2012 Sneak-a-Peek: BYU
Source: WSU Football Blog

Happy Friday Cougs, and as always we hope your week is winding to a nice close as we roll into another weekend.Â
So, earlier this week it was announced that the WSU - BYU game would move to the Thursday night ESPN time slot on August 30th. Prime time game prior to the opening weekend of NCAA football, and what a great TV slot for national coverage! If you are scoring at home, that makes at least two known ESPN appearances for WSU in '12, as the UNLV game was moved to Friday 9/14, and will also be shown on the Worldwide Leader.Â
I know some aren't real thrilled with the new Pac-12 deal as it relates to games not played on the traditional Saturdays in the fall. And believe you me, there is nothing I love more than a full college football Saturday experience! There's just not much like it, whether you are rolling in to Pullman for a weekend of tailgating fun or setting up at home in front of the big screen as the college football glory kind of washes over you in a wave, from ESPN Gameday in the early morning through the night games on ESPN, ABC, etc, it's just fantastic. So losing out on that is kind of a drag when you get the Thursday or Friday night slot.
Then again, it's just part of the new world order of the Pac-12. Things are going to be different under Larry Scott, I mean we already know all that stuff and it has been talked about for two years now. We were warned that there could be things like this, such as the Apple Cup on the Friday after Thanksgiving in Pullman, but we'll just deal with it. It's a reasonable trade-off considering what WSU gets at the Pac-12 table.
Anyway, with the BYU game announcement it got me thinking more about the Cougars from Provo. I know, it's flippin' MAY, I mean who the hell should even write a preview in MAY!?! It feels way, way, WAY too early for this stuff. Although I do have to say that this is about the time when we would roll out those horrible Spring Fish Wraps, remember those things? PEE-U! Don't worry, they aren't coming back or anything. But you know who believes that it's never too early for a preview?? How about Phil Steele!

That's right, the guy who watches like 20 games simultaneously every weekend has started to release his 2012 previews. The same previews that will be released next month in his annual Phil Steele magazines, in FULL FURY! One of the cool things is that Steele is releasing his top 40 for 2012, and is even including his big-time writeups for some select teams. And what is the first team for 2012 where he has posted his preview? How about WSU's first opponent of '12 - BYU. Check it out here. Continue on for a few thoughts on the preview, plus what the Cougs (WSU) might look to do to the Cougs (BYU).....