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BYU, Utah Utes football: Scheduling 'cupcakes'

Thank you for this article! I knew that most D-1 teams played a D-2 opponent, but I was not aware the PAC-10 essentially doesn't. It makes sense, I guess, since they can put the WAC schools (2/3 of which stink!) and the MWC schools (1/4 which stink)on their schedules. Both conferences are geographically close so it really works for them.

Many big schools are scheduling "tune-ups" which amount to no more than a "pad-the-record" attempt to influence the poll voters. It can backfire at times. In some cases it is an attempt to "help-out" a struggling program that could use a big pay day. The irony is with most schools scheduling twelve games a year before bowl season the argument about having too many games as an excuse against a playoff system (the same system that Div. II has) seems lame. Cut out some of these "cupcake" games and a playoff system (using the bowls) can be accomplished.

BYU should go independant and create a rivalry with Notre Dame each year, while also including games with Utah and Utah St. Throw in a few old WAC and MWC rivals and then get some bigger national exposure with more games out east with SEC, ACC and Big East opponents.
This would give BYU more national exposure, more national relevency and better chances for BCS consideration. Who cares about MWC titles? They're pointless and very unfulfilling......who wants to go to the Las Vegas Bowl and play the #4 or #5 PAC 10 team every year? What a waste!

Don't mind which teams schedule which cupcakes, but can we skip the Balogna about these teams being good and these games being scarry and just play the game, win it, and move on?

Last year the Des News ran the predictable "Eastern Washington provides a stout test for BYU article."

This year Bronco goes off on how his cupcake opponent "compares favorably to the better teams in our league." Ouch!!!!

This is a guy who hopes to play in a BCS bowl game telling the world the better teams in his league equate with the cupcake D-II team he is favored to beat by 35 pionts?

Schedule the game, use it for a warm up, win it, great.

Pointificate about it? Don't think so.

Just shut up and play.

It's too bad BYU couldn't play a team like Timpview. It think it would have been a better choice than Northern Iowa.

Hopefully this shuts up some BYU critics for scheduling "patsy" NIU. At least we scheduled a team that made it to the FCS championship game last year. What I don't understand is that people think NIU is such a bad team...the Cougar's schedule, however, would have been "weaker" had we stuck with University of Nevada at Reno. Besides, NIU is probably better than half D-1 teams anyway...

Everyone is making a big deal out of the Northern Iowa game. However, Utah St. is the worst team BYU will play this year.

Notice that Western Kentucky and Texas Tech (yes - Texas Tech) have TWO D-II teams scheduled.

Man with comments like that, you'd better hope your cougars hand it to the Aggies or else you will come off looking like a genius. Go ahead and tell your team to overlook this game. That would be fine with us.

No one comments here on the fact that most of the ACC schools actually have 2 DII schools on their schedule. Of course, this helps them out a lot if they can rest their starters for most of two games -- keeping them healthy for the big games.

I bet Weber St. is better than NIU. Go zoobies!

DB: Hurry and grab your Sponge Bob backpack and get to school. The short bus is coming down your street. Don't comment on sports articles until you've at least graduated from grade school or we'll have to tell your mom what you've been doing.

RE: Let's play the game.
What makes you think NIU is a cupcake team? Bronco doesn't think so. No one else that knows football and is commenting on this topic seems to think they are a cupcake team. Just wondering what you know that the rest of the world is not telling us.

BYU will never amount to a BCS team playing teams like NIU regardless of what they did last year. This year they are an entirely different team and every year from here out they will change. The Y should concentrate on the good regional teams and schedule the midwestern teams like Nebraska, Notre Dame, and some of the Texas schools. Playing D II teams will hurt them in the long run. BTW Boise State is undefeated against the MWC since its inception. Grow some courage and schedule the Broncos year in and out!!

Let's see Northern Iowa finished either 3-4 in the nation in the FCS division.

Appalachian state was a cream puff and beat Michigan.

7 out of 10 teams playing FCS division teams does not mean essentially most PAC 10 teams don't do it.

BYU going independent shows your lack of knowledge about what it means to be Independent. How many are there? Notre Dame.

BYU over the years has knocked off just enough of the BIG BOYS that is is hard for them to schedule other D1 schools. How come the comments on this site ignore this very fact. BYU tries, but the BIG BOYS don't want to really show that they can play some quality schools outside their league. Too much of a chance to find out they can be beat and there goes their BCS dreams.

The BCS is a monopoly and we are only allowed a chance at playing in a BCS game because congress started talking about looking at this monopoly. Too bad the NCAA has no backbone and says "Every D1 league, including Notre Dame has an equal shot at playing in a BCS bowl. But they are gutless.

Would NIU beat up on Div I bottom feeders? Definately.

Could they compete competitively in some of the weaker Div I conferences?
Probably

Does anyone care?
No.

Div I-AA is Div I-AA is Div I-AA. That is whay people in general see. Wether it is NIU or Weber St, it doesn't matter, they're Div I-AA.

By the same reasoning, one could say USC and University of Luisiana - Monroe are the same. They are both Div I schools.

Of course None of this matters because BYU will embarass any football team that isn't one of the elite in the nation. And even the elite teams will have a difficult time holding the Cougars back.

13-0

regarding Northern Iowa: check the Sagarin ratings. They've got a better rating than the majority of the MWC.

BYU fan from BOISE: maybe you want to check the other related article that went along with this. IF you check on BYU's schedule, they DO have BSU scheduled for a while. Helps if you actually check your facts!

Look at all those SEC wussies. If you're so tough, play someone decent in your pre-season.

BYU shceduled the toughest team they could find on the very short notice they were given. There weren't any Div IA teams available, and NIU is better than a lot of Div IA teams anyways(true, most of them are in the sun belt conference).

BYU has BSU on its schedule in upcoming years.

What people have to realize with scheduling is that it is usually done several years in advance. In 2005, around the time UCLA was scheduled, UCLA went 10-2. You can't always predict how good a team will be 3 of 4 years down the road.

Also because scheduling is done so far in advance, when a team breaks a contract and backs out of game, It is very hard to find a replacement.

Check out Texas Tech's conference schedule and then look at BYU's. If BYU had Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma on their schedule then fans wouldn't care about a game or two against the northern iowas and murray states. I wish people would stop talking about BYU and Utah like they are already BCS programs. They have a chance to earn respect by scheduling four decent non-conference games against BCS schools (even if they have to play on the road or against lower tier BCS teams) along with playing each other and TCU.

There is no NIU...

The school is the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). It is basically the Weber State of Iowa.

There is no reason to be unrealistic. BYU should win the game, but UNI has a good football program. Most years they could probably win over about 1/3rd of the DI teams in the nation.