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BYU's Motivation as an Independent

by byucougar1 · 5/25/2012

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byucougar1
Given BYU's Indy status, much has been said about what BYU is playing for other than NC. There is no conference championship, the Yewt rivalry game appears to be disappearing, no high profile bowl game, and poor Nov. opponent schedule. However, BYU has whey reason to play lights out because of the ESPN contract and BYUtv broadcast rights. We win on ESPN - we are attractive for viewership both with ESPN and BYUtv. If we increase exposure, we are attractive for high quality recruits because they will be seen playing on a regular basis. Increased following means more attractive games and more exposure and more attractive reasons to come to BYU - one eternal round. With this situation we become a profitable commodity and add value to any conference looking to secure revenue and fan following - gives BYU leverage. Thus, we have everything to play for because our future is directly tied to what we offer fans, networks, scheduling and perhaps a legit, big-time conference.



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Y12
Love of the game.



Hate to lose.



A shot at a future paycheck (NFL).



I really have never understood the "no reason to play" position. These guys have been playing football since they were little tykes for no other reason than it was fun.
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BerliNY
Y12 wrote:
Love of the game.



Hate to lose.



A shot at a future paycheck (NFL).



I really have never understood the "no reason to play" position. These guys have been playing football since they were little tykes for no other reason than it was fun.


Good point. Maybe the real concern is/should be that the viewership numbers would fall off in November if there's no chance at an NC and/or a big-time bowl. Which would diminish our value to ESPN and snowball from there.
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Cougarbib
The concern is a myth.



BSU - whom we cannot help but envy a bit at times - played crappy teams for years. But here is the difference. They beat all of them and then beat the good teams when they got their shot and they stole BYU's spot as Cinderella.



Everybody loves a Cinderella Story. BSU moved up and out and are considered by most to be legit.



Cinderella's slipper is again our's to claim. Quit whining about the November schedule. Whine about the Sept and early Oct schedule and how we keep stacking the deck against ourselves.



November will be much more meaningful when we enter November unblemished.



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UVACoug
Cougarbib2 wrote:
The concern is a myth.



BSU - whom we cannot help but envy a bit at times - played crappy teams for years. But here is the difference. They beat all of them and then beat the good teams when they got their shot and they stole BYU's spot as Cinderella.



Everybody loves a Cinderella Story. BSU moved up and out and are considered by most to be legit.



Cinderella's slipper is again our's to claim. Quit whining about the November schedule. Whine about the Sept and early Oct schedule and how we keep stacking the deck against ourselves.



November will be much more meaningful when we enter November unblemished.



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You are exactly right. We are not Boise State of the 00s, and we are not BYU of the 80s. We have more tradition and respect than that. But, we can be succesful following the model those teams took. Independence creates scheduling difficulties, which is why I was not embracing it last summer. I see, in retrospect that it was the best option we had in a bad situation. But BYU fans need to stop feeling sorry for themselves and realize that the only thing we can completely control is how we perform on the field.



If we are consistently winning 10+ games as an independent, we will be far from irrelevant and far from unsuccesful. Hopefully we can take another step up and get in an undefeated season every once in a while. The scheduling difficulties may actually be a blessing in that respect.



Do I want to be inthe Big XII? Absolutely. Maybe more than anyone on this or other boards. But we don't have control over that, so it does no good to mope about it.
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Guest
How much did ESPN offer Boise to go it alone as an independent? Oh yeah, nothing.



Besides, BYU wants motivation for November? Here it is. For every touchdown in a win in November we will get an extra baptism.
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Cougarbib
No need for motivation in November. It is ok if they use up all of the motivation by Halloween.



And when they are on the road for the Big 4 games



Utah killed us last year and has won two in a row and might end the rivalry - motivation should be there



How do you not get motivated to go play in South Bend?



BSU has beaten us a few too many and stole our glass slipper - motivation should be there



OK - at Georgia Tech. It would seem like the Cougs could muster a little motivation - hopefully enough to over come a lot of jet lag.



Hopefully we have enough motivation to not look past OSU and WSU and USU and others we should beat.



Motivation is not going to be the issue - motivated teams do lose to better teams most of the time and especially on the road.



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Mars
byucougar1 wrote:
Given BYU's Indy status, much has been said about what BYU is playing for other than NC. There is no conference championship, the Yewt rivalry game appears to be disappearing, no high profile bowl game, and poor Nov. opponent schedule.

Man, that means that all we have are actual football games against Washington State, Utah, Boise State, Hawaii, Oregon State, Texas, Utah State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Notre Dame. Man that sucks. :roll:
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byucougar1
Love those early to mid-season games, want to strengthen the November games as well.



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UVACoug
Mars wrote:
Given BYU's Indy status, much has been said about what BYU is playing for other than NC. There is no conference championship, the Yewt rivalry game appears to be disappearing, no high profile bowl game, and poor Nov. opponent schedule.

Man, that means that all we have are actual football games against Washington State, Utah, Boise State, Hawaii, Oregon State, Texas, Utah State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Notre Dame. Man that sucks. :roll:


We play to win games, not MWC championships. If we need more than that, we can play for national ranking. I never understood the need for a conference championship. It is just looking for something else to complain about.
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Cougarfan87
UVACoug wrote:
byucougar1 wrote:
Given BYU's Indy status, much has been said about what BYU is playing for other than NC. There is no conference championship, the Yewt rivalry game appears to be disappearing, no high profile bowl game, and poor Nov. opponent schedule.

