BYU football: Cougars trying to tackle their scheduling challenges

PROVO — When asked what the biggest challenge of being independent is, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall didn't hesitate.

"It's scheduling," he said.

That's the reality of a program that must schedule 12 games a year, rather than just three or four, like teams that belong to a conference.

When asked how much time he devotes to scheduling issues now that his program is independent, Mendenhall attempted to quantify it.

"More time the past two months than my previous six years combined," he said. "It's almost every day, and that's not an exaggeration."

BYU's inaugural independent schedule this fall features several intriguing games away from Provo (Ole Miss, Texas, Oregon State, TCU, Hawaii). But aside from contests against arch-rival Utah, up-and-coming Central Florida, and in-state rival Utah State, which knocked off the Cougars a year ago, the rest of the home schedule lacks star power (San Jose State, Idaho State, Idaho, New Mexico State).

In 2012, BYU is scheduled to face Oregon State, Hawaii, Utah, Boise State, Utah State, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, New Mexico State and San Jose State, which means three games still have not been announced.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe explained one of those games is done but not contracted yet.

"We have two that the irons are in the fire, but it is complicated," he said. "One of them is going to happen. The other two are complicated."

Holmoe agrees with Mendenhall, that scheduling has been the most daunting challenge of independence.

"Yeah, especially early, because the first two years (of independence), most people are done (with scheduling)," Holmoe said. "Without the WAC giving us those games this year, we wouldn't have been able to do it. We had to have that agreement with the WAC. And then we have some for next year, too. Thank goodness we do, or we literally would not have been able to go independent because we would not have games.

"We are still trying to put together some 2012 games. We are working hard. There's less tension right now for 2013, 2014 and beyond. But we are working on them. We have games that we are working on in 2016, 2017, 2018."