Since BYU's move out of the Mountain West and into independence, I've considered it an honorary BCS-level squad, right alongside Notre Dame. The Cougars have never had any major-conference affiliation, but they have a national title and a Heisman in the trophy case, and they have played at a reliably major level through most of the last four decades.
And with 2013's schedule, they are certainly acting like a major program. Holy moly. In a month's span late in the season, BYU visits both Wisconsin and Notre Dame and welcomes Boise State to town. They host Texas and Utah in September, make an early trip to Virginia, and, in all, play seven BCS conference teams, plus Utah State and Boise State, 2012's two best mid-majors. In all, only two opponents are projected worse than 75th, and seven are projected 52nd or better. That is a very impressive slate, better than that of a lot of BCS teams.
BYU could be ready for it, too. It's difficult to make an outright guarantee of that with an all-sophomore offensive backfield, new faces on the offensive line, and new players complementing Van Noy. But the Cougars still have Van Noy, Cody Hoffman, an active secondary, and a world of potential on the defensive line. And they might have an offensive identity to boot.
All bets are off if Taysom Hill gets hurt, but I see BYU as a legitimate Top 20-25 team heading into 2013. And if the Cougars are ready to actually close games this time around, they could escape from a tough schedule with a lot of tough wins. I like this team a lot.
