Why BYU belongs in a mid-major conference

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It really is quite simple. BYU would be playing as poorly as Utah in a BCS Conference.

-Byu sustained most of its injuries vs big teams.

-Byu looked its actual speed--slower--vs Big teams.

-Byu looked physically weaker and over-matched vs big teams

-Texas was an anomaly in timing and hubris. Tx would destroy Byu right now.

-BYU can't recruit the depth to compete. How average Byu became w injuries to starters.

-BYU in a mid-major would not need as tough a schedule to make national noise as evidenced by NIU.

Byu suffers from fantasy and unearned hubris (still thinking it does belong with the big boys)

-BYU can't beat a low level PAC rival.

-one big OOC win & run the table in the MWC and then Byu has something more to play for.

-fans stay interested in the above scenario. Bowl attendance will be down this year.

-As indicated in the above article, fan influence, at least the in the fair weather fans, will wane without beating better teams or at least not ever giving away wins to the likes of UVA.

-BCS affiliation will not be a panacea to recruiting. That is total fantasy. BYU already has increased exposure thru its current television arrangements (which it will never concede in the future). What it will trade off is increased losses (like Utah has experienced) which distracts big time recruits as much as non- BCS and or Indy. Net-net zero gain.

Conclusion: BYU Is least likely to "Rise Up" to the top and receive national prominence in a BCS conf or as an Independant (with a "tough enough" schedule) as they are in a mid- major.

BYUs sweet spot would be mid-major with all of its current TV rights.

This year provides strong evidence that BYU is not ready and will likely Lose ground (as Utah has) in a BCS conference.

I'm committed as a fan and will always cheer, donate, and support. But my belief and my own fantasies of prominence have once again been tempered by just another "good season."

So, we have four losses, all in relatively close games, against a top-25 schedule and that means we ought to be in a mid-major conference? That makes sense.

Schmoe wrote:
So, we have four losses, all in relatively close games, against a top-25 schedule and that means we ought to be in a mid-major conference? That makes sense.

What he is saying is that if BYU could beat Fresno State this year, which USU will get to try to do, BYU would be MWC champion. And if BYU quit scheduling east coast trips and quit playing teams that refuse to play 1 for 1 in Provo, and quit playing U, this team this year would be undefeated. Might be. Scheduling to win. Of course they would not be one bit betyer than they are and would get smoked in a BCS Bowl.



Next year - they would go undefeated again snd actually be a better team and compete in s BCS Bowl. 2015. Dynamite.



But BYU football is fun and entertaining no matter whether Independent or MWC level.



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BYU seems to be doing better than Utah lately despite having similar SOS, so as soon as they go back to the MWC I'm willing to discuss the idea of BYU going mid major.

I was disappointed in this season, but how many times in the past could we say that we handled UT, GT, BSU, and played Wisconsin & ND pretty well? As down as I've been this season it was a small step forward. And if we were in a P5 conference I think we'd do pretty well.



Look at Missouri. Mizzou could never do anything in the B12 except for win the pathetic North division. Now they're going to win the SEC after they mandhandle Auburn. Sometimes it's just the right fit. Plus their recruiting has jumped since moving to the SEC.



Good things happen when you play the big boys.

There is no mid major conference that can give BYU the exposure that we've had this year. NONE. Because no mid major can give BYU that access to TV viewers, BYU doesn't belong in one - it is that simple. Conference championships < << Increased TV exposure for fan excitement and recruiting.

hawkwing wrote:
BYU seems to be doing better than Utah lately despite having similar SOS, so as soon as they go back to the MWC I'm willing to discuss the idea of BYU going mid major.

Utah SOS was at or near #1 in rankings all year. BYU was 30ish. That was this year.



Do not recall how they compared in 2011 and 2012. Probably closer. But U has been playing a tougher schedule and it shows.



It is rare that any team shuns a better conference and rare that a conference boots a team, so I think U will stay put and wallow in their misery.



I do not expect BYU to turn back either.



