Could BYU be a problem?

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StevensTechU
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Could BYU be a problem?

Post by StevensTechU »

Since it was announced that BYU would be joining the Big 12, I've been mulling over the impact to the college football landscape of this new conference, and because of my biased interests, what it may mean to Oregon. The 'big' question is - will the new Big 12 be closer to a Power 5 or a Group of 5 conference? The teams that will be in the new conference consistently have teams in the top 25 - Okie State, TCU, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, etc. - but on the flip side, it completely lacks a mainstay in the top 5-10. It is essentially a conference of 12 Kansas States; consistently pretty good, rarely great, not much of a draw on name alone. Will people care to tune in to watch Oklahoma State vs. BYU, which are arguably the two biggest brands on a national level?

To the title of thread. Before the Kingsley news, I was wondering whether BYU now being (arguably) a Power 5 team would cause recruiting in Utah and somewhat throughout the west to tighten up. For LDS kids located in Utah, California, etc., BYU has a very obvious attraction, but one that other schools have overcome by offering them a bigger stage. That will now be neutralized to a degree. Puka Nacua, washington's top receiver, already transferred to BYU after their huge performance in 2020. Kingsley is likely to do the same. Given how few athletic big bodies there already are out west, and how many of them happen to be Polynesian players who come from LDS families, it's not crazy to wonder whether this will make a scarce resource even more scarce. The Utes have benefited greatly from being the local option for these players who want to play Power 5, and it seems almost certain to me that Utah is going to bear the brunt of the impact, so much so that I have a hard time imagining them being any better than an Oregon State quality program going forward, especially after Whittingham retires.

This is just a thread to open the conversation. I think BYU being 'Power 5' is bad for the Pac-12, as they will dilute the talent pool further. Going to be interesting.
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lukeyrid13
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Re: Could BYU be a problem?

Post by lukeyrid13 »

I mean they're already 4-0 against the PAC12 this year. They have a very solid squad.

For an LDS kid, it's going to be hard to get them away from BYU. On the flip side, you likely aren't going to see non LDS kids who are top 100 recruits suddenly flocking there.
buckmarkduck
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Re: Could BYU be a problem?

Post by buckmarkduck »

That’s IF the big 12 maintains power 5 status.
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