ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe is heading into the Cougars' Sept. 5 opener against Oklahoma with his eyes wide open, despite a patchwork offensive line.

Holmoe said he's not intimidated by the challenge of trying to stop the Sooners at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, who have claimed three-straight Big 12 titles and played in the national championship game last season.

"Certainly, with a team as nationally respected as Oklahoma, knowing what they have coming back, sure, it's a risk. It's a risk -- you could lose the game, you could have a bad game and get blown out," Holmoe told the Salt Lake City Deseret News. "But I don't think it's going to ruin our season.

"A lot of people are afraid to play the intersectional games because they're afraid they might lose and might not go to a BCS game. We're not thinking that way. I think there are way more positives about it than possible negatives. If we were scared about all that, we'd never play anybody."

Holmoe said he and BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall share the same enthusiasm about playing in the nationally-televised game against the Sooners.

"I don't think I would have (scheduled this game) four or five years ago," Holmoe said. "I said at the time, when we ended up playing a couple of I-AA teams, that we needed to do that. We weren't quite strong enough to play a game like that and, regardless of the outcome, continue to go forward."

"This is a game we can get a lot out of it. It can be a real big-time boost for our program. I think we're in a position now where we can play this game. That's why we took it on. Bronco and I feel this program is ready for this game."

Their confidence is coming despite a run of bad luck earlier in training camp.

BYU left tackle Matt Reynolds, the Cougars' lone returning starter, fractured a finger earlier in practice when it was stuck on a jersey. His injury is expected to keep him out until just before the Sept. 5 opener.

Jason Speredon, BYU's projected starting guard, went down with a torn rotator cuff that will idle him for the year.

Versatile freshman Houston Reynolds tore his ACL at practice last week -- another injury that will keep him out for the season.

That's coming from a BYU offensive front that lost four starters from last season and will be challenged by a deep and talented Oklahoma defensive front that goes at least two-deep in every position.

"We have good players, a lot of players that, in my opinion, are All-Americans. We're a pretty strong team," Holmoe said. "Are we the best team in the country? No. But we're a very good team. I don't think there's a team in the country that we wouldn't play."

The Sooners will provide a quick measuring stick for that bravado.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

By my count, we are at 171 days and counting until the opening Saturday of the college football season -- Sept. 5.

BYU players can't wait for their opportunity on that date when they will meet Oklahoma in the first college game played at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Cougars' opening game of the season was a prime topic of discussion as the team began spring practice earlier this week. Quarterback Max Hall is particularly anticipating the challenge of playing against the Sooners, who return nine defensive starters from last season.

"You want to play everybody you can and to have the opportunity to go play Oklahoma is a big-time deal," Hall told the Salt Lake City Deseret News. "Especially playing in a brand new stadium in Texas is a sweet way to open up a season. We're absolutely looking forward to it and preparing like crazy for it to see if we can give those guys a run. Maybe come out with a win, maybe not. But it's going to be a fun game."

Like Oklahoma, the Cougars also lost four senior starting offensive linemen from last season. So the defenses might be able to give both offenses a challenge in this game.

Here's another little item that might perk up the attention of Oklahoma fans.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall told the Deseret News that the Cougars might skip their spring game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on April 11 in favor of spending the final week of work on preparing for the Sooners.

The field at the stadium is undergoing some work, but Mendenhall said the time might be better served preparing for BYU's opener.

"There's a great chance -- a great chance -- that the spring game won't be held, period. I'm a traditionalist and LaVell Edwards Stadium is where the spring game ought to be," Mendenhall told the Deseret News "With the field under construction, I haven't quite come to terms with the idea of playing it elsewhere. Most likely, that won't change and we might end up starting to work on our first opponent the first week of practice, knowing the stadium won't be available. Most likely, we won't hold the game."

Another couple of tidbits about that opening game were released earlier this week. Ticket prices for the OU-BYU game will range from $50 to $150 at the new stadium, with parking set at $38 per vehicle, the Dallas Morning News reported.

That top ticket price doesn't match what will be commanded for other college games at the new stadium this season. The Arkansas-Texas A&M game will have a maximum ticket price of $300 and the Cotton Bowl will top out at $250.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

There's an interesting list that Foxsports.com posted of the top 10 college football coaches on the rise.

The Big 12 is represented on the list only once, and it's not by any head coach. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp checks in at No. 3. Muschamp, who starts his first season with the Longhorns this year, ranks only behind BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall (No. 1) and Tulsa coach Todd Graham (No. 2).

Muschamp is the only assistant on the list. And the Foxsports list makes it sound like it's a foregone conclusion that he'll have another job. It even pegs his most likely location, saying Muschamp's most logical next position would be as head coach at Tennessee.

Muschamp knows his way around that conference after stops at LSU and Auburn. But he apparently has noticed the way that defensive coaches at Texas have moved to head coaching jobs in recent seasons.

After Dick Tomey, Greg Robinson and Gene Chizik, Muschamp likely will be the next.

The Big 12 is indirectly mentioned with North Texas coach Todd Dodge, a former Texas quarterback who is ranked No. 10 on the list. The Web site speculates that the next position for him could be as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator.

If that was to happen, it would be kind of a piece of reverse karma from long, long ago. Seems that legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal once was a pretty good Oklahoma quarterback.