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The 1985 BYU Cougars just happened to have a road game in Hawaii on the schedule meaning they were within their rights to play a 12th game. Having won the National Championship in 1984, the Cougars were also invited to participate in the third annual Kickoff Classic, the week 0 clashed played at the Meadowlands.
This unlikely sequence of events saw BYU play 13 times during the regular season and capped off the campaign with a 14th fixture, a losing effort in the Citrus Bowl to Ohio State. This was the first time since 1913 a school would play 14 games in a season. Safe to say, a lot had changed since Pop Warner was coaching Carlisle.
The NCAA opted not to intervene, seeing this matter as nothing more than a coincidence. They were right, for the most part. It wouldn’t happen again until 1994, when Fresno State backdoored its way into 13 regular-season games. But they didn’t reach a bowl game, and it was quietly forgotten about.
However, something happened in 1992 that would soon impact scheduling…the conference championship game. The SEC launched their game, but it would be the only one in place until 1996. That is when the Big XII and Western Athletic Conference decided to join in on the fun. This is where we find a BYU Cougars program on the ascendency.
Legendary Head Coach LaVell Edwards and offensive coordinator Norm Chow had found a quarterback to execute their high-flying ambitions in Steve Sarkisian. As a junior, he led the team to a 7-4 record, but the team had a lot more on its plate in 1996.
The Cougars were about to embark on the longest schedule ever devised in modern college football. Every loophole, every additional game, every possible way to nerf a schedule was to be carried out.
We start with the 1996 Pigskin Classic and a showdown against Number 13 Texas A&M in Provo. The story doesn't end until BUY makes college football scheduling history.
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