BYU football: Cougars enjoying exposure on ESPN as an independent

"The Washington State game (on Aug. 30) will be one of the first college football games played this season," Doman continued. "In the first weeks of the season, we're on national TV in slots where no one else is playing. It's just us. So potentially everyone's watching that. Especially on Friday night, because every team in America is in a hotel somewhere, laying there in their hotel bed, watching college football. That was us forever. Now, we're the ones they're watching.

"Coach Mendenhall says, 'What if we're a really good team? What if we're winning, especially early on in the season with all of the exposure in the world?' It accelerates opportunities in a significant way. Last year, we lost two of our first three games, so it can go either way. It can be great, or it can be tough on you. But that's what we want. We want to be in position for a great spot, rather than nobody knowing that you're winning."

The program is adapting to the new, nocturnal-heavy schedule, Doman added.

"I don't worry if it's 7:30 or 8:30 at night. We're going to have to get really good at playing at night. I think coach Mendenhall has a really good routine for playing at night. We've been traditionally pretty dang good on Thursday nights. Last year on Friday night we were pretty good. The give is not that big of a deal. But the takeaway from these games is significant."

For the second half of the season, broadcast plans have been set for only one game — when the Cougars visit Notre Dame on Oct. 20. That's a Saturday afternoon contest that will be broadcast nationally on NBC.

Broadcast plans for the remainder of BYU's schedule will be announced later.

email: jeffc@desnews.com

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2012 BYU Football Schedule

Opponent Date Time Network

Washington State Aug. 30 (Thurs.) 8:15 p.m. MT ESPN

Weber State Sept. 8 (Sat.) 1 p.m. MT BYUtv

@Utah Sept. 15 (Sat.) TBD TBD

@Boise State Sept. 20 (Thurs.) 7 p.m. MT ESPN

Hawaii Sept. 28 (Fri.) 6 p.m. MT ESPN

Utah State Oct. 5 (Fri.) 8:15 p.m. MT ESPN or ESPN2

Oregon State Oct. 13 (Sat.) TBD TBD

@Notre Dame Oct. 20 (Sat.) 1:30 p.m. MT NBC

@Georgia Tech Oct. 27 (Sat.) TBD TBD

Idaho Nov. 10 (Sat.) TBD TBD

@San Jose State Nov. 17 (Sat.) 1 p.m. MT TBD

@New Mexico State Nov. 24 (Sat.) 1:30 p.m MT TBD