BYU & the Big XII: From the Perspective of a True Outsider

Recently the Big XII conference announced that they would consider expanding the conference to 12 or 14 members as soon as 2017. Among those rumored to be under consideration are Houston, Cincinnati, UConn, Memphis, Colorado State, and of course BYU. In the days following the conference's announcement there has been oodles of speculation about who will get let in, who will be left out, or if the Big XII will even expand at all. 

To most, BYU seems like the front runner in nearly every way except geography. The Cougars have a strong football tradition which includes a national championship, a Heisman Trophy winner (who just so happens to be BYU's current offensive coordinator), and multiple other prestigious individual awards. BYU also boasts strong men's and women's basketball and Olympic sports. All of this along with the fact that BYU does have a national following adds up to make the Cougars at the very least a strong candidate should the Big XII choose to expand. 

Inclusion in a power 5 conference, of course, has been the proverbial unicorn that Cougar faithful have sought since they be came an FBS independent in football and joined the WCC for all other sports in 2010, the very same year BYU's arch rival Utah was invited to the PAC 12. BYU's independence in football, as intended, makes them an attractive candidate for the Big XII because they will be immediately available without having to pay an exit fee from another conference. Independence in football also makes BYU a possibility to add as a football only member with the rest of their sports remaining in the WCC, though this would be less than ideal for the Cougars. 

From a statistical standpoint, BYU's numbers are better nearly across the board than any other G5 candidate. If you don't belive me check out byutobig12.com for an extensive analysis. 

With all of this put together it's clear that Tom Holmoe has put BYU in a great position by making them the strongest and most easily accessible potential candidate for Big XII expansion. Indeed it seems that BYU is a shoe in the event that the Big XII does send out invitations.

Top Ten Players of the Bronco Mendenhall Era at BYU

At this time of year where real football news is so sparse, it's fun to reflect on the highlights of yesteryear. This is my list of the top ten BYU football players during the Bronco Mendenhall era.  Feel free to comment with any players you think I missed. Let's get started:

#10. Jan Jorgensen

The Janimal was a four year starter at defensive end, and his career was truly electrifying. Jan's sophomore campaign was particularly exciting as he set MWC records for both sacks and tackles in a season. Even though he was not able to eclipse those marks in subsequent seasons Jorgensen was still a force to be reckoned with from start to finish at BYU. 

#9. Cody Hoffman

Cody Hoffman missed only two games in his four years at BYU and will go down as one of the most reliable sets of hands any BYU quarterback has ever had to throw to.  He finished his career as BYU's all time leader in all-purpose yards, games with 100+ receiving yards, career receiving yards, and career receiving touchdowns.  Cody caught a pass in every game where he stepped on the field for BYU.

#8. Max Hall

Max came to BYU as a relatively unknown player and left as the quarterback with the most wins in BYU history. As a three year starter he never missed a game, never had a season with fewer than 10 wins, and is the last Cougar QB to end his career with a winning record against Utah. 

#7. Bronson Kaufusi

If there was one D-line man during Bronco's tenure who had pro potential from day one it was Bronson Kaufusi. With the height and reach to swat passes, the strength to bull rush offensive tackles and the speed to chase down opposing quarterbacks and running backs Kaufusi seemed to always find a way to throw a wrench in opposing teams offensive game plan. With Kaufusi's talent and tools it's no wonder the Baltimore Ravens have been so high on him through rookie training camp. 

#6. Curtis Brown

Curtis Brown's career at BYU was one to be remembered.  As three year starter Brown finished his career with two 1,000 yard seasons and a career average of 5.0 yards per carry.  By the time his time in the Cougar backfield was finished he was BYU's all-time rushing yards leader and one of the most beloved to ever don the white and blue of BYU.

#5. Kyle Van Noy

Kyle Van Noy will go down as one of the best linebackers in Cougar history. A truly dangerous edge rusher with serious ball skills and a nose for the end zone (yes as a linebacker) it's no wonder he will go down as one of the biggest play-makers to ever line up on defense for  BYU. 

# 4. Harvey Unga

Harvey Unga was one of the most reliable running backs BYU has ever had line up in the backfield. He had the whole package. He had just enough speed, plenty of strength, steady hands, reliable receiving skills, good blocking and a nose for holes in the line. It's no wonder by the end of his junior season he already held every rushing record in the Cougars record book. There is no doubt if he had been able to stay at BYU for his senior season he would have put most of those records out of a reach for years to come. 

#3. Dennis Pitta

There is no doubt that Dennis Pitta was the best tight end of the Bronco Mendenhall era. He set the NCAA record for most career receiving yards by a tight end and will go down as one of the many greats to play tight end at BYU.

