Enjoy it while it lasts. Your weak schedule will expose your weak team when it comes to pass.

Would anyone care to offer up a good reason for BYU to be playingthe Aggies in Logan? I know there is the mercy element in trying to help USU out of the NCAA doghouse with their average home attendance of around 10,000, 5,000 less than the NCAA min of 15,000 and 117 of 119 teams.
Byu gives up a decent raid payday for a Div 1-AA comparitive guarentee of $100,000. There were. A number of schools scrambling to find home games for this season as late as the summer of 2007, including Kansas St, Colorado, Texas Tech, and Arizona. I don't know if a home and home agreement couod have been negotiated but BYU would expect to be flying home $600,000 to $800,000 richer, a cool $500,000 to $700,000 more than BYU will be bringing home from Logan,
What is the real reason th e"why bowl" is being played? Would it not make more sense fir USU to be hosting Weber St; SUU,, Northern AZ, or Idaho St? And no Virginia BYU as a private school has no obligation to play state schools not in the lie conference?

Congratulations to BYU for the #8 rank.
But remember,
any rank above that has to come from the State of Oklahoma. - heh -

Congrats on the top 10 ranking from a lifetime Ute fan. Keep up the consistency and represent our conference well. Good luck until November 22nd!

Go Utes!

We should be ranked #2 behind Oklahoma. What a farse. The polls favor those teams who do nothing and ignore those teams who do something. Maybe by next week the pollsters will come to their senses. Go Cougars!!!

Commenter's we are ranked #7 in the COACHES POLL, it is the important poll, not the associated press #8. Learn how the BCS system works please! We play USU instead of Colorado, Kansas St., Arizona or Texas Tech, because BYU honors it's contracts unlike institutions such as Nevada who blew us off last season for our opener, which forced us to fit in Northern Iowa. Try to remember USU is a WAC team, not a 1AA school although I think a Weber State rivalry would be good for USU.
The important thing is for BYU to stay focused, 1 game at a time, 1 quarter at a time, 1 play at a time! Focus, Focus, Focus, and watch the penalties and turn overs! Continue to blow out every opponent and a couple more teams in the top-10 have upsets, and it is possible to see BYU play for the national championship! November 22nd will be a really awesome game, just stay focused every week on that weeks opponent, don't look by anyone, and blow them out, Defense and Offense have to continue to improve and dominate, it has to be that way for a chance at a national championship!

You play Utah State because of tradition pal. You are pointing out what is wrong with College Football, you are more concerned with a paycheck than to keep a traditional, instate opponent on your schedule. I'm sorry that us up in Logan are not good enough to compete with your precious band of brothers. Maybe someday we can raise the bar and make some magic happen. Fans like you are the reason nobody that know s a lick about college football can stand BYU.

Strong Showing in the polls.

I guess that's benifit of having a winning, storied program.

That, and showing your depth by having your reserves able to step up a preserve the shutout at home.

I can't see why any team, even reserves would not protect their house.

I guess it's great coaching.

It's almost comical...the ute fans that is....here they are all phat and happy and relaxed that they are ranked at 15th in the nation because in part they have beaten Utah State, Weber State, Unlv, a subpar Michigan team that caught Wisconsin off guard, who didn't play particularly well against Utah and beat a decent Air Force team despite turning the ball over three times.....And here is BYU, going 'wow, were ranked 7th and 8th' and everyone saying good going', except for the fact that they see us like the Christmas ham on someone's table ready for the feast to begin....everyone just waiting with forks and knives to gobble us up at the slightest indication of any mistake we make.........

I'm glad Bronco is at the head of the table where BYU is about to enjoy their feast.....because were it the Whittingham's we'd be encouraged to overeat and indulge ourselves, get a little fat and take things for granted.....enjoy???...already a couple of the comments above seem to imply our schedule isn't strong enough to allow us to be successful....but then again........Bronco is at the head of our table...we're not going to get phat or fat with this guy.........Go Cougars

SJ Bobkins, tell me why USU and BYU are playing on Friday night on the first weekend in October (as opposed to any other Saturday) and I'll give you one reason BYU likes the series with the Aggies.

