Looking at the Offensive Lines BYU will face this season, this is how I would rank them according to quality (I exclude Idaho State from the rankings as they are an FCS/I-AA school):
1) Ole Miss (averages 6'5" 331 pounds)
2) Utah (6'4" 304)
3) Texas (6'5" 301)
4) UCF (6'4" 302)
5) TCU (6'4" 300)
6) Oregon State (6'3" 292)
7) Idaho (6'5" 315)
8) Utah State (6'4" 296)
9) Hawaii (6'3" 298)
10) New Mexico State (6'5" 305)
11) San Jose State (6'4" 294)
In terms of starting experience, here is how they rank:
1) UCF (83 starts)
2) Ole Miss (76)
3) San Jose State (75)
4) Utah State (71)
5) Utah (62)
6) Idaho (56)
7) New Mexico State (55)
8) Oregon State (50)
9) Texas (36)
10) Hawaii (21, 20 by one player)
11) TCU (19)
A lot of people would disagree with my ranking of #2 and #3 and flip Utah and Texas (and put TCU in there simply b/c they won the Rose Bowl), but I think there is more to having a good offensive line than having highly touted players (which Texas does, TCU doesn't). Utah has more continuity and experience than either of the Texas schools. Experts continually underestimate Utah's O-Line, but it has been one of the reasons for its recent success (and invitation to the Pac 12). Four of Utah's starters are in their 3rd or 4th years in the program. The other is John Cullen, a highly touted returning starter who (though I was critical of how he allowed the pocket to collapse too much last season-though not allowing sacks) manhandled Greg Romeus last season. Texas will be starting 3 sophomores. TCU only has 19 returning starts from its 5 OL. Going into the season, I give the edge to experience over "potential," especially since it is very unproven talent.
A lot of people are higher on TCU's OL than I am as well. They only return 1 starter. The new starters have experience in the program (though not as starters), but they aren't particularly big. One moved over from DT (so he'll be an aggressive run-blocker, but may have the wrong kind of attitude for pass-blocking). Plus they won't have Andy Dalton, Jeremy Kerley, or Jimmy Young to make them look good, though they'll still have solid RBs to help out. They are just very inexperienced to rate them highly going into the year. By the end of October, it might be different, but on September 1, they aren't an elite group.
UCF and Idaho have big, experienced lines, and will be very good for smaller non-BCS schools. New Mexico State and San Jose State bring back a lot of experience. The bad news is: it's the same guys that they had last year. Hawaii, Utah State, and Oregon State aren't particularly big or experienced, but they have good coaching. They are kind of the wild cards this season. By the time BYU plays these lines, they could be great, but going into the season they have to be lower on the list.
As a side note, I would rank BYU as the 2nd best O-Line on this list. BYU averages 6'5" 314 pounds. They have a combined 107 starts. They are great at pass-blocking, they are great at run-blocking, they are great at getting off their blocks and making second blocks. However, it's tough to say they can match the physical presence and "nasty" factor of the Ole Miss line. Ole Miss has, arguably, the best Offensive Line in the, not arguably, most physical conference in America.
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