UCLA Bruins vs. BYU Cougars
Saturday, Sept. 19 | Rose Bowl
7:30 p.m. PT, FOX Sports 1
The skinny: By the time BYU leaves Pasadena, it could conceivably be 3-0 … or 0-3.
Such is the state of the Cougars’ program, which has consistently skipped along at good-but-not-great for the past several years. If Steve Sarkisan got stuck with “Seven-Win Sark” at Washington, the only thing saving Bronco Mendenhall from a similar fate may be alliterative absence.
BYU has gone 8-5 in each of the past three seasons, and is coming off postseason losses in the Fight Hunger and Miami Beach Bowls. (The latter even ended with a fight!) Mendenhall turned the Cougars into a top-25 team in just his second season as head coach, but that era lasted only four years. BYU soon exited the Mountain West in the midst of conference realignment, and has been clinging to upper middle class ever since.
What does independence mean for a team with lofty goals? A very interesting schedule. BYU needs to play other big names to keep its own reputation afloat, which means this year’s slate starts with a game at Nebraska, a home game against Boise State, and then back-to-back trips to UCLA and Michigan. Continue reading “UCLA football 2015 season preview: BYU Cougars” »