BYU Football has officially released their 2023 schedule, but how does it stack up with the original schedule?
BYU Football is one step closer to being an official member of the Big 12. On Tuesday, the conference released the official schedule for the 2023 season, and for the first time BYU was able to see their logo on the schedule. Obviously this sent Cougar Nation to the moon and back with excitement and anticipation, particularly after seeing Texas and Oklahoma are both on the schedule.
But what if we take a step back and analyze how it would have compared to the original schedule? Is the Big 12 schedule actually better and more competitive? Let’s dive in, by comparing the games, worst to best. The team with the * represents the old game.
No. 12 Southern Utah* vs Southern Utah
Tougher Game: Southern Utah (Original)
This is undoubtingly splitting hairs, but originally the Cougars were slated to play the the Thunderbirds in late November and they are now slated to play them in the second week of the season. The opponent is the same, but playing late in the season when there could be some key injuries could have proved to be a bit more challenging, but nothing really to worry about.
No. 11 USF* vs Sam Houston State
Tougher Game: USF
USF is not a very good team, and interestingly enough, this would have been the fourth time that these two teams would have faced off in a five years. However, USF would have still been a more difficult game than Sam Houston State, who is taking the step up to the FBS level in the 2023 season. Granted, Sam Houston State was pretty good at the FCS level, but I don’t see them quite at the USF level, yet.