"Enjoy it while it lasts. Your weak schedule will expose your weak team when it comes to pass."

A weak schedule does not a weak team make. So long as they win their games, it only goes to show they haven't truly been tested yet. Weak schedule≠Weak team. Weak schedule=Untested team.

What is it with people and their blindness in seeing BYU has a "weak" schedule? It's not a weak schedule at all. I've made the argument before, and I won't do it again.

People could easily say Utah has a weak schedule too, but they can't help it if, of all years, Michigan just so happens to be rebuilding and struggling. Of all years, UCLA is injury plagued and BYU's domination of them demoralized them. UCLA was getting national respect and attention when they played them, but BYU shut them down 100%. Oregon State would also look very weak if it weren't for their big upset.

BYU had been totally dominant, and that is how they are getting the attention they are getting.

#8/#7 is the culmination of a lot of things, and it bites fans of other programs, but there it is, nonetheless.

I find the team mindset interesting. I wonder how many other teams in the nation are trying to remain humble in preparation for each next game. (I know, just more evidence of BYU arrogance, trying to stay humble)

The ironic thing is, we may well get to the end of the season in pretty much the same fashion, with no one really having head-to-head evidence of just how good a team this is.

Here's cheering for the Utes to stay focused and undefeated. If we both do that, come November 22nd, the whole nation will be watching. The Mountain. Hmmm...

I am impressed with your ability yesterday to write more than one post. Unfortunately, you have Cougar Bi-Focals when you type. I am sure you believe your basketball team will be National Champions too!! It's OK, they have drugs for people like you to calm your nerves. Keep up the research and give me your best today!!

re: Were it by any other name???

I do not understand why you feel the need to make a comment dissing the Utes on an article that has nothing to do with the Utes. I am a Ute fan and I made a comment on this article that had nothing to do with the Utes only complimenting BYU. To say that the Utes are "happy and relaxed" is an incorrect statement. Everything I have heard from coaches and fans reflects a little bit of discontent and we feel a bit lucky to have the record we do. We can all see that things need to improve. Please be a BYU fan and not a Ute hater.

Go Utes!
Go Cougs! (until Nov 22nd)

I must say as a cougar fan, it's refreshing to have so many Ute fans respecting and seemingly cheering on the Cougs leading up to big day on 11/22. It feels awkward for me to be cheering on the Utes so much too, but I do hope they blow out Oregon St. I hope to see BYU and Utah make it to Nov.22 unscathed and then may the better team win. Hopefully it's BYU, but either way, given the strength of the MWC this year, I would hope that the winner, Utah or BYU, gets to play in the National Title game and represents the state well. It'll be a shame that the loser will probably end up in Vegas when, if it's a close loss, they ought to be able to play in the Fiesta Bowl.

The #8 and #7 rankings are justified just as Ohio States ranking of #3 was justified at the time. No one knew they weren't that great until they played USC. BYU hasn't been tested and rankings are about preseason hype and your record so... When the teams above BYU lose I wouldn't be surprised to see BYU ranked #2 or #3.

Imagine BYU as the #2 BCS team at the end of the year playing for a national championship, that would throw off the whole BCS system as people would say how unfair it is that some untested team from the West is in. That would be great! If you like or dislike BYU cheer for the demise of the BCS system.

There will need to be 2-3 years in a row of this kind of performance for the MWC to have any shot at an automatic BCS birth.

Watch for the MWC to invite Boise State to join after an undefeated 2009 so that their record can count for the MWC in the next BCS qualifying discussion in 2010.

Folks tradition died when USU could no longer represent themselves as a quality team. If you don't think BYU football is very much about money your nuts. Not being a state program BYU has to pay it's bills and support all the other programs that cannot pay in attendance fees, like woman's soccer, softball, means baseball, tennis, etc.
Before you trash BYU on being able to put butts in seats and pay for it budget without tax payer money, consider how little support USU has, in averaging Div 1-AA crowds of 10,000 for the last three years. That put them #117 of 119 teams. Darn totting bYU has to keep money in mind with no tithing going into the program while trying to keep the full range of programs going on 1/5 of the Univ. of Florida budget and no yearly BCS money from a guaranteed spot coming in
Friday night ball games are no bigger, do you see Conn. Play last Friday on ESPN. BYU played Hawaii on that Friday several times.
I use my real name, please don’t “borrow” it.

