BYU hopes Utah State can be part of schedule down the road

PROVO — When Bronco Mendenhall took over the BYU football program last December, he learned there was a hole to fill on the upcoming schedule.

At the time, the Cougars had only 10 opponents on the slate and they needed one more home game. In the end, BYU invited Eastern Illinois, a Div. I-AA program from Charleston, Ill., to Provo (the two teams meet Saturday at 1 p.m.). That announcement wasn't exactly well-received by many Cougar fans.

"There's been some criticism for that game," Mendenhall said.

It's not often that BYU schedules a Div. I-AA opponent. The last time it happened was in 1998, when Murray State came to town, and that, too, was done as a last-minute scheduling arrangement. In this case, Mendenhall said, scheduling Eastern Illinois was the best option in an attempt to balance a schedule that features Boston College, which defeated BYU 20-3 in the season-opener last Saturday, and an October date at Notre Dame.

"When you look at balance in relation to Boston College and Notre Dame, that is the intent," he said. "At that late of date, I would always prefer to play a Division I opponent, but when it comes to balance, that ultimately trumped any of the other teams that were possible."

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said he could have lured a bigger name to LaVell Edwards Stadium, but explained that Eastern Illinois fit what the Cougars, who have suffered three straight losing seasons, need at this time.

"It's important that people want to see good teams and want to see their team win. But you can't have it all,"

Holmoe said. "The health and well-being of a program is important. When your program's doing well, you can take on the big boys on a regular basis."

Due in part to the transitions in BYU's administration in recent years, there are more holes to fill on future schedules. Beginning in 2006, the NCAA will allow teams to play 12 games per year. The Cougars are making a trip to Boston College next season, but are lacking three nonconference opponents. There are a couple of openings for nonconference games in 2007, too. Holmoe is in the process of lining up future contests.

"We're working with an interesting opponent. People would like the matchup — against a team we've never played," said Holmoe, though he declined to name the team. "We're trying to solidify it. These things are day to day. We're close, though. I think we'll have the rest of the schedule filled this fall."

Meanwhile, there's a program about 100 miles north in Logan that would seem to be a perfect scheduling fit for BYU. What about Utah State?