Lets just get one thing out of the way, BYU football is not supposed to be very good this year. Mostly because our QB is a serious question mark. Will it be Gerry Bohanon, the transfer from Baylor, who is super athletic and can run but is oft injured and hasnt been great the last couple of years, or will it be Jake Retzlaff, the incumbent starter, but lost all 4 games that he started last year and is familiar with the offense and can also run, but needs to improve his throwing ability.

This is just me saying this, but I think its Retzlaff’s job to lose. How can you bring in a guy like Bohanon who has shown flashes of being good, but is so new to the team and the offense and have him start? Retzlaff gets a full offseason as the “starter” and should improve and he knows the offense and how it runs. Just my two cents.

Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll

So the Big 12 announced the preseason poll of where coaches voted and thought that the teams would stack up in the conference. BYU was voted 13th out of 16 teams (we have 16 now since Texas and Oklahoma left and Arizona St, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado joined). The only teams listed below BYU were Cincinnati, Houston, and Arizona St. Now thats kind of insulting. I get it, BYU is not supposed to be very good this year, but outside of the QB and maybe the D line positions, BYU has a pretty good team. If BYU can even get okay QB play, they could be 7-5 and going to a bowl game, which is improvement from last year.

The full list of teams as voted by the coaches were:

1. Utah
2. Kansas St
3. Oklahoma St
4. Kansas
5. Arizona
6. Iowa St
7. West Virginia
8. UCF
9. Texas Tech
10. TCU
11. Colorado
12. Baylor
13. BYU
14. Cincinnati
15. Houston
16. Arizona St

Utah and Kansas St are the two front runners to win the conference. They were only separated by 1 first place vote with Utah getting it. Luckily for BYU (sarcasm), we get to play one of the tougher Big 12 schedules. BYU will play all of the top 5 teams and 6 of the top 10 teams in the preseason poll. I expect BYU to play much better than what this preseason poll shows. BYU usually likes being the underdogs and we usually play well. But buckle up for football season because it could be an up and down road.

BYU Announces ’96 Throwback Jerseys

They did a really good job on this! These are super sweet jerseys and a really cool tribute to the ’96 team. BYU will wear these on September 21st against Kansas St at home. So the fans at home will get to see these great throwbacks!

Big 12 Announces Men’s Basketball Conference Opponents

The Big 12 announced for basketball who each team’s opponents would be. The Big 12 had previously announced that since they are moving to 16 teams they will now have 20 conference games, instead of 18 like last year, and teams will have 2 less non-conference games to accommodate. They also said that teams will play 5 teams twice, each with a home game, and then 10 other teams once either at home or on the road. It was pretty complex but the 5 teams that BYU basketball is playing on the road and at home are Arizona, Arizona St, Cincinnati, Utah, and West Virginia.

I love that the Big 12 is keeping regional rivalries alive with us playing both the Arizona schools and Utah twice. But basketball wise, these teams are not easy. Arizona is one of the top basketball programs in the country and will most likely be another top 10 team in the country this year. Arizona St is bringing in the #1 ranked recruiting class in the Big 12 and #4 nationally. Cincinnati is #19 overall (both recruits and transfers) for their recruiting class, in the nation. Utah is the best rivalry in sports. West Virginia has the #6 ranked transfer class. So these teams will not be easy.

Home Only

The teams that BYU will play at HOME ONLY are Baylor, Kansas, Kansas St, Oklahoma St, and Texas Tech. Baylor and Kansas are some of the best programs in the nation for basketball. Kansas St has the #12 ranked transfer class. Oklahoma St has a top 50 transfer class. Texas Tech has the #20 ranked transfer class. So those will be big time games and big time brands playing at the Marriott Center this year. Obviously, seeing Baylor and Kansas in Provo will be the headlines.

Away Only

The teams that BYU will play AWAY ONLY are Colorado, Houston, Iowa St, TCU, and UCF. At first glance, this looks an easier group than their homes games. But Colorado has the #5 ranked Big 12 recruiting class and #25 nationally. Houston is one of the best programs in college basketball. Iowa St was very good last year and won the Big 12 conference tournament and is starting to show their dominance in college basketball. TCU has the #4 ranked Big 12 recruiting class and #17 nationally. UCF has received some big time commitments from transfers while keeping most of their same team from last year.

There will be some big games for BYU on the road and at home. It is shaping up to be one of the best basketball seasons for BYU ever with the hype surrounding the coaches and teams and the opponents that BYU is playing. It is going to be one heck of a season for BYU! Hopefully they can keep the momentum they got from last year and be even better this year.

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