Dick Harmon: BYU's football focus should stay on the here and now

"The Big 12 should be locking up Brigham Young and one other team right now. Assuming there's no chance of getting TCU to escape its trip to the Big East, Houston, SMU and others would happily jump their contracts to gain admission," wrote the Texan.

In the Oklahoman, veteran columnist Barry Tramel wrote last Monday it is time the Big 12 courted BYU. Under a headline that read: "Brigham Young might be what Big 12 needs," Tramel asserted: "BYU is a bonafide football school. Lavell Edwards Stadium seats 64,000, and the Cougars fill them. BYU has a national following, thanks to the Mormon Church, and even has its own network. BYUtv is on a bunch of cable systems (Cox included), which is more than you can say for the Longhorn Network.

"The Cougars also play good football. They beat the Sooners on a neutral field just two Septembers ago."

Tom Dienhart, the college football senior writer at Rivals.com, painted the Big 12 choices in case of expansion as few. He mentioned BYU first.

"BYU may be the only 'big' name the Big 12 would have a chance of luring. The Cougars begin play as an independent this fall in football. Perhaps BYU's biggest motivating factor for joining the Big 12 would be to find a better home for its other sports."

There are a myriad of other sportswriter types I could quote, but the point is made: BYU is a topic of discussion in Big 12 circles either formally or informally as this issue goes forward.

Some have suggested this A&M to the SEC deal is a car going 85 miles per hour in a 35 MPH zone and the SEC put a speed bump in the road.

But it wasn't a roadblock.

Meanwhile, BYU is poised to deliver its goal of independence: exposure. In a talk with BYUtv managing director Derek Marquis this week, he cited the comments of an ESPN executive on just how much coverage BYU football would receive this season.

"When Dave Brown was here from ESPN, he said he thought it was safe to say that BYU will have at least equal coverage and probably more coverage than any other team in college football this year," said Marquis. "Think about that statement. That is incredible; likely as much or more national coverage than any other team in college football. The other team he said that might be up there with BYU as far as national coverage goes is Notre Dame, interestingly another independent."

Not a bad gig for the present.

Once again, we have a very interesting August.

EMAIL: dharmon@desnews.com

twitter: harmonwrites