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PROVO — Since leaving a conference to become an independent four years ago, as the coach has touted countless times, the BYU football program has traveled the country and been seen in unprecedented numbers.
For all the exposure Bronco Mendenhall’s team has received, it still seeks the credibility that comes from beating a prominent program and then capitalizing on it. For the second consecutive season, the Cougars have another chance against Texas in what is the most important game since going independent.
In the grand scheme, by later losing to four Power 5 programs, BYU gained nothing more than a week’s worth of nice publicity after destroying the Longhorns in Provo in early September. And even then, the national plot was more about the atrocious Texas defense.
College football is now on the verge of great change, with the impending four-team playoff and significant discussion of the Power 5 conferences breaking away from other perceived lesser conferences. If perception is reality, a vulnerable BYU could get caught on the outside, more aligned and associated with the Mountain West rather than the Pac-12 or Big 12.
To gain the legitimacy it craves and deserves, BYU needs to crush a home run. It starts this Saturday in Austin, Texas.
“We like the opportunity we have,” said Mendenhall.
Given what appears to be a softer than expected schedule, combined with a healthy dose of talent, BYU has a chance to become a national story deep into this season. To do so, the Cougars must beat Texas and then continue to win.
Anyone that says it's light just hasn't coached Division I or got ready to play. I think it's a fun question to ask and to see what my response is. I don't see it being light.
–Bronco Mendenhall
Losing to the Longhorns, who will be without their starting quarterback and center, would reduce BYU’s season to beating up on a string of underwhelming opponents, with the potential exception of Central Florida. Unfair or not, based on last week’s results, BYU’s schedule this season packs little punch.
In predictable fashion, Mendenhall doesn’t think the slate of games is weak, even if the numbers suggest otherwise. In the opening week, BYU’s future opponents combined for 4-7, including either blowout losses (Utah State, Boise State) or an embarrassing loss (Houston).
“Anyone that says it’s light just hasn’t coached Division I or got ready to play,” Mendenhall said. “I think it’s a fun question to ask and to see what my response is. I don’t see it being light.”
But others do, with the consensus ranking BYU’s schedule in the high 70s or above. And for what it’s worth, at least three people — Condoleezza Rice, Mike Tranghese and Steve Wieberg — on the 13-member playoff selection committee have never coached or gotten ready to play a Division I football game.
In simple terms, BYU’s schedule is not strong, which is why this week’s game is the most important in years. Even Mendenhall can agree the game makes more a splash than playing Middle Tennessee, Nevada or UNLV.
“When we went independent the idea was to play the best teams on the biggest stages in front of the most people, and this is a chance to do that,” Mendenhall said. “When you play well and win those games, it helps your program.”
Mendenhall’s teams traditionally have feasted on beating lesser programs but then fall short against the big boys. Since going independent, BYU is 1-5 against ranked teams and 22-1 vs. teams in the non-power conferences.
But the way quarterback Taysom Hill played last week, combined for Texas reloading under first-year coach Charlie Strong, the Cougars are in great position to win this week.
“The game looked like it slowed down for him,” Mendenhall said of Hill, who was brilliant with 308 passing and 97 yards rushing in the 35-10 win over Connecticut.
More than ever, Hill will be a marked man against the Texas defense. The Longhorns still have nightmares remembering him run for 259 yards in BYU’s 40-21 win.
If the Cougars go as Hill goes, they are in a good position.
“Their quarterback is an unbelievable player,” Strong said. “He’s got Heisman potential written all over him.”
