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BYU may have won two straight Mountain West Conference football titles and may be the league's flagship program, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the television schedule for 2008.
BYU will play only three times nationally on Versus or CBS C (CBS College Sports Network) with seven games on The Mtn. While DirecTV has signed a deal to distribute The Mtn., a deal with the other satellite giant -- Dish Network -- has yet to be reached.
One other BYU game -- Sept. 6 at Washington -- will likely end up on some form of national or regional television, per the Pac-10 television contract. The BYU-Utah State game still does not have a television home.
TCU, which finished fifth in the MWC last season, has six games on Versus or CBS C in 2008.
Another scheduling decision that stands out puts the BYU-Utah game on The Mtn. only. That same day (Nov. 22), Air Force plays TCU on Versus and UNLV takes on San Diego State on CBS C.
Of course, the last notation on the television schedule released by the MWC on Tuesday reads, "subject to change," so stayed tuned.
BYU begins the season against Northern Iowa of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Aug. 30. The Cougars then play a pair of Pac-10 foes with a road game at Washington (Sept. 6) and a home game against UCLA, the third time BYU and the Bruins have played in a year.
The Cougars open MWC play at home against Wyoming on Sept. 20. After a 12-day break, BYU renews a long-time series with Utah State in Logan on Friday, Oct. 3. The Cougars and Aggies have played only once since 2002 (in 2006) but have met 77 times overall.
On Oct. 11, BYU hosts New Mexico and the next week travels for a key game at TCU on a Thursday night (Oct. 16). UNLV travels to Provo on Oct. 25 and the Cougars take a road trip to Colorado State on Nov. 1. BYU and San Diego State meet at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Nov. 8 and the Cougars end the season with road games at Air Force (Nov. 15) and Utah (Nov. 22). The past three seasons, the BYU-Utah contest has come down to the final play of the game.
• Practice report: BYU worked on situational drills during 11-on-11 with a full set of officials on Tuesday. The offense was flagged three times early, including two offside penalties. On an incomplete pass intended for Austin Collie, coaches and players on the offensive side voiced loud opinions that a flag should have been thrown for defensive interference. Later, both No. 1 quarterback Max Hall and backup Brenden Gaskins threw short touchdown passes to junior tight end Dennis Pitta. On the defensive side, junior cornerback Scott Johnson had a pass deflection and sophomore linebacker Matt Putnam broke through for a sack against the No. 2 offense.
During skeleton passing drills, freshman receiver Spencer Hafoka made a spectacular catch on a deep pass by laying out horizontally and hanging on to the ball after he hit the ground.
• One more scholarship available: Tolu Moala, a linebacker from El Camino Junior College, signed with BYU in February but will now play at Oklahoma State.
The Tulsa World reported Moala (6-1 230) was released from his commitment to BYU because he did not meet entrance requirements. Moala reportedly visited Stillwater on Thursday and gave his commitment to OSU defensive coordinator Tim Beckman following Friday's scrimmage.
• Bowl news: The fourth annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 5 p.m. PT and will air on ESPN. That game lines up the second selection from the MWC against a team from the Pac-10.
The Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. PT, and will also air on ESPN. The Las Vegas Bowl takes the top selection from the MWC and pits that team against the fourth-place Pac-10 squad.
The other two bowl games with MWC ties -- The New Mexico Bowl and the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl -- have not announced dates or times.
• Getting altitude: BYU Class of 2009 commit Adam Timo of Snow Canyon High School in St. George may want to considering a dual-sport role at BYU. At an outdoor meet over the weekend, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound running back leaped 7-2 in the high jump.
• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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