RE: BYU's ratings were rather poor for a Thursday night game
The dude is clueless.
I'm not going to take time to compile a chart, but let it suffice to say that BYU's numbers compare very favorably to ESPN's Thursday night numbers last year, especially compared to late games when the East coast is asleep. Heck, BYU's numbers last week were generally as good as most of the early games last year.