BYU Football 2012 Schedule

Cougar fans need not worry about the BYU Football 2012 schedule being full of bad games. As mentioned last week here on purplemountainhaze, the November portion of the schedule is still rather weak. However, BYU has what I consider to be 7 or 8 really entertaining match-ups this year.

2012 BYU Football Schedule

Date	Opponent
Sept. 1	Washington State
Sept. 8	Weber State
Sept. 15	at Utah
Sept. 22	at Boise State
Sept. 29	Hawaii
Oct. 5	Utah State
Oct. 13	Oregon State
Oct. 20	at Notre Dame
Oct. 27	at Georgia Tech
Nov. 3	BYE
Nov. 10	Idaho
Nov. 17	at San Jose State
Nov. 24	at New Mexico State

We’re obviously months from the 2012 BYU football season even starting but here’s some analysis on how I see it unfolding:

Sure wins/Snoozers: Weber State, Idaho, New Mexico State, San Jose State

Likely wins: Hawaii and Utah State. It’s apparent Utah State is no where near the gimme it used to be but I think the Cougs will handle the Aggies at home. Not sure how good Hawaii will be in the fall but the two teams have played for several years and it’s always a fun match-up. Let’s be conservative though and say BYU only gets one of these games.

Homes games vs. Pac-12 schools: You gotta figure Oregon State will improve on their 3-9 record from last year. I wouldn’t count this game for sure in the win column for BYU. I do think BYU should handle Washington State at home. This game should be a lot of fun, assuming the Pirate, first year head coach, Mike Leach, installs the same pass happy offense he ran at Texas Tech. Let’s say BYU splits these two home games.

4 very tough road games: No reason to think BYU will beat Utah in Salt Lake. Crazy things do happen in the rivalry game so we’ll call that one a maybe. BYU will not likely beat Boise State in Boise, even if the Broncos will be breaking in a new quarterback. Notre Dame in South Bend – also a tall order, even with Notre Dame’s QB situation unsettled. Can the Cougars beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta? Possibly. Let’s be generous and say BYU goes 2-2 in these 4 games.

Summary: 4 sure wins, split the PAC-12 home games, split the other two home games and hope for a split in the tough road games: 8-4, maybe 9-3 if they beat both Hawaii and Utah State at home. The road games are gonna be the real test. There’s no guarantee they even win one of those.

Again, a lot will happen between now and Labor Day weekend but it’s always fun to look ahead.