Breaking Down BYU's 2013 Schedule ... by Michael Bibe

This upcoming season will be arguably the most difficult in the history of BYU Football. With a schedule that is ranked as one of the toughest in the nation, the Cougars will have their hands full this year. Here’s a look at the opponents that BYU will face this year.

1. @ Virginia-The Cougars will open up their season on the road against ACC foe Virginia. The Cavaliers are coming off of a 4-7 year in 2012, putting up good competition in what was a really good year for the ACC, usually a basketball conference. The Cougars will have the advantage in this game because of their no-huddle offense and stingy defense that will stop Virginia’s one back offense.
2. Texas-This will be one of the best and most fun games that BYU will play at home this season. The Longhorns return to Provo for the first time since 1988, a 47-6 BYU victory behind 402 passing yards from a freshman by the name of Ty Detmer. The Longhorns and the Cougars met in 2011 in Austin and Texas escaped with a 14-13 victory in a hard fought defensive battle. Texas brings experience on the offensive side with quarterback David Ash returning after starting all 12 games last year. Ash had an up and down season last year, and wasn’t really consistent in any games. This game will be a defensive battle once again, but BYU’s offense is way better than the 2011 offense and the Texas offense. The Cougars will pull out a tough, nail-biting game in front of their home crowd.
3. Utah-This one is the most important game for each team this year. With Utah refusing BYU’s three year extension last year, this game will be for bragging rights the next three years. The Utes have had the upper hand in the series, winning the last three meetings. That means that BYU superstars Kyle Van Noy and Cody Hoffman have yet to beat their in state rival. The last time Utah came to Provo, they blew out BYU 54-10. This meeting, expect this BYU team, especially the seniors, to beat the Utes for the first time in three years, in a blowout.
4. Middle Tennessee State-After three hard-fought games, this game will be a chance for the Cougars to rest their starters and let the back-ups get in the game and experience some playing time in front of 65,000 screaming fans at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo.
5. @ Utah State- Last year marked the closest contest in the history of the Beehive Boot between the Aggies and the Cougars, with BYU eking out a 6-3 victory in Provo. Utah State has home field advantage this year, and is coming off of an 11-2 season and a blowout victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and returns dual threat quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who passed for over 3,300 yards and rushed for over 600 yards. For BYU, the only thing that made last year’s game so close was the lack of offense. This year, the offense is more mature and will give BYU the victory in Logan.
6. Georgia Tech- Last year, BYU went into Georgia Tech and came out with a 41-14 victory. Georgia Tech finished 4-8, after being picked to finish at the top of the ACC in the preseason. This season, Georgia Tech will bring more experience into Provo, along with its Wing-T offense. BYU’s defense completely shut down the Yellow Jackets versatile running offense last year. This year, BYU most likely won’t hang 41 on the Tech defense, but they will win in good fashion in front of their home crowd.
7. @ Houston- This will be the first meeting between BYU and Houston in their football history. Houston, a member of Conference USA, stumbled to a 5-7 record in 2012, despite averaging over 330 yards passing per game. This year, the red Cougars will return David Piland, a junior, who was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation last year, statistic wise. BYU went up against Washington State last year and held Mike Leach’s air raid offense to under 200 yards passing. So clearly, the blue Cougars have some experience against a heavily passing team. Going on the road in an environment that they have never been to will be a challenge for BYU, but they should be able to walk out with a 27-24 victory.
8. Boise State- Last year’s meeting in Boise was probably one of the best defensive battles of the 2012 season. The teams were deadlocked at 0-0 heading into halftime, and the only scores were a pick-six by DL Mike Atkinson of the Broncos and a touchdown run by Taysom Hill of the Cougars and a failed two-point conversion. On the defensive side, the two teams only allowed 451 combined yards between each offense and forced five turnovers, highlighted by a BYU defensive stand on the goal line. This year, the teams meet in Provo and BYU will have revenge on their mind. The Cougars will pull out a victory thanks to their improved offense and already stout defense.
9. @ Wisconsin- This is where the going gets tough, and it starts with a visit to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison to face the Badgers, who have been to the Rose Bowl the last three years. Despite the loss of Monte Ball, the all-time touchdown leader in FBS history, the Cougars will have a great matchup with the Badgers balanced offense, and vice versa. This one could go either way, considering BYU hasn’t faced a BIG 10 opponent in the Bronco Mendenhall era. The Badgers have the upper hand though.
10. Idaho State- This will be another chance for the backups to see the field again before the remaining schedule unfolds.
11. @ Notre Dame- BYU was so close to knocking off the then #5 Irish last year in South Bend, losing 17-14 on a last minute field goal by Kyle Branza. This year, the Cougars return to South Bend again looking for an upset against the Irish, who should be highly ranked by the time these two teams meet if all goes well for Notre Dame. They return quarterback Everett Golson, who was solid all last year as a red-shirt freshman, but struggled against the BYU defense. This year, the battle will be even more ferocious with it being so evenly match it hard to pick a winner at this point. Don’t forget to tune into this one.
12. @ Nevada- BYU will conclude their season with a trip to Reno to face the Wolf Pack, and also linebacker Kyle Van Noy will conclude his outstanding career at Brigham Young University playing in front of his family and friends as he returns home for his final collegiate game. In this one, BYU will roll out with a victory, behind a huge performance from Kyle van Noy, who always comes up big for the Cougars and receiver Cody Hoffman, who will cap his career at BYU at the top of every single receiving record in BYU history.

Record

Least: 10-2

Best: 11-1