The Brigham Young Cougars will kick off the much anticipated 2010 season Saturday against the Washington Huskies in Provo, Utah. This game has many sub plots that will impact what will happen on the field.

Grading BYU's move to independence in four areas: 1) the home for BYU's other sports, 2) scheduling, 3) access to bowls, and 4) a new television partner.

The West Coast Conference has been very receptive to BYU all along and now it appears a deal has been struck and the Cougars will be the ninth member of the conference.

We are very, very excited about this move and will have much more on it later. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below and welcome to our new BYU friends!

To be guaranteed an AQ for 2012 and 2013 the MWC must be in the top 6 in the average of the highest ranked team and the average computer ranking, and above 50% in the adjusted top 25 performance ranking.

The MWC will not make this in the average computer ranking, and would not have with BYU. Fresno State and Nevada are practically inconsequential. They will be in the top 7 and are on pace for the top 5 in the highest ranked team criteria. This makes them eligible to petition for an exemption.

Before BYU left the MWC's numbers were strongly supported by the strong showing in the adjusted top 25 performance criteria, which they were leading. They are still on pace for well above the 50% cutoff. Falling to #5, and in the thick of it for that much, makes the numbers look less cut and dry.

If the MWC can maintain or improve these numbers for the next two years they should be a close call for an AQ in 2012 and 2013.

Here's something you don't hear all the time. The West Coast Conference actually considered BYU's religious affiliation to be a positive instead not a turn-off.

Brigham Young University, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said it would leave the Mountain West Conference and place the majority of its sports, minus football, in the WCC. The school's football team is going independent.

Gonzaga Athletic Director Mike Roth said on a radio show in Spokane on Tuesday that "BYU, being faith-based, made it even easier." He said the school fits in well with the rest of the conference, all of which are private institutions. Of the eight existing members of the conference, seven are connected to the Catholic church. Pepperdine is affiliated with the Church of Christ.

Roth also said fans shouldn't be waiting for the conference to add a tenth team, meaning schools like Denver or Seattle probably wouldn't be added to the fold anytime soon.

"I believe when you try to make things better, sometimes you have to change some things to make them better," Roth told KGA radio. "We don't have any additional plans to expand, but we'll continue to monitor what's going on out there."

Jack Swarbrick did acknowledge that an independent BYU would provide a strong option for future November schedules, when many schools are restricted by conference affiliation. BYU would be college football's fourth independent, joining Notre Dame, Army and Navy.

"Even prior to this announcement, we were talking to them about doing some games," Swarbrick said of BYU.