As BYU Football enters the Big 12, the Cougars will have less flexibility in scheduling.
On one end of the BYU Football Independence era spectrum you get terrible bowl games. On the flip however there have been some amazing matchups and games. Everything else has been somewhat in between with the clear final destination being invited to the Big 12 (or another P5).
Just think about this, since BYU has gone Independent they have played teams like Nebraska, UCLA, USC, Missouri, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Wisconsin, Texas, Baylor, Tennessee and Virginia. The list could go on and on.
Now that BYU is going to the Big 12 however, and assuming they want to keep Utah on the schedule every year, the Cougars may not play very many more big programs outside of a bowl game.
In fact, it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that the Cougars may only play three or four P5 teams outside of the Big 12/Utah over the next decade. So which teams should they seek after to play?
For the sake of this article, I will be taking on process of considering teams as they currently are. Obviously it is impossible to know where a team will be in five years.
1. Miami
Miami is probably in most people’s top three for obvious reasons. The history of these two teams and the already scheduled game (that will be canceled) have already stirred up anticipation for this game.
Miami is the kind of team that would carry a lot more bang than actual game. Miami has consistently been a middle of the pack ACC team for quite some time and so if we take out the name Miami, this is just a “meh” P5 game.
That is exactly why BYU Football should pursue this game however. The Cougars want to win all three (or four) of their non conference games. While Miami would certainly be no pushover, for the amount of eyes and hype that this game would get, it would essentially be like a Top 15 team without the Top 15 talent.
This game makes too much sense and would give BYU a ton of value with a great chance to win.