With Power Five conferences heading towards a conference-only format, what’s going to happen to the BYU football schedule?
Who will be available for BYU to play with all the big schedule changes going on?
Will the Group of Five conferences – desperately looking for good matchups and games after being ditched by the Power Five programs – also lock it down, or will they want a high-profile game against BYU?
BYU isn’t in the same boat as Notre Dame, an independent with ties to the ACC. BYU loses five games against the Big Ten and Pac-12 combined, and will probably lose Missouri, so filling in the gaps with Mountain West teams would make a whole lot of sense.
What could a revised BYU schedule look like? Here’s what it is now, and what it might be.
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Sept. 5 at Utah
This really stinks because of the rivalry aspect, but maybe BYU can make up for it with something fun. Hawaii loses its home date against UCLA on September 5th, and hosting the Cougars could be just as interesting.
Sept. 12 Michigan State
Can the powers-that-be pull off a trip to Notre Dame? The Irish were supposed to play Arkansas, but that’s likely going to be be off. It might depend on whether or not BYU really does play Hawaii to start and where. Notre Dame might not be too keen on playing two straight road games – it starts at Navy – to kick things off.
Sept. 19 at Arizona State
This might be the Hawaii game depending on what the call is on the opener – the Rainbow Warriors were schedule to go to Oregon. Fresno State, though, has the week off – at the moment. It’s originally schedule to play at Colorado the week before, but that changes.
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Sept. 26 Minnesota
Just assume that Colorado State isn’t going to play at Vanderbilt, with the SEC likely to keep things in-house. Instead of going to Nashville, the Rams can come on over to Provo.
Oct. 2 Utah State
All good, all set. The Mountain West will want to keep this game between the Aggies and Cougars, especially on a Friday night.
Oct. 10 Missouri
It’s possible this could be the Notre Dame spot, with the Irish supposed to play Stanford this week. The easier call is Army, who needs to find a replacement for Princeton – the Ivy League has cancelled fall sports.
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Oct. 17 Houston
For now, this might stay as is. This would be a high-profile game for an American Athletic Conference that needs them, but if it plays a conference-only slate, Liberty could come calling – the Flames were scheduled to play at Syracuse.
Oct. 24 at Northern Illinois
A home game against BYU for the MAC? With the Big Ten bailing, this could be one of the biggest games of the conference’s college football season.
Oct. 31 OPEN DATE
There has to be at least one week off built into the schedule. Flexibility will be the key to the entire slate, but keep this open.
Nov. 7 at Boise State
If the Cougars get the week off before this, going to Boise State is more doable. The game likely stays as is.
Nov. 14 San Diego State
This is where the Cougars could have some flexibility. San Diego State also has an open date on October 31st, and the game could be moved if it’s more convenient.
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Nov. 21 North Alabama
The NCAA is likely going to allow two games against FCS teams count towards bowl eligibility. North Alabama will be a nice game to build up the win total.
Nov. 28 at Stanford
The Mountain West programs are all locked down at this point, but Notre Dame might be an option with the USC game gone. New Mexico State, though, is wide open – it’s season is scheduled to end the week before.
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