BYU's Record Against Each Conference
Last week, former UCLA coach Jim Mora said he believed BYU could compete in the PAC-12. As a former head coach in the PAC-12, Mora offered his opinion on BYU's ability to compete in a power five conference. "Teams like BYU and Boise State, when you watch them play, you say 'these guys could compete in the PAC-12.' Could they compete in the SEC? It would be tough right now because of the type of athlete...I can tell you this, they are very very well respected." You can listen to Mora's full comments in the video above.
Following Mora's comments, I decided to calculate BYU's winning percentages against every conference in college football since going independent.
Since 2011, the Cougars have played 129 games. They are 81-48 in those games. Below is the breakdown of BYU's winning percentage against each of conference:
| Conference | Wins | Losses | Total Games | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Big 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
SEC | 3 | 3 | 6 | 50% |
ACC | 3 | 1 | 4 | 75% |
PAC-12 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 29% |
Big Ten | 3 | 3 | 6 | 50% |
WAC (Before FCS) | 8 | 1 | 9 | 89% |
Conference USA | 7 | 0 | 7 | 100% |
Mountain West | 20 | 13 | 33 | 61% |
AAC | 10 | 4 | 14 | 71% |
MAC | 2 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
Sun Belt | 2 | 1 | 3 | 67% |
FBS Independents | 5 | 3 | 8 | 63% |
FCS | 10 | 0 | 10 | 100% |
Total | 81 | 48 | 129 | 63% |
It's interesting to note that BYU has struggled more against the PAC-12 than any other conference. BYU's losing streak against Utah certainly hurts that percentage. BYU is 0-8 against Utah since going independent. If you exclude Utah, BYU has won 46% of its games against the PAC-12.
BYU is .500 or better against every other conference in college football:
Does that mean BYU couldn't compete in the PAC-12? Not necessarily, not in this author's opinion. They would probably struggle in their first few years in the conference, but the Power Five label is the most important advantage in today's recruiting landscape. If BYU was added to a P5 conference, their recruiting would improve.
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