Florida State will make its first-ever visit to Provo. The Seminoles won the two previous contests against the Cougars with a 44-28 win at the 1991 Pigskin Classic in Anaheim, Calif., and a 29-3 victory in the 2000 Pigskin Classic in Jacksonville, Fla.

BYU and Utah State will meet for the 79th time in 2009. After their 34-14 win in 2008, the Cougars own a 42-33-3 advantage in the longtime series.

"This is a strong non-conference schedule with teams from the Big 12, ACC, Conference USA and the WAC," Mendenhall said. "We look forward to playing these games as we continue to work on improving our program and building on our past achievements."

Since taking over a BYU program in 2005 that had not enjoyed a winning season since 2001, Mendenhall has guided BYU to four straight bowl invitations, two outright Mountain West Conference championships and consistent national top-25 rankings. In the past three seasons, BYU has posted a 32-7 overall record to become one of just seven teams in the nation to win 32 games during that time frame, joining Boise State (35-4), Florida (34-6), Oklahoma (34-7), USC (34-5), Ohio State (33-5), and Texas (32-7).