Ranking BYU’s 2019 Football Schedule By Importance

PROVO, Utah – BYU’s independent football schedule is always a mishmash of power conference teams, top-end Group of Five teams, and usually a couple of lightweights mixed in to fill out that November schedule.

Overall, this schedule is tough for 2019 with four Power Five teams and a total of seven teams that went to a bowl game in 2018.

Alex Kirry of KSL Sports ranked the Cougars schedule in order of importance:

1. Utah

2. USC

3. Boise State

4. @ Tennessee

5. Washington

6. @ Utah State

7. @ South Florida

8. @ Toledo

9. @ San Diego State

All tied for terrible

Liberty

Idaho State

@ UMass

Of Course, The Utes Are At The Top

BYU’s rival has been and always will be Utah, and vice versa, but with the two teams no longer in the same conference, the importance of this matchup is vastly different. For the Utes, this game means very little for the overall success but for the Cougars who are not in a conference getting a win over Utah is high up on the goals in Provo.

“There is no game tied that is tied to the fans feeling toward BYU football than this game against the University of Utah now that they have won eight in a row,” Kirry said on KSL’s Unrivaled. “This game against Utah, for the fans and players and for coach [Kalani] Sitake, has to represent more than being just a regular game.

“Let’s say BYU wins two games in a row against Utah it isn’t there, but I do think it is this year considering everything.”

Where Are The Other Power 5 Teams?

Three of the next four are teams from a power conference with only Boise State sneaking up to the third spot which is just one place behind USC in second.

“USC, this is the year you can get’em. They are not great, it is at home, the Trojans are going through a rebuild. This is where you get them,” Kirry said.

Tennessee and Washington are the next Power Five teams and the Volunteers make the list higher because it is a game that BYU is more likely to win than the Huskies which are a contender not only for the Pac-12 North but the league overall.

According to @KSLunrivaled, Utah's game against USC is the most important game of the season. https://t.co/xqbhsqWBcV

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 21, 2019

What About Utah State?

The Group of Five teams make out the rest of the Cougars schedule and that includes going up north to Maverik Stadium to face Utah State which could be a tricky game for the Cougars even with the Aggies having new head coach Gay Andersen on the sidelines.

“I am pretending that the Utah State game doesn’t matter that much because I am assuming BYU is not ready for that game. Gary Andersen scares the living crud out me as a BYU fan. He will have that defense fired up,” Kirry said.

Kirry is even higher on Utah State than others and says that the Aggies could be a tougher game than half of the Power Five teams on the Cougars schedule.

“On the list of games that are important for me, I put Utah State that far down because I think it is one of the harder games for BYU to win,” Kirry said. “Honestly, Tennesse and maybe USC are games that may be more gettable than the Utah State game.”