Brigham Young Cougars 2010 NCAAF Preview, Schedule, Odds, and Predictions: BYU has only 3 major games against ranked opponents on a very favorable schedule, but head football coach Bronco Mendenhall will have a new quarterback, his third starter in his six seasons at BYU. Max Hall was the starting QB for 39 straight games which came on the heels of John Beck, who was BYU’s starting QB in 25 straight games to begin Coach Mendenhall’s tutelage at BYU. There are rumors that BYU is going to opt out of the Mountain West Conference to become an independent with a higher probability of gaining access to a BCS bowl berth and a chance at a National Championship. With the amount of conference realignment going on I see this as posturing for a major conference invite. Vegas odds makers have the Brigham Young Cougars +7000 odds to win the 2011 BCS National Championship.
The offense will come down to who wins the quarterback competition, Riley Nelson is a junior or freshman Jake Heaps are vying for the starting job. They competed pretty much on par with each other during spring drills. True freshman running back Joshua Quezada a standout from California should join Bryan Kariya and JJ Di Luigi to help ease the pressure on the new signal caller. The odds makers at JustBet have the Brigham Young Cougars +1200 to win the Mountain West Conference.
BYU’s front seven only has 2 returning starters, linebacker Jordan Pendleton and nosetackle Romney Fuga, but some experienced players return. “Mike linebacker, as we already know, controls most of the front,” Mendenhall said. “And so Austen Jorgensen will also be competing for that spot. And (USC transfer) Uona Kaveinga got a ton of work, by necessity, although he won’t be eligible to compete next year.” The secondary on the other hand is headlined by outstanding safety Andrew Rich, who had 4 interceptions and 85 tackles to lead the team who’ll be assisted by Brian Logan and corner Brandon Bradley who is a solid cover guy. Overall the unit should still excel. The odds makers at JustBet have the Brigham Young Cougars middle number listed at 8 wins for the 2010 NCAAF regular season.
The Cougars have dropped no more than two games in the regular season in any of the past four seasons, but this year could be different with road game at Air Force, Utah and Florida State, along with home games against Washington and Nevada. I don’t think a move to be an independent is a good idea at this time. I predict a 9-3 regular season and a decent bowl berth but no chance at a BCS Bowl.
2010 Brigham Young Cougars Football Schedule
Sat, Sept 4 vs Washington 7:00 PM ET
Sat, Sept 11 @ Air Force 4:00 PM ET
Sat, Sept 18 @ #20 Florida State 3:30 PM ET
Sat, Sept 25 vs Nevada 6:00 PM ET
Fri, Oct 1 @ Utah State 8:00 PM ET
Sat, Oct 9 vs San Diego State 6:00 PM ET
Sat, Oct 16 @ #6 TCU 4:00 PM ET
Sat, Oct 23 vs Wyoming 2:00 PM ET
Sat, Nov 6 vs UNLV 2:00 PM ET
Sat, Nov 13 @ Colorado State 2:00 PM ET
Sat, Nov 20 vs New Mexico 6:00 PM ET
Sat, Nov 27 @ Utah 3:30 PM ET