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PROVO — After a hectic offseason that saw Penn State get rocked by scandal, the WAC edge closer to oblivion in the latest wave of conference realignment, the birth of a college football playoff, Urban Meyer’s return to coaching, John L. Smith’s strange odyssey from Arkansas to Weber State and back, and the usual dose of recruiting news, rumors and tabloids, real college football is once again upon us.
With the offseason finally ending, here are 10 things, in no particular order, that I’m excited to experience this season.
1. A Mormon pirate in Provo There’s no question Mike Leach is a winner, and bringing the former Texas Tech coach’s “Air Raid Offense” to Pullman could make Washington State a Pac-12 contender in the near future.
Adding to the intrigue, Leach is coaching against his alma mater for the first time. Could there be a better start to the season?
2. In-state cat fight
BYU and Weber State meet just about every year on the hardwood, but I’ve never seen the two schools play football against each other. The reason is simple; the Cougars and Wildcats haven’t played each other since 1979.
An early afternoon kickoff in September is a perfect recipe for inviting my purple-clad relatives from Ogden down for an entertaining tailgate party in BYU’s newly designated area. The outcome of the game itself may not be in doubt, but if you’re going to play a lower-division school, why not play someone local and make the game just a bit more meaningful.
3. Slimmed-down O line
For years, BYU prided itself on having massive behemoths in the trenches. Yet after watching several of his players lose weight while preparing for NFL tryouts, Bronco Mendenhall did some research and decided to put his big hogs on a diet.
Word on the street is BYU’s offensive linemen are slimmed down, more athletic and more prepared to keep up with a mobile quarterback during a long, grueling season.
This has been one of the most intriguing offseason story lines, and I’m anxious to see how it translates on game day.
4. Bigger and better stadium scoreboards Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like getting a new, bigger, high-definition television? In the offseason, BYU installed new scoreboard video screens at both ends of the stadium. Goodbye puny 486-square-foot screen, hello 1,765-square-foot beauty.
BYU also found the perfect way to complement its new jumbo screens with 4-foot-tall ribbon LED screens wrapping around the top of the stadium.
The lights at LaVell Edwards Stadium just got a lot brighter.
5. Riley vs. Utah State
Once upon a time, Riley Nelson was a fan of sagebrush and Cache Valley’s creamery. Last year, clad in BYU blue, Nelson took over for starter Jake Heaps late in the game and led a sluggish BYU to a pair of touchdowns in a comeback victory, including a 96-yard drive in the final 2:26.
BYU has dominated the Utah State series over the past few decades, but with Utah State’s breakthrough win in 2010 and BYU’s 2011 comeback, this game suddenly has a lot of intrigue.
6. Riley vs. everyone else
Riley Nelson is certainly not the most talented quarterback ever to play for BYU. His NFL future looks dubious at best. Sometimes his throws just make you cringe in a what-the-heck-was-that sort of way. Still, it is hard not to love Riley Nelson.
His indomitable drive inspires the best in everyone around him. The plucky signal caller who high 5’d a referee during a losing effort to TCU, who runs with reckless abandon every time he touches the ball, and who possesses an infectious will to win no matter what the odds, is one of the best stories on BYU’s team and reason enough to tune in this season.
7. Sunny San Diego in December
One of the benefits of being a BYU fan is you can begin making bowl plans during the summer. With 35 bowls packed into a several week period, if you’re not in a BCS bowl, the best case seems to be playing in a location that the fans can enjoy. Debating whether, for example, the Meineke Car Care Bowl is more prestigious than the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl seems rather pointless.
I headed down I-15 five times for the Las Vegas Bowl, which became BYU’s post-season home for half a decade. This time, the whole crew is ready to head a bit further down I-15 in a return to a locale that was also once BYU’s perennial post-season home. Good weather, Sea World, the San Diego Zoo and an exciting game against a former conference foe are all on tap for our Christmas vacation.
That may change if BYU runs the gamut and crashes the BCS party, but for now you can’t really ask for a better bowl location.
8. Return to the Smurf Turf
The last time BYU visited the Smurf Turf in 2004, the Cougars missed a field goal in the final minute of the game and lost by 1 point. BYU went 1-4 to start the season, with its lone win in that stretch coming against Notre Dame. That abysmal start helped seal the fate for then-coach Gary Crowton.
This time, it will be Boise State flying the Mountain West conference colors as the Cougars head north. With the teams set to play each other for the next 12 years, a rivalry that has been simmering for the past decade could soon reach a rolling boil.
9. Irish lore
When BYU upset Notre Dame in 1994, BYU fans proudly wore “Heaven on Earth” T-shirts touting the final 21-14 score.
There’s still something mystical about a trip to South Bend. Between Touchdown Jesus, Rudy, the Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne, the College Football Hall of Fame and everything else that makes up the Notre Dame game day experience, this is the first trip in what will be an exciting fixture on BYU schedules in the coming years.
10. BYU vs. UtahNo matter how much things change, some things stay the same.
Ever since BYU and Utah left the Mountain West, there have been hundreds of articles written on the demise of the Holy War and its diminished significance. For all the talk of the rivalry losing its luster, actions speak louder than words. When these two schools get together, no matter what sport is being played, it is still the hottest ticket in town.
BYU vs. Utah and Utah vs. USC were the first two sellouts at Rice-Eccles this year. When the two schools played in women’s soccer just last weekend, Utah saw attendance records shattered. When one school does well, for many the first reaction is still to jump on message boards and trash talk with the opposition. Two years removed from being conference rivals, the animosity between BYU and Utah is just as strong as ever, which is why everyone still has this one circled on their calendars.
David Gale is a BYU graduate and former television news producer. See more of his thoughts at planetbyu.com or follow him on twitter @planetbyu.