#2. John Beck

John Beck's career at BYU started off turbulently, but he sure made up for it in the end. Each season Beck set new career bests for passing yards, passing touchdowns, and QBR. He also managed to win every conference game his senior year. He capped his BYU career off with his incredible final play touchdown pass to Johnny Harline to beat Utah followed by walloping Oregon in the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl.

#1. Austin Collie

There is no question that Austin Collie was the best wide reciver BYU has ever had, period.  At the end of his junior season, his final at BYU,  he held BYU's all-time record in every meaningful receiving statistic.  Collie had speed, strength, hands stickier than pine tar, and great rout running making him the whole package. Cougar fans will never blame him for leaving early to the NFL, but they will always wonder what could have been if he stayed in Provo his senior season.

BYU and Utah Football 2016 Season Preview

BYU and Utah College Football Preview:

It's that time of the year for me.  Spring ball is over, fall camp is still a ways off. I try to distract myself from the lack of football with other things like camping, vacation, baseball, and other forms of recreation but at the end of the day my mind still waders to the same thing nearly every night: College Football

Much anticipation surrounds the upcoming CFB season in the state of Utah.  In some way or another, be it new coaches,QB's, or what have you, BYU and Utah each will be entering a new era in their history.  So why beat around the bush? Here are my previews and predictions for the U of U's, and BYU's 2016 football season:

Utah

Big questions surround the Utes this year, particularly on offense. With Travis Wilson, DeVontae Booker, Britain Covey and others gone, Utah returns less than 20% of their total yards from last season (the lowest percentage of returning yards of all FBS teams).  Joe Williams, a decent player but a far cry from DeVontae Booker, figures to be the starting running back.  A three horse quarter back race will no doubt spark media and fan intrigue and questions during fall camp. Britain Covey was the lone stand out of an otherwise unremarkable receiving unit last season and with his departure for a church mission who knows what the team will be able to count on from that part of the offense. The fact that the Utes return 4 out of 5 offensive line starters bodes well and makes the offensive front likely to be the anchor of an otherwise questionable offensive unit.

Solid defense has always been the trademark of Kyle Whittingham's teams and this year should be no different with the Ute defense returning plenty of experience.  Lowell Lotulelei and Hunter Dimick will look to head up another aggressive defensive attack that will be sure to regularly put opposing quarterbacks under duress. As in years past, the 2016 version of Kyle Whittingham's defense should be strong enough to keep the Utes competitive in all of their games.

Schedule Predictions:
Sep. 1 - Southern Utah
SUU will serve as a warm up game for the Utes.  The T-Birds are coming off a Big Sky Conference championship last season, but lose tons of talent across the board.  Early in this game the Utah defense will dominate, while the offense sputters during the first quarter.  Eventually though the Ute offense will find a groove as the SUU defense wears down, and the Utes will cruise to a 38-6 victory.

Sep. 10 - Brigham Young
The Holy War! The biggest game of the season in the state of Utah. This will be the first true test of Utah's challenging schedule. The Utes and Cougars will go punch for punch through the first first half.  In the second half though the Cougars experienced and potent offense will pull away as the Ute offense bogs down. Utah's five game win streak against the Cougars will come to an end as the Utes suffer a 27-13 loss to their arch rival.

Sep. 17 - at San Jose State
Coming off a tough loss to BYU, Utah enters it's first road game against SJSU looking to get back on track. The Ute defense absolutely shuts down the Spartans offense, but for the third week in a row the offense struggles to find a flow early. Luckily for Utah their defense is so dominant in this game that SJSU's defense just wears down in the second half.  The offense finally starts to move the ball and put consistent drives together. Utah wins this one 31-3 to head into PAC 12 play with a good taste in their mouths.

Sep. 23 - Southern California
Looking to avenge last season's thrashing at the hand of USC, Utah enters this game focused.  The defenses dictate this game which makes special teams and field position vital.  With the score tied at 17 late in the 4th quarter Utah pin's USC inside the 10 yard line and forces a 3 and out.  A good punt return sets Utah up for a field goal that sails through the uprights and ends up being the difference in the game. Utah pulls off the 20-17 victory over USC to open up conference play on a high note.

Oct. 1 - at California
Utah takes their show on the road to face the Golden Bears.  Without Jared Goff Cal isn't nearly as good as they were last season.  Utah's defense is able to limit the Bears air raid attack to a season low in yards and points, while the Ute offense finally puts together a good performance from start to finish. Utah earns it's third victory in a row with a dominant 42-24 road win.

Oct. 8 - Arizona
The Wildcats are on a roll coming into this game on a 4 game win streak, and so are the Utes. Arizona is the first offense to break the 30 point threshold against Utah's defense as their pace of play just wears the Utes down.  Utah's offense does it's best to keep it close but in the end, they just can't keep up and the Wildcats pull away in the 4th.  Arizona hands Utah their second home loss of the season, and the grumbling about Whittingham starts again. Final score: Arizona 38 Utah 28.