CougarKeith | 7:09 a.m. Sept. 30, 2008
"Commenter's we are ranked #7 in the COACHES POLL, it is the important poll, not the associated press #8."

The BCS poll uses the coaches' poll AND the Harris poll, where BYU is currently at #9. BYU doesn't do as well in the computer polls right now, but those don't seem to normalize until later in the season.

Nice rankings for both BYU and Utah. Hope both stay hungry and humble...!!! Good luck to both.

As a BYU fan, I am happy for their success. However, I don't see them as a top 10 team. USC, FL, OU, TX, LSU, GA, MO, AL,TexTech, and Penn St would all most likely beat the Y. By being ranked #7 or 8, depending on the poll, that is saying that there are only 6-7 teams in the nation that should beat you. Not very realistic. You could make a good argument that OhSt, Wisc, and Auburn could beat the Y, especially if it was a road game for BYU. Of course we all know that at any time, any team is vulnerable to upset, so who knows. I hope the Y continues to do well and we'll see what happens. They seem to be in the right mindset about all this BCS/Rankings stuff. All that matters is what happens on the field.
Utah might catch OrSt dreaming about their win over USC. The way things are going, both the Y and the U could be in the top 10 next week.

And to think about it byu needed a bye week to prepare for us this WILL be the upset of the YEAR.

GO AGGIES!!!!!

SJ Bobkins | 7:23 a.m. Sept. 30, 2008

Utah State has not been competitive with BYU, Utah, or any other D1 school for decades. It wasn't because BYU and Utah left the WAC to form the MWC and didn't invite USU. The USU football program lost Division 1 credibility long before that. If this is so painful for Aggie fans then they should demand that the university start rebuilding its football program by firing Brett Guy. Personally, I think Utah State would do much better dropping a division and playing in the Big Sky where they could actually compete, and have an instate rivalry with Weber State.

Great comment by the guy responding to "SJ Bobkins". You hit it right on the head! Since when did BYU become too high and mighty to put USU on their schedule? Was it the two MWC(Mid-Major Conferance) Championshps? Maybe it was the contreversial 1984 Championship?
I admit that you can't generalize and put "all" BYU fans in the "arrogant fan" catagory, but fans like BJ Bobkins here are the exact reason why so many people do not like BYU. Being from out of state I am neither a ute or cougar fan. However, I have become a fan of every team that plays the Y. Watch the game, enjoy cheering for your team, but please don't step on other teams when they're down.

"Mendenhall spent a part of last Saturday watching football games at home with his family."

I swear I read an earlier story in this paper which stated that Mendenhall doesn't own a television. How could they watch football games without that?

BYU has defeated teams that are a combined 5-12. Why is that significant enough to warrant a top 10 ranking? After beating USU this Friday their opponents records will likely be 7-17, which looks even worse. Games against AF, TCU, and UofU appear to be their only challengers this year. If your defense can't consistently keep opponents below 10 points per game and team go undefeated.

I know this has nothing to do with the article, but will tonga be able to play next year or is he done? Any insight would be much appreciated

I think it would be great to see an 11-0 and 4th ranked BYU play an 11-0 7th ranked Utah on November 22nd. BYU wins 34-31, ends up the regular season with an invite to the Fiesta Bowl, wins and finishes second in the country, undefeated and just one more undefeated argument to push the NCAA toward an 8 team playoff.

Turn the LV Bowl into a MWC Champ vs. WAC champ the same weekend the SEC and Big 12 have their conference championship games. The MWC/WAC champ gets an automatic BCS bid - preferrably to the Fiesta Bowl.

Geeze,

Everyone agrees or disagrees with the rankings.

Who cares what anyone think?

It's what the teams are ranked.

It's what it is.

So much ado about nothing.

BYU's ranking is much deserved. Sure we have had our close calls (4th and 18 baby!--eat your heart out Ute fans!)--but we have pulled off the longest winning streak on the country and that deserves a top ten ranking. Can't wait to ride it out and see where it takes us!

