Non-Conference Scheduling rumors

[Babs]

Not late in the year. Specifically, the very last week of the year.

And it's because I've grown up on this rivalry since I was a little kid. Even when Utah was awful, that last week of the season always seemed to mean a little more than the average game against Colorado State did. For a long time, I even had an attendance streak going where I went to both the Provo and Salt Lake games every year and it was a highlight of the football season for me.

It's one of the consequences of realignment. Oklahoma-Nebraska used to be one of the classic Thanksgiving matchups. When the Big 12 formed the two no longer played every year, so we lost the marquee late-season slot. Over the fifteen B12 years the rivalry lost prominence until it was hardly recognized as a rivalry at all.

That said, a late appointment does not make or break a rivalry. Oklahoma and Texas have played in early October for decades.

[Paperback Writer]

It is and it isn't. Maybe it will tone down the vitriol that has escalated in this game over the past few years.

Toning down the vitriol would be a huge benefit. But is that possible? There are just so many undertones for this rivalry in the Beehive state. Self-righteous BYU vs Babylon Utah...and all that. It would be for the best if it was just about watching good football and cheering for one's alma mater. Not sure if either side is capable of of changing the current dynamics.

If the vitriol is not going to subside, I would hope the PAC-12 borrows from the SEC/ACC model and moves BYU-Utah back to the end of the regular sesaon. That's the case with Georgia-Georgia Tech and South Carolina-Clemson. There's a reason those games are usually the last of the regular season and BYU-Utah should be treated no differently. My guess is that after Utah traveles to Boulder a view times and experiences the arm pit that is Folsom Field, Utah will be begging the powers in the PAC-12 to schedule BYU the last week of the season. Maybe Colorado St. could play CU on the last week of the season as no other team wants Colorado as a rivial (and Utah certainly shouldn't).

[shoganai]

What vitriol? I don't understand this at all. I hear this come from both sides and I don't get it. What are you talking about? Max Hall? Austin Collie? The "throat slash"? People that make this claim don't even know what vitriol is when it comes to rivalries. I have seen HS rivalries with more vitriol than BYU and Utah.

I'm personally just hoping for more strippers at RES, with the game being in September and all.

[byu71]

I am just sitting here waiting for a call, so I will add my two cents worth. I think I have caught the gist of the conversation.

Right now Utah doesn't need us nearly as bad as we need them.

Now, who knows what the future brings. If the Utes can compete in the PAC10, they won't need us in the future either. If I was a Ute and could compete in the upper third in the PAC10, I would want to get rid of associating with the "our shit don't stink" crowd down to the south. Constantly having to hear how they are relevant when they really aren't anymore.

However, there is the rub. If Holmoe, Bronco and company pull this off, they will be relevant. Perhaps they will be very relevant and if the Utes can't climb above the bottom half of the PAC10, they will need BYU in the worst way.

So, someone tell me the future and I will tell you who needs who. Right now, we need the Utes. However, if I were the Utes, I wouldn't act so smug just yet. The shoe may be in the other foot in a couple of years.

[Paperback Writer]

It's one of the consequences of realignment. Oklahoma-Nebraska used to be one of the classic Thanksgiving matchups. When the Big 12 formed the two no longer played every year, so we lost the marquee late-season slot. Over the fifteen B12 years the rivalry lost prominence until it was hardly recognized as a rivalry at all.

That said, a late appointment does not make or break a rivalry. Oklahoma and Texas have played in early October for decades.

The Big 12 lost more than a great rivalry when they muddled OU-Nebraska, the conference ultimately lost Nebraska to the Big Ten. In my view, the OU-Nebraska rivalry would have continued to be a classic match-up if the Big 12 would have left it alone. It lost prominence because it wasn't played every year and when it was, the game was played in October or early November. I just think OU gave up on it when the Sooners were struggling post-Switzer and pre-Stoops. And then it suffered more after OU regained national prominence while Nebraska floundered post-Solich. It could have returned to glory in 2000 when an undefeated OU played a 1-loss (or undefeated) Nebraska or 2001 when an undefeated Nebraska played a 1-loss (or undefeated) OU on Thanksgiving Day (or the day after). Losing the rivalry with OU made it all the easier for Nebraska to leave the Big 12. And if Nebraska makes it back to national prominence and joins OU there, it will be sad if they don't play. There is talk about an OU-Nebraska game in 2021 on the 50-year annivesary of the "Game of the Century" so all is not lost. In the meantime, Nebraska feels like the jilted lover that was dumped for flashy jewerly, big hair, and "enhanced body" (nod to Goatnapper) that is Texas. What many Husker fans don't realize is that OU and Texas were hitched long before Nebraska came along and OU-Texas heated back up once Mack Brown got Texas rolling again.

