Dick Harmon: What grade should Tom Holmoe get for BYU schedule?

That’s tough. It isn’t a Pac-12 or Big 12 caliber schedule, if you take Sagarin’s 2012 ratings, but it is close enough to gain respectability in the polls if BYU can chalk up wins, and it certainly meets one of the reasons BYU made the jump to independence: exposure.

This is a schedule that includes seven 2012 bowl teams and four teams that will likely be ranked in preseason polls, led by Notre Dame, Texas, Wisconsin and Boise State. The USU Aggies could also sneak in come this August or early July when college football magazines hit the stands.

As it turned out, the Cougar rating by Sagarin after the 2012 bowl season was No. 26 at 80.26. This climbed because of BYU’s eight wins and a schedule that turned out to be decent with five teams that finished in the final top 25 rankings (Notre Dame fourth, USU 16th, Boise State 18th, Oregon State 20th and San Jose State 21st).

In the end, Holmoe must credit ESPN for using its influence. He must also thank some stand-up programs: the folks at Notre Dame, Texas and even Utah State.

Wisconsin, as it turns out, was really a schedule donut.

Dick Harmon, Deseret News sports columnist, can be found on Twitter as Harmonwrites and can be contacted at dharmon@desnews.com.