We need to just go kick the big boys butt on the road. I know it is hard to do, but that is the only way we are going to get respect.

Now as far as getting into a BCS bowl game, all we need to do is schedule cake teams such as Hawaii. The problem with this is then in the BCS game you get exposed for the weak team you are.

Playing the best teams whether at home or on the road will make you better if you win or at least are in the game the whole way. I myself would like to see us play the best teams we can all the time because they are the exciting games to watch.

I personally don't get excited when we play Utah State or some division II school. I do get excited to play any BCS team or a good non BCS team such as Boise State.

Now don't get me wrong, I think the path Bronco is taking right now is the right path. Schedule some easy games to get your program confidence and some better recruits, but after the first few years of easier teams you need to take the program to the next level and improve the OOC teams that you play. That is assuming that you do well with that lineup. If you don't then you just keep on scheduling the cake teams.

Hopefully we can become a real dominate force and take it to every team we play this year. We have the people in place to do it. As long as we maitain our confidence and don't get arrogant this will be a perfect season.

Sage wrote:

I tend to agree, but it brings up the challenge of how to get schools to schedule us. Too many of us express the opinion that the big boys won't schedule us home and home. Even if we had a playoff, some of the conference champions would obviously not be worthy. In some years, second place teams in some leagues are only a play away from winning their conference and going BCSnn versus being an also ran. Those years need legitimate wild cards.

It would seem to me that the NCAA should make a size of conference minimum in order to schedule a true national champion.

Is there anybody that has an idea on how to motivate big schools to play us so that having that kind of a schedule is possible?

I'm confident BYU can get just about anybody to play them, but it's going to require some humility from the University and its fans. In order to get BYU's overall schedule on par with other major programs they have to do 2 things:

1. Schedule a 1-AA home game every year.
2. Schedule a 2 road games for 1 home game with the top 30 BCS programs.

Teams in the top 30 include:

Big 10- Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan St.
Big 12- Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Colorado
ACC- Florida St, Clemson, Va Tech, BC, Georgia Tech, Miami
SEC- Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Arkansas
Pac 10- USC, Oregon, ASU, UCLA, Washington
Big East- Pitt

Notre Dame


These are all teams with traditions that are easily as good as BYU, stadiums of similar size or larger, and national reputations that are equal to or greater than BYU. Playing and beating these schools would only enhance BYU's football reputation nationwide.

Any of these schools would gladly take a 2 for 1 with BYU (Heck, many would do and have done a regular home and home with BYU). The 1-AA school would be a nice breather and a guaranteed home game. If BYU played their cards right they would always have 2 home and 2 road nonconference games a year, at least 3 to 4 quality opponents a year which nearly every BCS conference team does, and they would have a schedule that would be on par with most BCS conference teams.

Imagine this hypothetical 6 year schedule:

Year 1- 1-AA, USC, @Auburn, @Pitt
Year 2- 1-AA, Pitt, @USC, @Clemson
Year 3- 1-AA, Auburn, @Ohio St, @Texas A&M
Year 4- 1-AA, Clemson, @USC, @Pitt
Year 5- 1-AA, Ohio St., @Texas A&M, @Auburn
Year 6- 1-AA, Texas A&M, @Ohio St, @Clemson

If BYU were serious about scheduling for a NC, they would schedule like that.

mormonrasta wrote:

Sage wrote:

I tend to agree, but it brings up the challenge of how to get schools to schedule us. Too many of us express the opinion that the big boys won't schedule us home and home. Even if we had a playoff, some of the conference champions would obviously not be worthy. In some years, second place teams in some leagues are only a play away from winning their conference and going BCSnn versus being an also ran. Those years need legitimate wild cards.

It would seem to me that the NCAA should make a size of conference minimum in order to schedule a true national champion.

Is there anybody that has an idea on how to motivate big schools to play us so that having that kind of a schedule is possible?

I'm confident BYU can get just about anybody to play them, but it's going to require some humility from the University and its fans. In order to get BYU's overall schedule on par with other major programs they have to do 2 things:

1. Schedule a 1-AA home game every year.
2. Schedule a 2 road games for 1 home game with the top 30 BCS programs.

Teams in the top 30 include:

Big 10- Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan St.
Big 12- Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Colorado
ACC- Florida St, Clemson, Va Tech, BC, Georgia Tech, Miami
SEC- Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Arkansas
Pac 10- USC, Oregon, ASU, UCLA, Washington
Big East- Pitt

Notre Dame


These are all teams with traditions that are easily as good as BYU, stadiums of similar size or larger, and national reputations that are equal to or greater than BYU. Playing and beating these schools would only enhance BYU's football reputation nationwide.

Any of these schools would gladly take a 2 for 1 with BYU (Heck, many would do and have done a regular home and home with BYU). The 1-AA school would be a nice breather and a guaranteed home game. If BYU played their cards right they would always have 2 home and 2 road nonconference games a year, at least 3 to 4 quality opponents a year which nearly every BCS conference team does, and they would have a schedule that would be on par with most BCS conference teams.

Imagine this hypothetical 6 year schedule:

Year 1- 1-AA, USC, @Auburn, @Pitt
Year 2- 1-AA, Pitt, @USC, @Clemson
Year 3- 1-AA, Auburn, @Ohio St, @Texas A&M
Year 4- 1-AA, Clemson, @USC, @Pitt
Year 5- 1-AA, Ohio St., @Texas A&M, @Auburn
Year 6- 1-AA, Texas A&M, @Ohio St, @Clemson

If BYU were serious about scheduling for a NC, they would schedule like that.

So for a shot at the National Championship you are suggesting that we just change one game each year? For example, we replace the Utah State game for an away game against Colorado and they'll let us in the National Championship game next year if we go undefeated?

I don't see it happening. I think our best shot at a National Championship is to make it to a BC$ game (undefeated or with one loss) this year and win it convincingly.

If we were to do that, the national media would catch on to the fact that a lot of our skill position players on offense (Max Hall, Dennis Pitta, Harvey Unga, Austin Collie, Andrew George, Oneil Chambers, Spencer Hafoka, etc) will all be back. We would lose a lot of players along the O-line (Matt Reynolds & Tom Sorenson would be the only returners) but the national media doesn't usually look at that.

We would also have some solid players on defense returning (Jorgensen, Tialavea, Denney, Dulan, Afutiti, Hola, Johnson, Howard, Bradley, Pendleton, Rich, Bauman, So'oto, Clawson, Ah You, Van Sweeden etc) and that would propel us into National Championship talk.

Only then, would scheduling three tough out of conference games matter for a National Championship run.

Even then, it would take some luck. Heck, there are even years when a team from the SEC goes undefeated and doesn't make it to the national championship game (Auburn, if I remember right got overlooked the year the yewts went to the Fiesta Bowl).

BYU could do all it could and would still be overlooked for the National Championship. There are certain schools that the big bowls/media look for reasons to put in big time games, schools that the big time games can take or leave and schools that they try to keep out. We are in the third tier.