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You seem to be assuming that the Y has reached it's peak. That they will never be any better than they are this year. I totally disagree. We are just a few points away from BCS talk. I believe we can come up with those points in the future. We certainly have had more exposure this year than we had even in years when we were ranked.

I agree with many of the points in the original post.



However, I think where we are is the best place for what we are.



We are a good not great program. We need to have a schedule that is good enough to allow us to shine when we are good to great, but won't be too difficult so that it makes us irrelevant. If we go back to the MWC we won't have enough meat. On the other hand if we went to the Pac-12 we have no chance in regularly competing with the USC, Oregon's, and UCLA's of the world for recruits, prestige, and tv time.



Independence fits us perfectly. Our fans can access us whenever they want. We can access our alumni all over the country. We have a schedule that is better than a mid major, but not too difficult.



Our bowl situation is lacking. It is playoffs or bust for the most part. But going back to mid major status would do nothing other than allow us to hang a few more conference title banners and play big time programs less than we do now.

This is why I had Bib on ignore for about two years. Bout ready to put him back there.

jonnylingo wrote:
This is why I had Bib on ignore for about two years. Bout ready to put him back there.

I thought both of Bib's responses in this thread were actually reasonable and coherent comments :) With that being said, while I enjoy being in a conference, I see no reason to go backwards at this time. TH and BM are putting some very nice schedules together for the future. ESPN exposure has been great and BYU fans throughout the country being able to see the team live has been awesome. I like the makeup of next year's schedule slightly better than this year's. It makes sense to stay the course for the time being. Go Cougars!

Wolverine wrote:

This is why I had Bib on ignore for about two years. Bout ready to put him back there.

I thought both of Bib's responses in this thread were actually reasonable and coherent comments :) With that being said, while I enjoy being in a conference, I see no reason to go backwards at this time. TH and BM are putting some very nice schedules together for the future. ESPN exposure has been great and BYU fans throughout the country being able to see the team live has been awesome. I like the makeup of next year's schedule slightly better than this year's. It makes sense to stay the course for the time being. Go Cougars!

I don't care what the responses said. the topic thread is so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading it. byu has 65k fans attend each football game. it has one of the highest bball attendnce record in the country. it has a national titel, heisman trophy winner,....etc. we are nota mid major school. period. we are a middle of the pack bcs calilber school. i would say the level below elite teams but better than most.



we would compete just fine. to call byu a mid major and saying we belong there is insulting and stupid.

jonnylingo wrote:

jonnylingo wrote:
This is why I had Bib on ignore for about two years. Bout ready to put him back there.

I thought both of Bib's responses in this thread were actually reasonable and coherent comments :) With that being said, while I enjoy being in a conference, I see no reason to go backwards at this time. TH and BM are putting some very nice schedules together for the future. ESPN exposure has been great and BYU fans throughout the country being able to see the team live has been awesome. I like the makeup of next year's schedule slightly better than this year's. It makes sense to stay the course for the time being. Go Cougars!

I don't care what the responses said. the topic thread is so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading it. byu has 65k fans attend each football game. it has one of the highest bball attendnce record in the country. it has a national titel, heisman trophy winner,....etc. we are nota mid major school. period. we are a middle of the pack bcs calilber school. i would say the level below elite teams but better than most.



we would compete just fine. to call byu a mid major and saying we belong there is insulting and stupid.

Maybe you should be blaming Cougs_Rule for the topic, he was the original poster.

Back to the topic at hand: If BYU's main goal was simply to go undefeated, I don't think it would be that tough to schedule down and do it, especially as an independent. But we KNOW what BYU's main goal with football is, and it's not that.

After 2014, mid-major conference affiliation is a moot point as BCS goes away and is replaced with playoff system. NIL will be in a world of hurt as their SOS will not win them many points. BYU focusing on landing major teams coupled with some lesser foes is no different than how the B12, SEC, B10 have been scheduling. BYU will be in a much better position and clearly still an attractive candidate due to visibility via ESPN coverage.

So, one year into a new OC and people are already throwing in the towel?

hawkwing wrote:

Wolverine wrote:

This is why I had Bib on ignore for about two years. Bout ready to put him back there.

