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PROVO — With the start of college football just weeks away, we're nearing the end of our weekly in-state previews. This week's topic focuses on our favorite games in 2013.
I'm taking a little different approach with the Cougars. I'm going to concentrate on my three favorite home games. While road games at Wisconsin and Notre Dame are obviously exciting, this year's home schedule features important games against formidable opponents.
Texas
The Longhorns are the highest profile team coming into LaVell Edwards Stadium in 2013. Every BYU fan remembers the game in Austin in 2011 when BYU looked to be on its way to a victory, only to have Texas squeak-out a one-point victory.
As we've seen over the past few years, Texas isn't the same team we saw win the national championship in 2005; they are nonetheless still a dangerous opponent. What makes this game so exciting is that the Cougars have them on their turf and it's the second game of the season.
As is the case with most college football teams early in a year, the Longhorns will most likely still be trying to work out the kinks. Getting Texas at elevation, early in the year is nothing but positive for BYU.
Utah
Do I really need to explain this one? Okay, for the sake of content I'll go into details. While playing in September is still not as exciting as playing at the end of the year, there is no game that gets more hype from either team than this one.
BYU has not beaten Utah since 2009, which for Cougar fans is hard to deal with. With the series taking a two-year hiatus after this season, this year's match-up seems to have more importance. Neither team wants to have a loss hanging over their head until 2016.
Even without the break, there is always a reason to watch this game. With few exceptions, the match-ups are close; usually coming down to the last seconds. I'm always waiting to see what that game's "moment" will be. There is always a play that stands out as the one you remember.
While home-field usually doesn't matter, the fact that this year's game is in Provo has me more excited; not to mention the fact that BYU scheduled a bye before the Utah game.
The fact that BYU players have talked openly about how much this year's game means to them has me even more excited about September 21st at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Boise State
I was in Boise last year for the one-point loss on the Smurf Turf. We don't need to get into the details of what did and didn't happen. That was definitely one of those games that as a Cougar fan you look back on and say "BYU should have won."
The series with Boise State has the makings of a pretty good rivalry. The Broncos are a perfect 3-0 against the Cougars, winning in 2003, 2004 and 2012. Since the two programs are scheduled to play each other through 2023, this game could become an annual favorite.
Back to my original opinion that BYU should have beaten the Broncos last year, I'm excited to see what the Cougars can do against Boise State with an upgraded offense. I wasn't impressed with Broncos in 2012, and despite being a preseason Top 25 team this season, I'm not impressed with the 2013 Broncos either.
I'm looking forward to the Cougars playing BSU at home and hopefully picking up their first football victory against the Broncos.
Photo: Courtesy of BYU Photo
