Blue roundup: Pundits weigh in on BYU's future

During the BYU football national media day on Tuesday, Cougar players and coaches discussed that now that BYU has an independent program and there are no more conference championships to play for, their sights are set on a national championship.

BYU accomplished that feat back in 1984 under a much different system than it now has. For the Cougars to have any shot at a title, a lot of things would have to fall into place within the BCS framework. Though no longer a member of the Mountain West Conference, BYU remains a non-AQ school.

Kevin Graham of Sportsmashup.com says here that BYU's national championship aspirations are unrealistic. He outlines four reasons why the Cougars shouldn't set the bar that high.

"I still commend BYU for rolling the dice and taking the independence route," he writes. "I just think openly setting the bar to that highest level when clearly it will take perfection has them walking on a dangerous tightrope, that if they fall, will result in more harm than good. Maybe they should start by just setting a goal to get to the BCS for the first time as opposed to winning a national championship."

Meanwhile, one of the hot topics at media day dealt with scheduling. Among the teams coach Bronco Mendenhall mentioned he would love to play is Boston College. The Cougars fell to the Eagles in overtime at Chestnut Hill in 2006. This blogger would like to see future games between BYU and BC.

Wednesday night, BYU's Jimmer Fredette won yet another award: an ESPY for best male college athlete of the year. Watch and read more here.