BYU's Tired of Being Lost in the FBS Wilderness

The Beatitudes strike again.

The Brigham Young University Cougars football program should've paid more attention to that part about the meek inhertiting the Earth.

BYU figured it was bigger than the Mountain West -- as a TV draw, among other things -- and with joining the Pac-12 never being a possibility, its ongoing Plan B option came to pass: going independent.

In the wake of the Power Five waging its own war on meekness, optimism isn't running rampant in Provo these days. Utah has all but usurped them, and the Cougars probably need the Utes more than vice versa. And they'd better not hold their breath about that Notre Dame deal.

Trying to pry their way back into a Power Five conference is gonna be a task. BYU got that hint during the last league shuffling in 2011.

Unless BYU comes up with a Hawai'i-like compensation package to entice Big XII teams to fly over the Rockies, but why would the Big XII be interested? It's already got a geographical gap between Norman and Morgantown to fill and has said as much, targeting Cincinnati instead. Central Florida has also been mentioned, but don't rule out Memphis.

So right now, the Mountain West might be looking pretty good.

Pumping the pom-poms for that move would be Seattle U. The WCC refused their bid to join alongside BYU for muddled reasons -- RPI damage? Please. Infringing on Gonzaga territory? Hmmm -- but if BYU bolts, the Redhawks would be naturals to join that collection of faith-based schools.

At least the Cougars have allies in the ACC, which decided that any game against them would be considered a Power Five clash. BYU won't mind that.

Other than that, though, the price of BYU independence looks to be Power Five indifference.