[Babs]

The Big 12 lost more than a great rivalry when they muddled OU-Nebraska, the conference ultimately lost Nebraska to the Big Ten. In my view, the OU-Nebraska rivalry would have continued to be a classic match-up if the Big 12 would have left it alone. It lost prominence because it wasn't played every year and when it was, the game was played in October or early November. I just think OU gave up on it when the Sooners were struggling post-Switzer and pre-Stoops. And then it suffered more after OU regained national prominence while Nebraska floundered post-Solich. It could have returned to glory in 2000 when an undefeated OU played a 1-loss (or undefeated) Nebraska or 2001 when an undefeated Nebraska played a 1-loss (or undefeated) OU on Thanksgiving Day (or the day after). Losing the rivalry with OU made it all the easier for Nebraska to leave the Big 12. And if Nebraska makes it back to national prominence and joins OU there, it will be sad if they don't play. There is talk about an OU-Nebraska game in 2021 on the 50-year annivesary of the "Game of the Century" so all is not lost. In the meantime, Nebraska feels like the jilted lover that was dumped for flashy jewerly, big hair, and "enhanced body" (nod to Goatnapper) that is Texas. What many Husker fans don't realize is that OU and Texas were hitched long before Nebraska came along and OU-Texas heated back up once Mack Brown got Texas rolling again.

Yes. It was widely publicized that two of the reasons Nebraska bailed were that it was marginalized by being lumped in with north's also-rans, and that it was relegated to irrelevance by losing its only real rival. The conference tried to tout Nebraska-Colorado as the new rivalry, but that never gained any ground. Perhaps Utah will have more luck.

[TripletDaddy]

Yes. It was widely publicized that two of the reasons Nebraska bailed were that it was marginalized by being lumped in with north's also-rans, and that it was relegated to irrelevance by losing its only real rival. The conference tried to tout Nebraska-Colorado as the new rivalry, but that never gained any ground. Perhaps Utah will have more luck.

Also, given the outcome of the games, the Texas OU matchup hasnt really proven to be much of a rivalry, anyway.

[Babs]

Also, given the outcome of the games, the Texas OU matchup hasnt really proven to be much of a rivalry, anyway.

True. The Big12 really proved to be a tour de force for the Sooners. We won almost as many titles as all the other teams combined, and 7/11 of the last RRRs.

[TripletDaddy]

True. The Big12 really proved to be a tour de force for the Sooners. We won almost as many titles as all the other teams combined, and 7/11 of the last RRRs.

I didn't do any research on that post. I figured I had a 50/50 chance.

[Babs]

I didn't do any research on that post.

So pretty much business as usual...

[TripletDaddy]

So pretty much business as usual...

dont you have final exams or a clerkship something? go away!

[kccougar]

What does everyone think of the Home/Home/Neutral method for scheduling the big teams? Personally, I like it. Each team gets to play at home, and then the neutral game (assuming a big stage game like BYU/OU) brings national focus and a big payday.

I assume the neutral site will generally favor the other team, but BYU fans will represent well regardless of location, and it is a reasonable concession to grant the big name opponents that we would be trying to land.

[SCcoug]

What does everyone think of the Home/Home/Neutral method for scheduling the big teams? Personally, I like it. Each team gets to play at home, and then the neutral game (assuming a big stage game like BYU/OU) brings national focus and a big payday.

I assume the neutral site will generally favor the other team, but BYU fans will represent well regardless of location, and it is a reasonable concession to grant the big name opponents that we would be trying to land.

I'm all for it as long as there is some balance with home/away schedule. Also I'm given to understand that the neutral site game gets a much bigger payout.

[shoganai]

I'm all for it as long as there is some balance with home/away schedule. Also I'm given to understand that the neutral site game gets a much bigger payout.

That OU game may have been the best preparation for independence BYU could have ever asked for.

It's probably a lot easier for Holmoe to sell some of the big boys on a HHN using that meeting as a template for what BYU can deliver monetarily and competitively on a neutral field.

[Blueintheface]

That OU game may have been the best preparation for independence BYU could have ever asked for.

It's probably a lot easier for Holmoe to sell some of the big boys on a HHN using that meeting as a template for what BYU can deliver monetarily and competitively on a neutral field.

Especially if they like losing.