When the pandemic hit and conferences were pressured to shut down football completely by the most liberal among them, BYU was able to make its own decisions. During that time BYU practiced more than its opponents and developed its players while other schools were not prioritizing football at all. This gave BYU a competitive advantage. BYU went in to a game vs Navy that many of us thought they would be very capable of losing. But it became obvious that Navy was woefully unprepared to play football and I think they hadn't even been tackling in practice or something like that. BYU crushed Navy and it was a huge confidence builder for the rest of the season and they were able to steamroll some teams. BYU was able to pursue a schedule that allowed it to learn how to win and build momentum. Its players were showcased. These players got drafted in the NFL. BYU was perceived as a winner again. BYU was subsequently invited to the big 12.

This wouldn't have happened if we weren't independent. If we were in the mountain west we would have been shut down with the rest of the conference and would have been forced to play nice and do what everyone else was doing.

Other features of independence were nice. I liked the games on espn and the access to games. I liked playing teams around the country as an independent. The schedules were getting better. Playing teams like USC, Tennessee, Nebraska, Michigan St, Wisconsin and winning those games were fun experiences for players and fans.

But at a crucial moment in the history of the world...BYU was able to call some of its own shots and make their own rules as an independent. And I think that was the best thing about independence. That independence in independence vaulted our program into a power conference. We are in a more secure place now than we were. The biggest failure with independence was the failure to secure better playoff and bowl game access. Constantly being referred to as being outside a P5 conference was weighing the program down. But we will all look back at independence and will be able to point to that first covid year as a year when we turned a corner. Who knows what would have happened no pandemic to BYU.