2020 BYU Cougars Football Thread

[SCcoug]

Unless Tom has something better lined up, how about playing Tulsa this week?

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[Pelado]

BYU definitely had an unscheduled practice yesterday with at least part of the team, and the rest of the team is apparently supposed to be back to practice today. So obviously something is in the works. SDSU makes the most sense and is where the rumors lie.

I wish the rumors would be more honest.

[UVACoug]

Apparently Brady Hoke said he just needs to know by Wednesday, and SDSU can be ready to play. I'd love for BYU to jump on that, assuming the details can be worked out. And if SDSU doesn't need to know until tomorrow, obviously there is time to make it work.

BYU definitely had an unscheduled practice yesterday with at least part of the team, and the rest of the team is apparently supposed to be back to practice today. So obviously something is in the works. SDSU makes the most sense and is where the rumors lie.

[Eddie]

Exactly. BYU has to be strategic here and not rush into something the first time a desperate Pac12 team comes calling. I think moving the SDSU game up to this week, if that is what is happening, is exactly the right move. That gives BYU the most flexibility once they know where they stand in the eyes of the CFP committee. Holmoe has already confirmed that he has had discussions with several other teams and the chances are high that another Pac12 will be desperate for a game later in the season. Chances are slim that we'll ever be in the running for the playoff, but if the cards fall correctly, a win against Washington this week is not going to get us there. And we probably have done enough to get into a NY6. If we can put together a game against Cincinnati and win, and the playoff eligible teams ahead of us in the rankings fall a part, having the flexibility to schedule someone like an Oregon or USC (or even A&M) may actually give us a chance to get to the playoff. It's very, very unlikely to happen, but BYU is smart not to cut off its chances now because of Washington's desperation.

Apparently Brady Hoke said he just needs to know by Wednesday, and SDSU can be ready to play. I'd love for BYU to jump on that, assuming the details can be worked out. And if SDSU doesn't need to know until tomorrow, obviously there is time to make it work.

[UVACoug]

I think this is correct. BYU has zero shot at the CFP and we all know that. I guess maybe they could sniff it if they played and destroyed Cincinnati, but none of those other schools that are pretty much locks (bama, clemson, tOSU, ND, etc.) are going to play a game against BYU and even if BYU beats UW or USC or Oregon they will still be left out. BYU is trying to get into the NY6 bowl and we'll probably be there if we beat SDSU handily. We have a good fanbase that travels (not that many fans will be allowed in) and a heisman candidate...that creates buzz and viewership and is something a bowl would like to have.

Exactly. BYU has to be strategic here and not rush into something the first time a desperate Pac12 team comes calling. I think moving the SDSU game up to this week, if that is what is happening, is exactly the right move. That gives BYU the most flexibility once they know where they stand in the eyes of the CFP committee. Holmoe has already confirmed that he has had discussions with several other teams and the chances are high that another Pac12 will be desperate for a game later in the season. Chances are slim that we'll ever be in the running for the playoff, but if the cards fall correctly, a win against Washington this week is not going to get us there. And we probably have done enough to get into a NY6. If we can put together a game against Cincinnati and win, and the playoff eligible teams ahead of us in the rankings fall a part, having the flexibility to schedule someone like an Oregon or USC (or even A&M) may actually give us a chance to get to the playoff. It's very, very unlikely to happen, but BYU is smart not to cut off its chances now because of Washington's desperation.

[Omaha 680]

Lol. Of course.

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But the situation is fluid!

[Moliere]

I think in the end this will be a brief tizzy that will mostly come and go. A few people will see this for what it is-- the PAC 12 being ridiculous and bush-league. Even fewer will recognize that BYU was willing to play the game with all the stupid strings attached, as long as they were actually being offered a game. A sizable group, most of whom were already looking for reasons to bash BYU, will buy the fake narrative. But 99% of the college football world is not paying attention to a few tweets about whether or not BYU and UW agreed to a backup game.

