Independence a leap of faith, football and fame for BYU

Great article from CBSSports.com



Independence a leap of faith, football and fame for BYU

"Now that we've got it, [independence is] a little scary," Holmoe said. "But it's also, 'Hey, this could really be better than we thought.' It all lies in our hands. ... We know what kind of path it is. The alternative is mediocrity."



That's a slap at the Mountain West, which was neutered during conference realignment. Utah jumped to the Pac-12 and TCU agreed, beginning in 2012, to go to the Big East. The MWC that was once hard-charging toward temporary automatic BCS status now looks a lot like the conference it broke away from in 1999 -- the WAC. Boise State (in 2011), Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii (in 2012) have been added but the MWC's momentum just isn't the same.

The whole article was a good read. Of all the national writers, Dennis Dodd seems to get the big picture approach BYU is taking better than many.

Hmmm. So I wonder what Chow meant when he said the following:



"I think it's going to be hard," Chow said. "I remember [at BYU] you geared up for big games ... but when you've got to play that every week, it's tough. What do you tell the kids in November when you've lost a game or two? 'We've got to go win the Las Vegas Bowl?'"



Did he mean that it was tough then-because back then it was the holiday bowl, did he mean like the last few years where we were "stuck" with the LV Bowl, or does he mean that now we may lose a game or two and have no conference title to go after just a lowly bowl game?

I think he meant that with no conference championship to play for it will be hard to motivate players to win when all they have to look forward to is the Poinsettia Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, or whatever. With no conference championship, there is the potential for a huge end-of-season let down.



The article was a very good read.

Good article.



This was a little over the top:

"I feel liberated," said Mendenhall, possibly the deepest-thinking major-college coach in the land. "We can play anyone we want to play."



But I really like the prospect of this:

"Soon his division will launch the same iPhone and iPad apps that every BCS conference in the country is exploring as a new way to market their product. But this is one school. Fans will be able to watch their Cougars through their Xboxes and PlayStation 3s."



Can't wait for the Mississippi game.

So what did Chow tell his UCLA teams after they were out of it in October then? And what is he going to tell the Utes when they are looking to a Las Vegas Bowl in mid-October? Sorry, but that is a load of crapalony. A conference title only motivates when you are in the hunt, and even then, sometimes a bigger picture does it. Conf titles can be overrated. Go ask the Sun Belt winner, or the MAC winner and get back to me.

methinks that given the growing number of Indie teams, we might start seeing an Indie trophy not unlike the Armed Forces Trophy or something similar.

CougarClaw wrote:
methinks that given the growing number of Indie teams, we might start seeing an Indie trophy not unlike the Armed Forces Trophy or something similar.

I remember one of the main digs local media had against going independent was the whole "no more All-conference honors" for our athletes. Isn't there an All-Independent team announced every year? IIRC there is and in all honesty, if one thinks that being named All-Independent doesn't mean anything, what's the difference between that and All-MWC? I'd say they're pretty much comparable and the student athletes get to play much better competition not being in the MWC.

radius19 wrote:

methinks that given the growing number of Indie teams, we might start seeing an Indie trophy not unlike the Armed Forces Trophy or something similar.

I remember one of the main digs local media had against going independent was the whole "no more All-conference honors" for our athletes. Isn't there an All-Independent team announced every year? IIRC there is and in all honesty, if one thinks that being named All-Independent doesn't mean anything, what's the difference between that and All-MWC? I'd say they're pretty much comparable and the student athletes get to play much better competition not being in the MWC.

Even then, what do those "honors" get you? Higher draft pick? More leverage at the contract negotiating table? Bragging rights? Who cares.

Ya, Norm, how about that LV but kicking and 59-0 turnaround. Thanks for bringing mediocrity to the ewe.

I can't help but think that this year's basketball season was a good preamble to football independance. One thing that is absolutely certain, There are millions of BYU fans. As long as Mendenhall keeps the product good enough to entertain, the fans will be ready with money in hand. Heaps and crew will not be burried and sabatoged by the MTN network the way Jimmer was. I can't believe how the MTN just sat on Jimmer. He was the posterchild of the NCAA tournament until yesterday. Even today Dan Patrick was still going on about him all morning.



I really am at a loss for some of the comments on the MTN's facebook site yesterday directed to BYU such as "don't let the door hit you on the way out". What could that possibly be a reference to? Didn't they just take a 2 seen in the sweet 16 to overtime despite having an off game. What MTN team did better than that?



BYU haters will not like BYU independence. It will be painful for them to witness. I'm going to change my cable package this weekend and look forward to September.