Go Cougs!

Hooray for BYU, Hooray for football, Hooray for me. But Boo the polls for putting us at number 7 and 8. why are we so far down the polls. we have beaten northern iowa, washington, ucla and wyoming for heavens sake. Who has alabama beat, Georgia? Clemson? Arkansas? what about LSU, who have they beat Auburn. DUH, we should be much higher than they are. Just wait until we beat the shorts off of you yewties and then we will beat the tar out of those toawdies. (it is fun to spell things wrong huh.) I am so excited to see Austin Collie go in the first round and watch max hall be the heisman favorite. can i cant wait until we win the national championship, does anyone know if it will be broadcast on the mountain channel, i love that channel the announcers are so darn funny. lets all stand up and begin shouting, the cougers are out YAY!

To the Ute fans who said
"Enjoy it while it lasts. Your weak schedule will expose your weak team when it comes to pass."

It is not BYU fault they have a weak schedule. They play in a weak conference. BYU has won 17 straight conference games. 17! Can you imagine how bad the teams in the MWC are for "a horribly overrated BYU team" to win 17 straight games? Those other teams in the MWC must be some sort of patsy. Doesn't Utah play in the MWC?

If you're going to spout off, you should at least have your facts in order.

Utah State was, in fact, MUCH BETTER than either BYU or Utah during the 1960's, when the WAC was formed.

But, you are correct in calling Aggie fans to tasks for blaming the non-invite to the WAC for the demise of their football program. The WAC was created in 1962. Utah State remained very competitive in football throughout the 1960's and on through to the late 1970's, which is when their program hit the skids.

Blame Utah State's administrators for allowing the Aggie football program to disintegrate.

BYU should continue to play USU because of tradition! Also, nothing wrong with helping them maintain their Division 1 status with the attendance requirements. It wasn't that long ago that this was a one-sided series with USU winnng consistently. BYU needs to maintain this instate rivalry. Besides, if you look at the last few times BYU played in Logan, USU almost took them down.

If Aggie fans aren't interested in Aggie football, why should BYU fans be expected to travel to Logan to prop up the attendance at Romney Stadium?

Average attendance 2007
#27 BYU 64,497 (100.71% capacity) 386,980 total
highest non-BCS team

#114 Utah St. 13,131 (43.40% capacity) 65,656 total

Since most of the fans at the game on Friday will be BYU fans, why not just play the game in Provo where more fans can attend and have a shorter drive to get to the game?

SJ Bobkins

In three of the last four trips to Logan, BYU has very competitive games. Won in 2002 (35-34) and 1999 (34-31 in OT) and lost in 1993 56-58. Blew them out in 1996 in Logan but the point is that when the Cougars travel to Logan, they face a tough fight. BYU should continue this rivalry!

Gee the possibilities are nearly endless that Mendenhall might be watching television. Actually went to a game? Friends invited him over? Misquote from an earlier article? Family extends beyond his wife and children, so "with family" is irrelevant? No wonder you're confused at simple things.

BYU has the longest current winning streak in the country, has won 26 of their last 30 games, has won 17 straight MWC games and two straight MWC titles, handed UCLA their worst loss in the last 80 years, has shutout their last two opponents 103 to zip, and has finished the past two seasons ranked in the Top 15.

THAT is what has earned BYU a place in the Top 10, not the records of this season's opponents.

If Utah can stay focused and make it to November 22nd undefeated and ranked in the Top 10, BYU will be tested by possibily the only other undefeated team, on the road, in their final regular season game.

BYU: Untested, but still deserving.

I'm a BYU fan that also roots for Utah State. USU plays one of the most difficult preseason schedules. It's a good thing to have the U, Y and USU play. Almost all state schools play each other (Ohio, Ohio State / NM NMS / Miami, Florida, FSU...).

USU just needs support from their alumni and student body. Although they've fallen on hard times lately, I hope that soon they will start dominating the WAC and go bowling. It wasn't long ago that the U's team was a joke (the Fassel years) and BYU had several struggling years in the 90s and early 2000s.

Go USU (but not this week)!

