Since 1974, the BYU Cougars have played in 35 bowl games. That is more bowl appearances than Notre Dame, every school in the Pac-12, and almost every other program in the nation.
From 1978 to 1994, BYU never missed going to a bowl game, and that's when bowl games were scarce. More recently, from 2005 to 2016, BYU went to a bowl game every single season. Going into this season, the Cougars' 12 consecutive bowl appearances was the eighth longest streak in the nation.
It was not unreasonable to expect that streak to continue in 2017, but it didn't. Since the unexpected happened, Blue Cougar Football wanted to know what BYU fans thought about the Cougars' bowl chances for 2018. Last week, site visitors could respond to the poll question "Will BYU go to a bowl game in 2018?" The same question was asked on twitter using the handle @BlueCougarFball. Most respondents think BYU will return to being a bowl participant next season.
Official Poll ResultsThe 2018 schedule isn't easy. It has five opponents from Power 5 conferences, and four of those are road games. BYU will also travel to Boise State.
76% Yes
24% No
Right now, BYU has an unsettled quarterback situation. If quarterback play is a problem, and BYU can't win any of the six games noted, then it creates the same pressure packed situation that the Cougars had this season. BYU could enter October with a 1-4 record, and realize wins in future games at Boise State and Utah are probably unlikely. That would create a must win feeling in the other five games.
BYU wasn't able to rise to that challenge this season, which is why the season has been over for a month. What about next year? Blue Cougar Football sides with the optimists. BYU will be bowl eligible next year.
This season was a shocking reality check for the team. Experiencing 4-9 and no bowl will have the players in a different mental state than last year. Every position group knows they have to be better; as opposed to the mentality last year that they could lean on Tanner Mangum. Additionally, the team won't take anything for granted. UMass is not an automatic win. Utah State is a rival just as much as Utah is and the Aggies need to be respected the same way; otherwise, they can pull off the upset. That should get BYU wins in the six "easy" games. Finally, BYU will beat at least one of the P5 opponents. It is extremely rare that BYU doesn't win one, if not two, of those games. Almost invariably, there are some opponents that are not as good as they have been, and BYU picks up a win that was either a "toss up" game or an "unexpected" win. In 2016, BYU beat Michigan State and Mississippi State. The year before, there was Nebraska.
BYU does not have a contracted bowl spot yet for 2018. There was a deal in place with the Poinsettia Bowl, but that bowl has been discontinued. However, under the TV broadcast rights agreement that BYU has with ESPN, BYU is guaranteed a spot in a bowl if bowl eligible.
Thank you to everyone who participated. Please give your response to the new poll question about the recently announced offensive assistant coaches (keep in mind you may select more than one answer in this poll).
Below is the vote breakdown for Blue Cougar Football votes and Twitter votes with the percentage for each possible answer. The number of votes is in parenthesis. It is interesting to see that both voting sites had the same percentage breakdown.
BCF
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Vote Brekdown
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Twitter
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76% (100)
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Yes
|
76% (37)
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24% (32)
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No
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24% (12)
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100% (132)
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Totals
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100% (49)
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The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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