I thought both of Bib's responses in this thread were actually reasonable and coherent comments :) With that being said, while I enjoy being in a conference, I see no reason to go backwards at this time. TH and BM are putting some very nice schedules together for the future. ESPN exposure has been great and BYU fans throughout the country being able to see the team live has been awesome. I like the makeup of next year's schedule slightly better than this year's. It makes sense to stay the course for the time being. Go Cougars!

I don't care what the responses said. the topic thread is so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading it. byu has 65k fans attend each football game. it has one of the highest bball attendnce record in the country. it has a national titel, heisman trophy winner,....etc. we are nota mid major school. period. we are a middle of the pack bcs calilber school. i would say the level below elite teams but better than most.



we would compete just fine. to call byu a mid major and saying we belong there is insulting and stupid.

Maybe you should be blaming Cougs_Rule for the topic, he was the original poster.

Whoops. My bad. I take it back. This topic started by Cougs Rule is stupid!

I still think a MWC with the original teams plus a few hand selected others would be good for football and basketball:



BYU

Utah

TCU

San Diego St.

UCLA

New Mexico

Colorado St.

Wyoming

Air Force



Plus

Boise St

Fresno St.

Utah St.

Or some others...



Sure there's some real cupcakes in there but it would still be challenging to win the conference title. I understand why we went independent but I think the MWC with the right teams AND the right TV contract would be great.

jonnylingo wrote:

jonnylingo wrote:
This is why I had Bib on ignore for about two years. Bout ready to put him back there.

I thought both of Bib's responses in this thread were actually reasonable and coherent comments :) With that being said, while I enjoy being in a conference, I see no reason to go backwards at this time. TH and BM are putting some very nice schedules together for the future. ESPN exposure has been great and BYU fans throughout the country being able to see the team live has been awesome. I like the makeup of next year's schedule slightly better than this year's. It makes sense to stay the course for the time being. Go Cougars!

I don't care what the responses said. the topic thread is so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading it. byu has 65k fans attend each football game. it has one of the highest bball attendnce record in the country. it has a national titel, heisman trophy winner,....etc. we are nota mid major school. period. ]we are a middle of the pack bcs calilber school. i would say the level below elite teams but better than most



we would compete just fine. to call byu a mid major and saying we belong there is insulting and stupid.

Potatoes. Potahtoes. You are saying the same thing. Who is usually winning the MWC? The less than elite but better than most teams. That's exactly who BYU is except BYU couldnt beat TCU or Utah when those teams were that team; and as a result BYU would have 6-6 seasons on a regular basis in a BCS conference, with an occasional 8-4 and realistically 4-7 (utah last year and this year) and in a really good year 10-2 season. BYU doesn't have the depth to compete year in and out. Oh maybe we get 1 out of 2 Mamas but the Daddy's ain't comin regularly and you know it. If you don't, you are in denial. Search your peeps, you know they ain't comin to Provo if BYU is suckin wind more seasons than not. They want ND and Oregon glory.

hawkwing wrote:

Wolverine wrote:

This is why I had Bib on ignore for about two years. Bout ready to put him back there.

I thought both of Bib's responses in this thread were actually reasonable and coherent comments :) With that being said, while I enjoy being in a conference, I see no reason to go backwards at this time. TH and BM are putting some very nice schedules together for the future. ESPN exposure has been great and BYU fans throughout the country being able to see the team live has been awesome. I like the makeup of next year's schedule slightly better than this year's. It makes sense to stay the course for the time being. Go Cougars!

I don't care what the responses said. the topic thread is so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading it. byu has 65k fans attend each football game. it has one of the highest bball attendnce record in the country. it has a national titel, heisman trophy winner,....etc. we are nota mid major school. period. we are a middle of the pack bcs calilber school. i would say the level below elite teams but better than most.



we would compete just fine. to call byu a mid major and saying we belong there is insulting and stupid.

Maybe you should be blaming Cougs_Rule for the topic, he was the original poster.

Wow. how do I rate? Throwing me under the bus and pulling Bib from under the bus. :-)