BYU football still going independent

Our source who broke the BYU football independence deal to us a day before most reports is now confirming the path we have maintained BYU was pursuing, despite the forthcoming evidence/documents on the botched WAC deal:  BYU football is going independent.

The BYU athletic department has been working the phones to solidify at least most of a 2011 football schedule.  The WAC (and presumably ESPN) are lending assistance. Other sports will sign a deal to still go to the WAC until at least 2012.  The assumption is that BYU is still hoping the Big 12 comes calling.

What would stop this from happening before 11:59 pm MT on 8/31 would either be that schools give BYU the cold shoulder in scheduling (just scheduled Texas, so doesn't seem to be a problem), or that the MWC goes head-over-heels in making concessions (monetary and TV) to BYU.  The latter doesn't seem likely, as MWC commissioner Craig Thompson has turned away similar BYU requests in years past saying it would give BYU a competitive advantage.
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**UPDATE**
Our source tells us that the WAC move is officially dead and talks with the WCC are happening. The WCC and BYU are just waiting for BYU to finalize some football scheduling before making it official.

Could the eyes of Texas be upon BYU?

We have been floating this around our heads today, and tried expressing the idea via Twitter but it may not have been very clear, so here goes a blog post.  Early today, BYU and Texas completed an agreement for a home-home series, with Texas @ BYU in 2013, and BYU going to Texas in 2014.  The two schools had already agreed upon a one-time deal where BYU goes to Texas in 2011 a few months ago.

Combined with the reports from the main-stream media that Texas had contacted BYU to inquire about their brand new TV facilities and state-of-the-art mobile TV unit -- this scheduled series got our wheels spinning.

Could BYU leverage their state-of-the-art TV facilities into a Big 12 invitation?

Expansion Creating Very Bad Blood

The Upset welcomes guest Jarod Daily, a TCU alum who currently works as a copy editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Here he offers us his thoughts that while conference expansion may make for new road trips and rivalries in 2011, it's boiling the blood for 2010. (And we know bad blood with horned frogs never ends well.) Follow Jarod on Twitter @jadaily
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This has been quite the interesting offseason, hasn't it?

All this conference realignment (current count: six schools changing conferences, with a seventh weighing football independence) won't take effect until 2011, but that doesn't mean that it won't have reverberations this season.

Can you say "bad blood"?

Fresno State & Nevada leave WAC, join MWC

Fresno State and Nevada have just wrapped up press conferences during which they accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference.

The move comes as BYU is threatening football independence, but currently gives the MWC 11 teams for the 2011 season.  BYU did vote for both schools to join the MWC, even though their rumored independence plan was to move all other sports to the WAC, which now only houses 6 schools.  We'll wait for that to all play out.

Fresno State and Nevada both accepted the offer that was announced officially only 6 or so hours before their press conferences.

BYU Independence RoundTable

Air Force strengths and weaknesses

Click on the post title for Frank Schwab's (of the Colorado Springs Gazette) early take on the Air Force Falcons.

Around the Mountain West: August 12

Here's a quick look at what is going on around the Mountain West Conference as we inch closer to kickoff day on September 2nd:

Poll: CFB players want a playoff...or do they?

Click on the post title to view the results of an ESPN poll given to players about instituting a playoff in college football.

BYU QB: Time To Choose Heaps

Click on the post title to link to Brett Richins' view of the QB race at BYU.

Pre-season Coaches Poll Released

The pre-season Coaches Poll is out.  While we at The Upset reiterate our stance that there should be no polls until at least week 4, we realize that much of any team's destiny is decided by the dreadful fact that pre-season polls exist.

To that effect, the top teams in the Mountain West were all given very favorable starting positions (TCU's definitely earned), and they and Boise State are in position to get a shot at cracking the title game.

5. Boise State
7. TCU
24. Utah

Also receiving votes were BYU (total points of 66 ranking them at 28th) and Nevada (1 total point placing them at the effective ranking of 48th).

While Boise State's and TCU's rankings are expected, Utah and BYU seem to have earned the respect of many coaches around the country.  Utah is replacing many defensive stars who were drafted recently (Kruger, Stevenson, Johnson) as well as their leading receiver (Reed).  BYU earned 66 total points despite the fact that in the last 2 seasons they have lost the program's all-time leaders at receiver (Collie), tight-end (Pitta), and running back (Unga) to the NFL, and they are breaking in a new QB with the graduation of Max Hall.

Utes focused on 2010

Click on the post title to link to Andrea Adelson's piece on ESPN.com about Utah's final season in the Mountain West Conference.