BYU Football: The reality of being invited to each P5
By Adam Gibby
![Oct 23, 2019; Kansas City, KS, USA; Team logos on display at the entrance to the interview floor during the Big 12 basketball media day at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports Oct 23, 2019; Kansas City, KS, USA; Team logos on display at the entrance to the interview floor during the Big 12 basketball media day at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/3ce8c2e0c2998468b9f19748e837f06c64ccf70f3687646e99091f91715d4f37.jpg)
Big 10
The Big 10, like the ACC is mostly on the eastern side of the country, but not quite as far east. The teams in this conference are from the northern Midwest including Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The Big 10 is probably the deepest conference amongst all sports, however lacks the most elite teams. Overall this conference in theory could make sense for BYU, but again it is a longshot.
Why BYU could get invited: The Big 10 has quite a few dumpy teams that could get dropped. Rutgers, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, and Northwestern have all historically really struggled in football. Indiana had a great year in 2020, but that was the first since forever. If the Big 10 decided to drop these teams and go into the western market, it is feasible to imagine them adding Cincinnati, BYU, Boise State and maybe an Air Force for a military affiliated team.
It is also possible that if the Big 12 decided to expand to 14 teams like the Big 10, ACC and SEC, Nebraska (historically in the Big 12) and Iowa (Iowa State rival) could be taken. That would mean that the Big 10 would likely want to expand, and many feel that Cincinnati would actually not be picked up due to having too many teams in a small area in the same conference.
Why BYU won’t get invited: BYU is still well over 1,000 miles from almost every team in the Big 10. The travel would be an issue unless the Big 10 expanded out west, which would solve quite a few issues. Also, the Big 10 and BYU don’t have a lot of good history together. Not terrible, just not great.
Overall, this conference feels like one that sounds good, looks good, but just doesn’t make sense overall.
Chance of happening: 4%