Texas State Emerges As Potential Addition To BYU Football Schedule

PROVO, Utah – With five games officially on its 2020 schedule, BYU has made it clear they will “announce additional games once finalized”. Another team that could be one of those additional games for the Cougars is the Texas State Bobcats.

Texas State’s top beat writer Keff Ciardello of the Austin American Statesman wrote on social media that he is hearing that BYU and the Bobcats squaring off in 2020 is a “done deal.” Ciardello also went on to say that it “should be a pay game for the Bobcats.”

Hearing #TXST–#BYU is a done deal. Should be a pay game for the Bobcats. All I know for now. https://t.co/EKp54RA9QJ

— Keff Ciardello (@Keff_C) August 19, 2020

Texas State has openings on September 26th, October 3rd, and October 24th. BYU has openings on the October dates. Troy is scheduled to play BYU on September 26th. Currently, BYU has three games set to be played at LaVell Edwards Stadium on its 2020 schedule.

If the game comes together, it would be the first meeting between BYU and Texas State. Texas State has been playing football since 1904 but they didn’t join the FBS ranks until the 2012 season where they were originally a member of the WAC. Since 2013, the Bobcats have been in the Sun Belt Conference.

While many of the FBS conferences in college football have postponed the fall season, the Sun Belt is allowing its league members to play a full 12-game schedule with up to four non-conference games.

BYU connection to Texas State

BYU has a connection to the Texas State program on its current staff. Offensive line coach Eric Mateos coached the Bobcat offensive for two years before landing a job at BYU.

Mateos was asked this week after a practice what he has been hearing from some of his connections around the SEC and Sun Belt about the vibes towards a football season being played this fall.

“Yeah, I mean I think we’re playing ball. Like you alluded to, I’ve got a lot of connections in the Southeastern Conference and in the Sun Belt and you know they have that slogan, it just means more. It means a lot down there those people to those economies in the south and to those communities. As far as I know, we’re playing and everybody is under the impression that we’re going, It was a little iffy for a few days. But I think when some of the other commissioners and other university presidents around the south, around the country said no, forget it we’re going, I think everything everybody’s vibe has changed a little bit.”

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.