Man, that means that all we have are actual football games against Washington State, Utah, Boise State, Hawaii, Oregon State, Texas, Utah State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Notre Dame. Man that sucks. :roll:


We play to win games, not MWC championships. If we need more than that, we can play for national ranking. I never understood the need for a conference championship. It is just looking for something else to complain about.




I guess that is a good point. What we really should be playing for in the future is to get in the top 4 ranking and make the playoffs. Being Indy gives us an opportunity to put together the strength of schedule to get there if we win (although you need good games in November to keep that strength up). I have been thinking we need a conference but that is really only true if ND buckles and decides to join a conference. IF ND stays Independent, then they cannot tie those top 4 spots to conference champs and have to keep it tied to rankings.



Maybe a good analogy is we don't need to worry about being employee of the month (a conference champ) when we are the entrepeneur of our own company (independence) and can take the company as far as we are willing to work for it.
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tmoney35
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YNot
How the playoff berths come together will be crucial. Obviously, if they only allow conference champions to participate in the playoff and completely disregard independence, BYU will need to find a new home to have any chance. But I don't see that happening, especially with Notre Dame at the table.



The ideal situation for BYU would be the straight up "top-4" model. You finish in the top 4 and you're in. But I honestly don't see a complete disregard of conference champions either....Jim Delaney and Larry Scott will see to that.



The more likely playoff model will be a hybrid of taking the top 4 conference champions within a particular ranking and then allowing "at large" bids if there aren't enough conference champions within that ranking (probably top 6). This year would have had #1 LSU (SEC champ), #3 Oklahoma St. (Big XII champ), #5 Oregon (PAC 12 champ), and #2 Alabama (at large). #4 Stanford would have been left out - but I don't think they would have had a terribly convincing complaint because they lost to Oregon during the regular season.



This kind of setup could be a bad scenario for BYU. Let's say we finish #4 (instead of Stanford), #5 Oregon would jump us and we would be on the outside looking in. (This is why an 8-team playoff might be better. I won't be surprised if we get to an 8-team playoff within 5 years after the 4-team system starts).



But, the new playoff/BCS arrangement will still likely providing a top-ranked BYU (or Stanford or other "at large") good access to participate in a New Year's bowl game (outside the playoffs).
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SpiffCoug
My biggest problem with the BCS has always been the fact that they don't fully believe in their own system. If you're going to put out a ranking system then follow that system. The ONLY qualification for an automatic bid to a BCS bowl or a BCS playoff is finishing inside the top whatever-amount-of-bids-you-have-available.



If you have five bowls and need 10 teams you take the first ten teams in your rankings. If you profess that your rankings are a true indication of the best teams, then use it.



If you have a four team playoff then teams #1-#4 should be in the playoff. If you have an eight team playoff then it's teams #1-#8.



Making exceptions cheapens your rankings.
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Cougarbib
BCS is no more about fairness than Hawks post about Heisman controversy. Actions of a cartel or monopoly.



Back to my point- The Bowls will continue to tie themselves to binding agreements with the major conferences. Do not expect any big breakthrough there.



That has nothing to do with BCS and everything to do with greedy Bowls.



There may be a tiny bit of movement in the middle to lower bowls that could help us slightly - but don't sit by the phone waiting for Jerry to call.



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YNot
SpiffCoug wrote:
My biggest problem with the BCS has always been the fact that they don't fully believe in their own system. If you're going to put out a ranking system then follow that system. The ONLY qualification for an automatic bid to a BCS bowl or a BCS playoff is finishing inside the top whatever-amount-of-bids-you-have-available.



If you have five bowls and need 10 teams you take the first ten teams in your rankings. If you profess that your rankings are a true indication of the best teams, then use it.



If you have a four team playoff then teams #1-#4 should be in the playoff. If you have an eight team playoff then it's teams #1-#8.



Making exceptions cheapens your rankings.


The BCS absolutely embraces its ranking system. It knows that polls and rankings are not an exact science, but it knows that the rankings system will placate the vast majority of fans and media and will ultimately provide enough Big Boy programs from which to choose. While the BCS has been forced to include Boise State, TCU, Hawaii, and Utah, it has by and large found a system through which the major bowl games can still invite the big boys, without stepping too far outside the anti-trust box. For instance, last season, #7 Boise State played ASU at the Las Vegas Bowl...meanwhile, the Rose Bowl was ensured its matchup and #11 Virginia Tech, #13 Michigan, #15 Clemson (ACC champ), and #23 West Virginia (Big East champ....yes still part of the BCS system...for now) all played on New Year's Day (observed) in BCS bowl games.



Had the BCS rankings REALLY been the decisive factor, Boise State and Kansas State or Baylor would have been included. But, Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and Clemson will move the needle more. It will only get worse as the 2-per conference and automatic qualifier rules disappear. Without those rules in place Arkansas, South Carolina, or Oklahoma would have surely replaced West Virginia and perhaps even Clemson or Virginia Tech.
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