Oct. 15 - at Oregon State
At the midway point of the season the Ute's own a 4-2 record, with both loses coming to ranked teams.  Looking to recover from last weeks loss to Arizona, the Utes take on the Beavers.  There are no secrets to be had between these two teams.  Gary Anderson and Kyle Whittingham know each other well and this game turn out to be a classic. Late in the 4th quarter the Utes lead 27-24 but OSU is inside the 10 threatening to score when Hunter Dimick gets his hand up to tip a pass which is intercepted by a Utah corner and returned 97 yards for a huge pick-six. That puts the game out of reach for the Beavers and Utah escapes with a 34-24 win.

Oct. 22 - at UCLA
The past few meetings between the Bruins and Utes have been classics. This game holds to the same standard.  Both teams have solid defenses, but the Bruins have the edge on offense. In the 4th quarter the Bruins lead by two with only a few seconds left and the Utes are on the edge of field goal range.  Unfortunately for the Utes this time Andy Phillips doesn't come through (nobody is perfect) as he misses wide and the Utes endure their first road loss of the season with a 30-28 loss to drop their record to 5-3 with 4 games remaining.

Oct. 29 - Washington
Once again the Utes find themselves looking to rebound from a tough loss. Once again Utah's defense rises up for a good game against a solid Huskies offense.  Unfortunately the Utah offense is not up for the challenge of a solid Washington defense failing to get in the end zone even once.  The Huskies Offense does just enough to pull of the win, handing Utah their 3rd home loss 10-9.  Given the major struggles of Utah's offense this year and last, grumbling from fans and media about Utah's coaches reaches a crescendo and Kyle Whittingham is forced by the powers that be to demote Arron Roderick and Jim Harding and put Dennis Erickson in charge of the offense.

Nov. 10 - at Arizona State
The changes in the hierarchy of Utah's offensive coaching seems to pay dividends in this game. For the first time in weeks the offense seems to be able to find a flow. By this point in the season ASU has lost focus and it shows.  The Utes dominate on both sides of the ball in this one pulling off a refreshing 38-14 win on the road.

Nov. 19 - Oregon
There is no doubt about it, the Ducks are a solid team. Last season the Utes trounced them in Eugene.  Oregon comes into this game focused and ready to rumble, but so does Utah.  Make no mistake, Oregon is the better all around team on paper, but the games aren't played on paper are they?  Utah has had some struggles at home this year dropping three, they are determined to send the home town fans off with a home win and they deliver. It doesn't come easily, but Utah come away with a huge 31-24 win over the ranked Ducks.

Nov. 26 - at Colorado
The Buff are terrible again. They might as well be called the Buffalo Chips at this point. The Utes make easy work of Colorado for their most impressive victory of the year. Utah wins this one 45-10 to end the season winning three in a row with a final record of  8-4.

Even though Utah ended the year on a high note, this season is viewed as a disappointment.  Once again the Utes fall short of winning the PAC 12 South division and settle for a spot in the Las Vegas Bowl and this year, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory, being left out of the end of season top 25.  Despite a Bowl win over a solid SDSU team Utah Kyle Whittingham finds himself on the hot seat, and will no doubt be on a very short leash next year. Utah's final record is 9-4

BYU

If there are questions around Utah this season, BYU has doubled the order. New coaches. New offensive and defensive schemes. Two starting quality QB's in Tanner Mangum and Taysom Hill, and a grueling schedule.  All this adds up to make things very interesting for the Cougars in 2016.  All questions aside, BYU returns plenty of talent and experience on both sides of the ball.  This fact alone gives Cougar Nation hope. Hope that the transition into new strategies will be smooth.  Hope that Kalani Sitake and company can get this team over the hump that Bronco Mendenhall couldn't seem to crest.  Hope that BYU's future might have a glimmer of...hope.

The quarterback battle between Taysom Hill and Tanner Mangum is likely to dominate the headlines of fall camp. The good news for Kalani Sitake and Ty Detmer is that, really they can't make a bad choice here.  In the end I predict that Taysom Hill will win this battle and be the starter from start to finish.  But QB is not the only position of strength for BYU.  The running backs boast a sold core. The O line is experienced, and the receivers have caught plenty of passes. Pair that with a perennially solid defense and the Cougars look like a formidable team, despite any questions surrounding them.

Schedule Predictions

Sept. 3- at Arizona (University of Phoenix Stadium) 

There is no doubt BYU fans will have a high level of anxiety going into this game.  The wildcats and Cougars will go on to put on a show that will not help either fan base's anxieties. Arizona plays at a fast, almost frenetic offensive pace and they will no doubt score points.  On the flip side that defense has had trouble keeping other teams from scoring points and even with new defensive coaches, culture changes take time. Both teams will put up points in this game with Taysom Hill leading the way for the Cougars.  His explosive athleticism will be a key difference in this game, as BYU wins this game narrowly 34-31.