I think this is correct. BYU has zero shot at the CFP and we all know that. I guess maybe they could sniff it if they played and destroyed Cincinnati, but none of those other schools that are pretty much locks (bama, clemson, tOSU, ND, etc.) are going to play a game against BYU and even if BYU beats UW or USC or Oregon they will still be left out. BYU is trying to get into the NY6 bowl and we'll probably be there if we beat SDSU handily. We have a good fanbase that travels (not that many fans will be allowed in) and a heisman candidate...that creates buzz and viewership and is something a bowl would like to have.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Lol. Of course.

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[LiveCoug]

Yeah, it'll blow over for sure, but the timing was a big bummer with CFP rankings tonight

Even Herbie, who has been a huge BYU honk this season, has turned on us

[All-American]

This is the main PR problem. Even if BYU is the good guy and the P12 is evil (which is obviously true), BYU is getting hammered in the court of public perception and TH's "statement" did absolutely nothing to help

TH's "statement" wasn't directed to the public. It was directed to the ADs. He is not even trying to fight a PR battle.

That will be frustrating to some. In the end I think that's the right move.

[All-American]

This is the main PR problem. Even if BYU is the good guy and the P12 is evil (which is obviously true), BYU is getting hammered in the court of public perception and TH's "statement" did absolutely nothing to help

I think in the end this will be a brief tizzy that will mostly come and go. A few people will see this for what it is-- the PAC 12 being ridiculous and bush-league. Even fewer will recognize that BYU was willing to play the game with all the stupid strings attached, as long as they were actually being offered a game. A sizable group, most of whom were already looking for reasons to bash BYU, will buy the fake narrative. But 99% of the college football world is not paying attention to a few tweets about whether or not BYU and UW agreed to a backup game.

[LiveCoug]

This is the main PR problem. Even if BYU is the good guy and the P12 is evil (which is obviously true), BYU is getting hammered in the court of public perception and TH's "statement" did absolutely nothing to help

[Omaha 680]

The national media is being super lazy with this and carrying the P5 water. Herbstreit painting the PAC 12 as being very flexible on scheduling and BYU dodging.

[Commando]

I find the whole conversation annoying but I can't see it as harming BYU in any perceptible way. Especially if TH can get a good game scheduled.

I watched the whole thing play out on reddit/r/cfb and it quickly went from everybody shitting on BYU for "ducking" UW to the majority of people repeating Thamel's tweet defending BYU. And if you're familiar with how popular BYU is on that subreddit, the swift change to posts in BYU's favor is pretty meaningful.

Same. In a pretty news-less CFB season, this is high drama. Nobody really expects BYU to kiss the P12's ass after they cancelled 3 games on us already. In fact, they can kiss our ass- we're top 10, undefeated over NINE games (they'll be lucky to play nine games as a conference), and they need to play us to get ANYTHING going for themselves, and it might not help us to beat them at all. Nah- we're good!

[Lost Student]

This whole thing is really embarrassing for BYU. Washington/PAC-12 leaked info to make them look bad and that is unethical, but unless Tom can pull something out from his hat, BYU is going to b e seen as the bad guy here and it will hurt their rankings moving forward. Most of the national talking heads have already said this makes BYU look bad. And no amount of Cougarboard folks posting on social media will change it. The SDSU rumors were bogus. Criddle is trying to peddle some nonsense about "actually Washington rejected an offer to play in Provo" and now they are the ones ducking the game and frankly it isn't believable.

I'm not sure if BYU could have even done anything to avoid this. But it sucks and they are getting railroaded for it. Screw the PAC-12.

I find the whole conversation annoying but I can't see it as harming BYU in any perceptible way. Especially if TH can get a good game scheduled.

I watched the whole thing play out on reddit/r/cfb and it quickly went from everybody shitting on BYU for "ducking" UW to the majority of people repeating Thamel's tweet defending BYU. And if you're familiar with how popular BYU is on that subreddit, the swift change to posts in BYU's favor is pretty meaningful.