As conference realignment continues many storied rivalries are coming to an unfortunate end. Texas and Texas A&M. Kansas and Missouri. Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
Utah and BYU.
Yes, The Holy War has lost its fizzle as the Utes joined the Pac 12 and BYU decided to give football independence a try. The two will play again this season but it remains to be seen just when these two historic rivals will take the same field again. At this time there are no plans to do so, and with Utah confirming a non-conference home-and-home with Michigan and the looming Big Ten-Pac 12 scheduling agreement taking effect after that who knows just how much Utah would be willing to continue the series.
In the meantime BYU could begin playing Utah State at the end of their regular season for a good in-state rivalry, but it would still be a far cry from what The Holy War once was.
So what is the next great rivalry we can look forward to in the region? How about BYU and Boise State?
Boise State was forced to cancel a series with Utah after Utah joined the Pac 12, but BYU stepped right in and worked out an extension of their existing agreement to a four-year series with the Broncos. Originally signe din 2008, nobody knew how different the college football landscape would become by 2012. At the time Boise State was in the midst of a dominating run in the WAC and BYU was a legitimate Top 25 program in the Mountain West Conference. Now the two programs could need each other more than ever before, and if the programs can continue to play well they could develop a nice little rivalry that will become noticed around the nation.
Nobody would suggest that Boise State-BYU will be as nationally revered as Alabama-LSU or The Red River Shootout Rivalry, but it would be nice for the college football traditionalists out there to see a regional rivalry develop in the sport at a time when most are being tossed aside like a rough draft of a term paper.
I, for one, welcome a rivalry between BYU and Boise State. A four-game agreement was extended to 12 games. I hope to see it extended again in the future.
On the Show Today
We covered both teams in this week’s No 2-Minute Warning Presented by Big Time Sports. First we talked to Brian Murphy, sports columnist for The Idaho Statesman about Boise State and the Mountain West Conference. What can we expect from the Broncos in the post-Kellen Moore era? And what are the odds Boise State turns their back on the Big East as the deadline to file their withdraw from the Mountain West looms? Murphy sheds some light on that situation and more.
We also talked to Mitch Harper, from Cougar Center, about the state of the BYU program. BYU held their football media day this week so we get a good sense of where the Cougars stand in the ongoing conference realignment situation. Big 12? Big East? Independent for years to come? We talk about that and more.
No 2-Minute Warning can be heard on the Big Time Network, in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas on Pioneer Digital TV, channels 150 and 152, every Friday at 5 p.m. Central. Be sure to check your local listings for channel availability.
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