Stanford announced Wednesday an extension of its football series with Brigham Young and has more dates with the Cougars this decade (six) than it does with Utah (five), based on the current Pac-12 schedule model.

The series makes perfect sense, almost too much sense, and symbolizes the conference’s increasing interconnectivity with BYU.

Next season, for instance, the Cougars face Pac-12 teams in two of their first three games.

In 2021, they open with three consecutive Pac-12 opponents.

Stanford and USC, in particular, need the Cougars.

As an Independent, they have significant flexibility and are available to fill the end-of-season hole in years when the Cardinal and Trojans don’t play Notre Dame on the final weekend.

Add their rivalry games against Utah and numerous dates with the Arizona schools and others, and the Cougars have 22 games against seven Pac-12 programs in the 2020s:

(And there could be more to come: Most teams have non-conference slots to fill in the second half of the decade.)

Arizona

vs. BYU: 2021 (Las Vegas), 2027

at BYU: 2026

Arizona State

vs. BYU: 2020

at BYU: 2021

Oregon

vs. BYU: 2022

at BYU:

Stanford

vs. BYU: 2020, 2022, 2026, 2028

at BYU: 2025, 2029

(Two games schedule for Provo in the 2030s, as well.)

USC

vs. BYU: 2021, 2023

at BYU:

Utah

vs. BYU: 2020, 2024, 2026, 2028

at BYU: 2021, 2025, 2027

(The Holy War goes dark in 2022-23 in order for Utah to play Florida in a home-and-home series.)

Washington State

vs. BYU: 2021

at BYU:

Don’t take those dates as an indicator of looming marriage.

The conference has given zero indication that it’s warming to the idea of BYU as a full-time member.

The Cougars don’t work on numerous levels, from their Church-owned status to their refusal to play (any sport) on Sundays to their general position outside the Pac-12 membership model:

Conference leadership favors large, public research institutions like Utah and Colorado, which were added in 2011.

(Commissioner Larry Scott told the Hotline in the fall that the Pac-12 is “not looking” and “not talking” about expansion. If anything, we could see contraction.)

The Cougars don’t have two-thirds of their schedule locked up by conference opponents — they need games.

In particular, they need games in October and November when Power Five and Group of Five opponents are immersed in conference play.

The Pac-12’s recent decision to allow non-conference games in the second half of the season should create opportunities for the Cougars to fill Saturday vacancies throughout the fall.

And they work as both home and road opponent for Pac-12 team:

* Home, because BYU sells tickets:

Pac-12 fans will pay to see the Cougars, and BYU fans, scattered across the west, will go anywhere.

* Road, because of the logistics:

The trip to Provo is short for Pac-12 teams and cheap for Pac-12 fans and provides additional recruiting exposure in Utah.

(And as we saw last season with USC and Washington, the BYU-owned home games often end up on ABC.)

Scheduling is difficult, time-consuming work with a slew of factors to consider.

BYU checks off more boxes as a non-conference opponent for the Pac-12 than any program outside the Power Five.

And if the Cougars are actually good, all the better.

* Interested in the Pac-12’s cross-division schedule through 2026? It’s right here.

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