The Truth About BYU’s Schedule

The BYU haters are still out in full force. Time to dive into the truth about the often criticized BYU schedule.

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[spencerhiginbotham]

I would love to see BYU vs Notre Dame in the first round in Provo. That would be karma for the way Notre Dame refused to come to Provo after two games in South Bend and made them settle for a game in Las Vegas where Notre Dame got to sell most of the tickets.

[s]

BYU is a criminally underrated program and they get no respect

[briancrismonpetersen]

Number of touchdowns allowed by KSU and SMU: 0.

Yeah Indiana has blown out teams. But BYU is giving their 2s and 3s late game reps. Which just speaks to the level of coaching.

The UCF game could have been a completely different score if that was their intent. But they aren’t trying to blow out teams.

[tmtSHD]

It is not just how BYU is treated, it is how the Big12 is treated. ISU and K-State’s recent games did not help the conference either.

[Zephlux]

So far on Indiana's schedule none of their opponents have qualified for a bowl game yet.

[MrEyeist]

BYU is accustomed to the disrespect. This disrespect is great for the rivalry against Utah this Saturday. Before the CFP release, the score would have been BYU 30 Utah 12. After the CFP release, BYU 45 Utah 3.

[CarlaJenkinsTV]

BYU is undefeated and has beaten 2 ranked teams. That's stronger than Alabama with 2 losses to (then) unranked Vanderbilt and Tennessee, which was lowered ranked at #11 when they played the Tide. Even LSU with 2 losses to then ranked USC and Texas A & M, has a better resume than Alabama.

[aBrewster]

I wouldn’t throw much shade at Indiana. The real issue is that the same old blue bloods get credit for winning no matter who they play, while their losses are excused. The criteria for rating teams is never really set—it’s almost like they evaluate the blue bloods first and then sprinkle in everyone else based on whatever inconsistent rationale they felt applies this year.

Just keep winning, BYU!!!

[Mike-aka]

Indiana got the benefit of a last place schedule. Not knowing they would just blow through it. Maybe the league was hoping they could go 5-7 or 6-6 and start building up the program. Maybe next year we see Purdue doing the same thing. It’s NIL that’s Creating this too. Even within our confines look at Houston or Cincy. They improving. And surprising. Not on Indiana level of course but they are course to start building up their programs to be competitive.

I think the league views UCF and BYU as already being competitive. Last year 6-6 and 5-7 respectively.

[jeoffbenzos]

These crap schedules are a result of expansion. All the conferences are more diluted now. Before last week there was the possibility of Miami going 12-0 without a ranked win, and not even making the ACC championship. That's a big problem we didn't anticipate before expansion.

[WahleeUT]

There's a hard truth that most people don't want to acknowledge: in 1984, BYU was begrudgingly given a national championship by virtue of being ranked #1 at the end of the season (in all four existing polls). They were in the WAC and played (pretty much) no one, but enough ranked teams ahead of them lost, and lost enough, that even the haters couldn't justify ranking anyone #1 ahead of the undefeated Cougars come the end of the season. They're the only non-P5/P4 team to have done it in the modern era (the last one I identified who isn't currently in a P4 conference plus Notre Dame was Army in 1945).

Since then, the powers that be in college football have done everything possible to make sure IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. NCAA men's basketball loves a Cinderella, but football, no so much. Under a seemingly-fair "we want #1 to play #2 every year" rhetoric, they've spent the last 40 years rigging the system. That meant the Bowl Coalition, which led to the Bowl Alliance, which led to the BCS, which lead to the 4-team playoff, all weighted to reward teams from certain conferences and, while giving the "less than" teams a theoretical chance, not giving them a real one. It's why #6-ranked BYU got shunted to the Cotton Bowl after their 13-1 regular season instead of a Bowl Alliance bid. It's why Utah never had a chance during their amazing run under Urban Meyer in the aughts. It's why Boise State and UCF and lots of other G5 Cinderella teams keep getting left out in the cold. And it's at least part of the reason why BYU has been "underdogs" in pretty much every game this season.

And even though BYU is in a G4 conference now and has consistently been at least a good team and sometimes an excellent team for most of those 40 years even while being an independent team (which can't really be said for, say, Notre Dame), the sentiment is still lingering, and the CFP rankings make it obvious. People can't get "who did they play, Bo Diddley Tech?" out of their heads, even if they weren't alive back then, because it's still the prevailing ideology for who's good and who's bad. If you're not a Brand Name, you don't get respect unless forced, and those Brand Name teams will always be given the benefit of the doubt that other teams just don't. Even among the P4 leagues, "Big 10 and SEC are inherently superior to Big 12 and ACC" is so engrained in people's minds that they, probably subconsciously, will still want to rank an Alabama team that lost to Vanderbilt over a BYU team that has lost to no one, and even if they think better of it, it still drops the no-name teams in the rankings. And until we can figure out a non-subjective way to rank teams, it always will.

Incidentally, the last time Alabama lost to Vanderbilt was 1984.

[CCOS]

SOS is a crutch for excuses as 2 why they put certain brands in, nothing more nothing less. It's rarely discussed in the NFL

[ROADTOTHESHOW]

I would want to but not want to see BYU join the sec it would be a tough schedule but we could beat Texas longhorns

[Chemical]

Elephant in the room: The nation can't get the TCU /Michigan game out of their head. Until we take down a Big 10 or SEC power in a bowl game we won't get respect

[jeddrichards]

Its ok people. Keep the disrespect please. Thats the only way byu keeps on winning!! Also until they win a top tier program they havent proven to be ranked higher than they are

[jtomaha]

unfortunately indiana hasn't played a good football team yet. they fixing to get exposed in a couple weeks tho...

[davidbradham]

After 20 years, Kyle should be given another year, out of respect, If he chooses to return

[ChaseWorldTraining]

The problem is that in 1984 when BYU won the national championship thats when BCS and CFP was created so BYU couldn't win SEC and Big 10 should have their own national champion. I want BUYU to win out and then no one can put them down.

[sarahmccoy]

Speaking of crap schedules, look at the schedules of Big XII football teams this season.

[chrisowen]

If byu wins they’re in all you have to do is win out and at worst you’ll be the 4 seed.