We were 12-0 I went to Aloha stadium and we got RAN by UH. I wish there were some players on this time from that day. We were down because the sentiment was that even if we won we would not make it to a BCS bowl, but it sure didn't make the loss any better having all those locals rub it in our faces.

An earlier post said that BYU #2 in a National Championship game would be bad for the BCS. While on the surface that would seem true. I disagree! I think it would support the BCS. No they would not be happy about the $, however, they would then be able to say See other teams have a chance, we don't need a playoff. Even if it only happens once every 20 years. They, I believe, would be willing to lose the $ once every 20 years to keep it the other 19, and not go to a playoff.
Just my opinion.

To What has BYU done 9:35 am
What are you talking about? Your closing statement is jibberish; there isn't even a coherent thought to pull from it. I can't even fathom a response as it is so incoherent.

To SJ Bobkins (all morning)
Do be so foolish. Of course the game is about the money but if you think BYU is all about the money, you're nuts. Football is about rivalries as much as anything and this one is as old as they get. The game is played in the spirit of tradition. If it were only about the money, BYU would go sacrifice itself to the likes of Florida and Georgia every year.

To any comments about rankings
It is what it is and it doesn't matter about SOS or who has played who. It isn't up to us to decide (or to play for that matter.) The teams will fight it out on the field of play and the winners advance while the losers retreat. BYU is playing the schedule it set in stone several seasons ago; they didn't just decide to add a couple of pathetic teams on down years.

You're right, a combined 5-12 opponent record does not warrant a top-10 record but please try to see the forest from the trees. It's also the 14 game winning streak, the high preseason ranking and the two latest back-to-back shutouts that factor in.

If you're going to call BYU's 1984 National Championship "contreversial" than all of them are controversial and will be until there is a playoff in place.

The Utes, baby! Its the Utes. They are going to ditch BYU and bust the BCS. Utah vs. Oklahoma in the BCS Title Game, baby!

Reply to yay cooger. FYI...LSU has played 2-3 Div 2 teams. If you saw the Auburn game this last weekend they actually looked quite pathetic hence the reason the dropped like a rock in the polls even though they won. Arkansas is terrible this year and Clemson is not panning out to be what everyone thought they were at the start of the season. Why do so many of you people get so bent out of shape about BYU's ranking? As a BYU fan I loved what Utah did in 2004. I was actually quite dissapointed to see them getting matched up with Pitt because I though they were deserving of a better opponent.

Are you really that bitter that BYU is being percieved as a better team right now than your Utes? Please remember that the last meeting between these teams BYU has scoreboard. If you win this year on 11/22 then enjoy your bragging rights but until then you need to quit being so bitter because you sound ridiculous. As for the rankings, how are you so well informed that you can know for sure that BYU couldn't beat those SEC teams? Pleas stay objective.

Is that BYU never plays on General Conference Saturday. USU has often been the opponent that BYU plays on the Friday night before the October conference begins...

should BYU continue to schedule a team that has only won 2 games in the last 22 meetings, since 1979, especially when it costs BYU $500,000 or more when they play in Cache Valley.

Since_1979
1979_BYU_48,_Utah_St._24
1980_BYU_70,_Utah_St._46
1981_BYU_32,_Utah_St._6
1982_Utah_St._20,_BYU_17
1983_BYU_38,_Utah_St._34
1984_BYU_24,_Utah_St._14
1985_BYU_44,_Utah_St._0
1986_BYU_52,_Utah_St._0
1987_BYU_45,_Utah_St._24
1988_BYU_38,_Utah_St._3
1989_BYU_37,_Utah_St._10
1990_BYU_45,_Utah_St._10
1991_BYU_38,_Utah_St._10
1992_BYU_30,_Utah_St._9
1993_Utah_St._56,_BYU_58
1994_BYU_34,_Utah_St._6
1996_BYU_45,_Utah_St._17
1997_BYU_42,_Utah_St._35
1999_BYU_34,_Utah_St._31
2000_BYU_38,_Utah_St._14
2001_BYU_54,_Utah_St._34
2002_BYU_35,_Utah_St._34
2005_BYU_54,_Utah_St._24
2006_BYU_38,_Utah_St._0