BYU-Tennessee add series

[mormonrasta]

Fair enough.

However, have our more recent rosters been comparable to those from '06 to '10?

Beck, Hall, Pitta, Collie, Unga, Harline, George, Jorgensen, Poppinga, Nixon, Pendleton, etc.

Or, is the perspective that Beck, Hall, Pitta, Collie, and Unga would have looked more like Heaps, Nelson, Di Luigi, Brown, and Juergens with the more difficult schedules?

Have our schedules *really* been more difficult? We've lost to Utah St., Nevada, SJSU, Oregon St., and Virginia in the last 5 years.

Also, how much does coaching have to do with the last 5 years versus the previous 5 seasons?

I think the defensive talent was better from '12-'16, but the offensive talent was certainly better from '06-'09 ('10 might have been the most abysmal of all when it comes to talent and experience).

But there seems to be a "we are who we are" thing when comparing those eras.

From 2006 to 2010, we had a regular season record of 46-14. In the 10 games against P5/BCS teams we were 5-5. We won 63% of our regular season games against P5/BCS programs that finished unranked during that span.

From 2012 to 2016, we had a regular season record of 40-20. In the 24 games against BCS/P5 teams we were 11-13. We won 65% of our regular season games against P5/BCS programs that finished unranked during that span.

Not much difference in performance against the big boys.

When we play major programs that finished ranked we are in trouble. In the last 30 seasons we are 4-24 vs. major programs that finish ranked. That is tied for the 54th best record in college football against such competition. Every single team in a P5 conference has at least 1 win against a BCS/P5 team that finished ranked since the BCS was created in 1998. BYU has ZERO wins against such competition during that time (0-18).

Nobody can predict in advance which P5 teams will finish ranked, but why take the chance in loading up our schedules with 5 or 6 a year given how we recruit? I think we will enjoy our seasons more by playing Utah, Boise St., and Utah St. every year. Play 1-2 P5 teams along with a FCS team. The rest of the schedule loaded with MWC and AAC teams. We don't recruit well enough to play for National Titles and our big bowl chances are slim to none. Cracking the top 25 is all we've got left. Let's schedule in a manner that allows us to do that.

[scott715]

I think the strategy has not been to get to a big bowl but rather to build the brand and get into a P5 conference. Big games against big teams and being on national TV most of the time was the goal.

We will see how it is working when we get the new ESPN contract. We should have a nice increase of revenue from it. It is still to be seen if we get into the P5 but we got awfully close a couple of times. I wish we had done this indy thing a few years earlier.