Once upon a time, Brigham Young University football teams, inevitably big, bold and blue, seemed to swagger into their bowl games.

It was one of the things, like or loathe them, that you came to expect of and respect about the Cougars.

These days they just seem to trundle into the postseason.

Maybe it is a sign of the times, this curious period the Cougars have boxed themselves into by forsaking the longstanding bonds of conference affiliation for the life of meandering independence.

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Their appearance in the Hawaii Bowl against the Rainbow Warriors on Tuesday at Aloha Stadium marks the end of their ninth season as an independent, and with each passing year, the fit seems more uneven.

Let’s be clear here, it is nice to have the Cougars (7-5) here again, even if the 1980s and ’90s nostalgia is getting a little worn and the echoes of long-ago sellout crowds have disappeared. For bowl attraction purposes on these shores, the Cougars sure beat the heck out of what some of the alternatives might have been, American Athletic Conference also-rans Temple or Tulane, for instance.

Ever since the Cougars disavowed membership in the Mountain West while being unable to find takers anywhere else for their football program, perception of their brand has waned. Not being in a conference, they no longer have a string of league championships to wave or even compete for, and some years they are third in their own state.

When upstate rival Utah was invited to join what became the Pac-12 and no offer was forthcoming for BYU, such was the Cougars’ fit of pique that they bolted the MWC and made a head-first plunge into independence.

Notre Dame has long made independence work, of course.

But it is the only one that has over the long term. A look at the rest of the independent field — UMass, New Mexico State, Liberty and Army — suggests independence is more of a resignation than a destination of choice.

For all the inevitable comparisons of being religion-based schools with a national constituency and proud football history, BYU doesn’t have the same oomph as Notre Dame. Especially now.

Proof of that is BYU doesn’t get the the same special status entry into the College Football Playoff accorded the Fighting Irish.

Nor do the Cougars have much in the way of bowl options. They are here now because their TV godfather, ESPN, as part of the media agreement through 2026, guarantees to find the Cougars a place somewhere in its 14-bowl lineup, if they are bowl eligible. This past spring, ESPN said it would be the Hawaii Bowl. Period.

With no conference tie-in, the Cougars are immediately out of the national title picture as soon as they lose a game or two. Since they were already 2-2 by Sept. 21, it was either the Hawaii Bowl or bust.

UH, after its first four losses, at least had a divisional title and a conference crown to contend for. Right up until about halftime of the Dec. 7 game in Boise.

The Cougars, despite early victories over USC and Tennessee and a marquee upset of Boise State, didn’t even have that and were left to play out a schedule that included games with Liberty, Idaho State and UMass and a loss to San Diego State. Not exactly a rousing exclamation point to the season.

But at least the Cougars aren’t back in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl this year. Maybe that warming thought will restore some of the swagger independence has taken away.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.