BYU Football: How will modified schedule affect Cougars in 2020?

Moves to go to conference-only schedules decimated the 2020 BYU football schedule. How will losing half their scheduled games impact the Cougars?

Every year it seems like hope springs eternal in Provo. When BYU departed the Mountain West Conference after the 2010 season, Cougars fans dreamed of becoming the Mormon equivalent of Notre Dame, a national brand bolstered by millions of religious fellow travelers. Instead of living up to the legacy of the 1984 national champions or even the 1996 squad that went 14-1, though, BYU has consistently won about 60 percent of their games.

The 2020 season, BYU’s tenth campaign as an independent, offered hope for another breakthrough. With three Pac-12 opponents, two Big Ten challengers, and an SEC game against Missouri, the Cougars ramped up the difficulty even further. The risks of disappointment were there in clear view, but so too were the potential rewards of College Football Playoff glory if Kalani Sitake’s team could somehow navigate the minefield and get to the other side of the year unbeaten.

All of that is a pipe dream now, with Power Five conferences all opting to play conference-only schedules. In the span of a few weeks, BYU went from having one of the most difficult schedules in the country to scrambling to fill a half-dozen empty game days. For all the talent coming back to Provo, the 2020 season is now a shell of itself before a single down is played.

Is there anything that BYU can do to rectify this season and find a silver lining in all the preemptive disappointment? Let’s dive in to look at the offense and defense at BYU before breaking down what remains of the 2020 Cougars schedule and making some predictions on how the next campaign will play out.