Sept. 10 - at Utah

This game means more to BYU than Utah this year. The last time BYU came out on top was 2009.  Only one of BYU's five consecutive losses has been by more than 7 points making this streak of defeats all the more agonizing for the men in blue. The first half of this game will be knock em' down smash mouth football at it's best with the defenses setting the tone. In the second half Taysom Hill's experience and leadership will show once again as he comes up with big plays when the Cougars need them. The biggest difference maker in this one though is senior tail back Jamaal Williams and his relentless ground attack that wears down the Ute defense in the second half. BYU's defense on the other hand will lock down the Utes in the second half and BYU will beat their arch rival for the first time in 7 years 27-13.

Sept. 17 - UCLA

BYU plays in front of its home crowd for the first time this season against a solid UCLA team.  Last years 24-23 loss to the Bruins still haunts some BYU players.  Josh Rosen will come into this game on a roll leading a highly ranked UCLA team.  But Taysom and the Cougars are ranked too and won't bow down to UCLA.  BYU's attack is relentless and their defense gives Rosen fits for the second year in a row. This time BYU doesn't let the Bruins hang around long enough to make a come back sending them back to LA with a 23-38 loss. The Cougars are 3-0.

Sept. 24 - West Virginia (Fedex Field)

BYU has broken the top 15 after the big win over UCLA and come to DC seeking to validate this ranking. But this game against Dana Holgersen's crew is kryptonite for the Cougars. Every time BYU does something, the Mountaineers have an answer. Maybe its having 4 big games in a row, or maybe its the travel, maybe its both, but the Cougars are in a funk. In the second half BYU finds a bit of a rhythm, but its too little too late as they are never quite able to close the gap. BYU drops this game along with the hopes and dreams of Cougar Nation. The final score is BYU 24 West Virginia 34 dropping the Cougars out of the top 15.

Sept. 30 - Toledo

Six days and over 2,000 miles after a devastating loss BYU plays a dangerous Toledo team in Provo. This would be a perfect trap game for BYU if not for the leadership and focus of this team. The senior leadership of BYU comes through to lead them to a great bounce back win against a good team. Final score BYU 42 Toledo 31.

Oct. 8 - at Michigan State

This is the first of three big ones for the Cougars. Michigan State has taken a step back from last year's CFP appearance, but they are no push over either. Both teams show up for this one with BYU holding a slight edge late in the game. Taysom breaks it open with an impromptu scramble that ends with him diving over the pylon to put the game out of reach for the Spartans. BYU 31 MSU 21. BYU is 5-1.

Oct. 14 - Mississippi State

The Bulldogs come to Provo trying to make a splash against a top 25 team. With Dak Prescott gone they have struggled in the brutal SEC west.  BYU and MSU go toe to toe with each other all game long with this one coming down to the final 5 minutes. Late in this one the altitude comes into play, with BYU pulling away for a home win against an SEC foe, final score 31-24. BYU is bowl eligible at 6-1.

Oct. 20 - at Boise State

The Broncos are ranked #12. BYU is ranked #17. This is a showdown between non-P5 heavy weights and it does not disappoint. For the third game in a row BYU is nose to nose with a very good team late as the clock dwindles but this time, they don't quite have enough in the tank. Boise State pulls away in the 4th quarter in a big way rolling to a resounding 38-24 victory. BYU drops to 6-2 and down to #25 in the polls.

Nov. 5 - at Cincinnati

After a bye week to recover from the devastating loss to Boise State, BYU has regained it's focus and composure. Cincinnati is playing great football of late behind the outstanding play of quarterback Gunner Kiel. The first half of this game sees the Bearcats to 24-17 advantage. In the second half Taysom Hill's shear will takes over as he shreds the Cincinnati defense.  BYU comes away with a 41-37 victory and improves to 7-2

Nov. 12 - Southern Utah

Back in the safe confines of Lavell Edwards stadium BYU is ready for this "game." The Cougars are ranked #23 after the win over Cincinnati and ready to pounce on the T-Birds. BYU cruises past SUU 62-10. 

Nov. 19 - Massachusetts

This game is another unremarkable one. BYU does what they are supposed to do and send the Minutemen away after a 70-3 thrashing. BYU improves to 9-2.

Nov. 26 - Utah State

Utah State comes to Provo with an upset in mind.  BYU has other plans. The Aggies put up a fight in the first half but in the second half the Cougars pull away and roll to a big season ending home victory. BYU 45 USU 20.

BYU finishes the season with a 10-2 record and a #20 ranking. They accept an invitation to play in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego facing old Mountain West Conference foe Colorado State. BYU wins the bowl game big and finishes the season on a high note with an 11-2 record and ranked #18.