Independence Day

In this metaphor BYU is the spaceship and the Mountain West is the White House

The Facts:

It is looking more and more like BYU will blast their Mountain West compadres in football and go at it Notre Dame style as an independent. This means one of these next few days might be always remembered by Cougar nation as their very own "Independence Day".  The decision has yet to be confirmed by BYU but according to this article on ESPN.com the Cougars will announce their decision by the end of the week. The article also states that BYU will look to join the WAC in all other sports, and in turn BYU will play four WAC teams in football each year.

Questions and Answers:

Q.) Won't playing four WAC teams still be a pretty soft schedule?

A.) Some sources are saying that Boise State will leave the Mt. West and head back to the WAC without penalty. If that is the case then BYU could play Boise every year, and the Cougars were already playing Utah State which leaves two WAC teams that BYU would need to schedule. They could fill those games with patsies, like San Jose State, or they could play tougher teams like Nevada or Fresno State.

Q.) Will BYU have a hard time scheduling top teams?

A.) BYU has shown in football that they are capable of scheduling home and home games with tough teams. Programs like Florida State, Notre Dame, USC, to name a few, have all put BYU on their schedule. If the past is any indication, with the flexibility of being an independent the Cougars should be able to put at least three of four good teams on their schedule every year. It is possible that BYU and Notre Dame could set something up where they could play each year, which would help both schools.

BYU vs Notre Dame has happened before and a yearly match up would benefit both schools

Q.) Won't the move to the WAC have a negative effect on the basketball program?

A.) Gonzaga has proved to the college basketball world league play isn't a huge deal. In fact, in some cases being in a weak conference allows teams to get an automatic bid to the big dance every year.

I know what most Cougar fans are saying,  "What's an... auto...matic... bid?" It feels like BYU hasn't had an automatic bid since the Danny Ainge days (an obvious exaggeration, but still it has been forever). One of the main reasons why BYU hasn't earned an automatic bid is because the MWC tournament is played on UNLV's home floor and the Rebels have simply owned the Cougars in Vegas.

Sick of seeing this every year? A move to the WAC might actually help BYU basketball

Plus, if you have grown to love your yearly trip to Vegas for the tourney you are in luck because that is where the WAC will be holding their tournament starting next year the WAC will be playing just down the block, in the Orleans Center.  Sure BYU will miss playing a few teams but do you honestly think UNLV or San Diego State won't want to schedule BYU?

In the end, there really aren't many negatives. The BYU Sports Blog looks forward to the next few days when BYU will announce its Independence. What other questions or concerns do you have about BYU going idependent?