Wah-hoo-wah! BYU @ Virginia

[Shaka]

Have you ever heard a recruit say they weren't interested in BYU because they weren't in a conference? Have you ever heard a recruit say they chose a school for the opportunity to win a conference title? I have not seen a single piece of evidence that being independent has had any impact on recruiting. In fact, our recruiting seems to be getting better than it was in the MWC.

Yes What's even worse is I heard their parents saying it.

[The_Douger]

I really like reading Ogletree's blog.

[Indy Coug]

A few statistical tidbits from Saturday:

http://blog.cougarstats.com/2013/09/...tical-extract/

[The_Douger]

Yes What's even worse is I heard their parents saying it.

I don't think being in a conference like the MWC is going to make a difference with this.

I do think being in the Big 12 would.

A kid that cares about it is going to have to have some PAC12 options to make a difference.

Sadly, we need kids that have PAC12 options.

[UVACoug]

If I thought UVA was even a mediocre team I wouldn't feel bad about this loss. But that was a bad football team that will maybe win 4 games this year. They had limited team speed, bad qb play, no playmaking receivers and a suspect secondary. The only good player was Eli Harold.

Good teams lose to bad teams every year. I'm not saying we are a good team ... yet, but there are still a lot of games to play.

Ogletree, in his must read analysis of the game, seems to think the offense will be a lot better than what they showed on Saturday.

http://ogletreefootball.com/?p=48

[Indy Coug]

Look at what Jim McMahon and the 47 ppg 1980 offense did against a 4-7 UNM team to open the season:

http://cougarstats.com/games.php?sho...ls&game_id=409

[UVACoug]

Yes What's even worse is I heard their parents saying it.

Who?

[San Juan Sun]

Look at what Jim McMahon and the 47 ppg 1980 offense did against a 4-7 UNM team to open the season:

http://cougarstats.com/games.php?sho...ls&game_id=409

This is important, because Taysom Hill reminds everyone of Jim McMahon.

[The_Douger]

Who?

I don't get why you don't think this could be a problem with high end recruits that have options. Being in a conference like the PAC makes a difference. It would for me. That's why it's imperative that we get in to a Big 5 conference.

[San Juan Sun]

I don't get why you don't think this could be a problem with high end recruits that have options. Being in a conference like the PAC makes a difference. It would for me. That's why it's imperative that we get in to a Big 5 conference.

Good luck on this front. Independence has become an article of faith for many, and they'll expect people like Shaka to divulge all the deets... and then discount it anyways.

[Jeff Lebowski]

OK I'll give my own summation.

Who wants to play for a school who:

Isn't in a conference and therefore has nothing to play for.

The only real alternative being a MWC championship? Certainly a factor, but the flipside is a decent schedule with lots of TV exposure.

Has very restrictive behavioral standards which go above and beyond what's expected of a regular member.

Nothing has changed there. That has always been the case.

Has a very intelligent student body with some of the negatives that come with it.

This is your weakest point. Laughable.

Has a very limited recruiting pool and is experienced increased competition for that pool from other universities.

Why would someone not want to play for BYU because of that? How does that make BYU "less appealing"? And not much has changed here either.

[UVACoug]

I don't get why you don't think this could be a problem with high end recruits that have options. Being in a conference like the PAC makes a difference. It would for me. That's why it's imperative that we get in to a Big 5 conference.

I don't doubt that being in the Pac12 is an advantage. I don't think it has anything to do with playing for a conference championship though. And I don't think this is a good reason to go back to the MWC, as some people do. Notre Dame sure doesn't seem to be losing any recruits over not playing for a title. The key to recruiting is winning. I guarantee we will out recruit Utah when they are struggling to be bowl eligible and we are winning 10+ games a season.

[Shaka]

I don't doubt that being in the Pac12 is an advantage. I don't think it has anything to do with playing for a conference championship though. And I don't think this is a good reason to go back to the MWC, as some people do. Notre Dame sure doesn't seem to be losing any recruits over not playing for a title. The key to recruiting is winning. I guarantee we will out recruit Utah when they are struggling to be bowl eligible and we are winning 10+ games a season.

BYU isn't Notre Dame

[UVACoug]

Good luck on this front. Independence has become an article of faith for many, and they'll expect people like Shaka to divulge all the deets... and then discount it anyways.

Independence over the MWC is certainly an article of faith for me, and always will be. We gain absolutely nothing on the recruiting front from going back to the MWC.

[UVACoug]

BYU isn't Notre Dame

You are certainly a genius.