This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Because they have a bye this weekend before playing host to 2-7 UNLV on Nov. 15, Bronco Mendenhall and selected BYU players will talk to the media just once this week — at noon today in the BYU football office's lobby.

My article in today's Salt Lake Tribune notes how relieved Mendenhall and the Cougars were to get a win last Saturday, 27-7 over MTSU in chilly Murfreesboro, Tenn., and how they avoided the first five-game losing skid for the program since 1970.

"I am glad October is over, and I am optimistic for November. I am really happy for our staff, and our players, and our program," Mendenhall said.

One of the key adjustments the Cougars made on defense was to have outside linebacker Bronson Kaufusi play about 40 percent of the plays (his estimation) as a defensive end, his former position. The Cougars' pass rush was much more effective in that formation, as junior Teu Kautai got three sacks and Kaufusi got the fourth.

I asked Mendenhall after the game which position Kaufusi will play moving forward. It also should be noted that Logan Taele (LE), Travis Tuiloma (RE) and Marques Johnson (NT) got the starts at defensive line, while Remington Peck and Graham Rowley came off the bench.

"It will be both," Mendenhall said of Kaufusi's place. "We know that he is very good in relatively closed spaces, and he is a very good pass rusher. And so we are trying to limit the number of times he is out in coverage. We have some personnel groups that we have been working on this week to give our current players the best chance to do what they can do well."

For his part, Kaufusi said he wasn't against going back to his former position, despite having lost a lot of weight last summer to get in linebacker shape.

"I love it," he said. "I will play where the coaches want me to play. I will try my best to make it happen, no matter where they put me. I really liked how we had those different packages, because we were able to confuse the offense. They didn't know what we were in, so it was good."

What will Kaufusi do against UNLV?

"It just depends," he said. "I think they put me there so that they could add another coverage guy and have more guys who run around up front. It was beneficial, so we will see how it goes."

Middle Tennessee State drove the length of the field on its first possession after BYU scored, and it looked like it was going to be another long day for the Cougars' defense. But the Blue Raiders had to settle for a field goal after reaching the 5, and the 29-yarder was no good. On their next possession, Tomasi Laulile intercepted a pass that was deflected by Jordan Preator.

"It has just been about finding that consistency of play," Mendenhall said of the defense's improvement. "So there have been seven or eight first-year starters over there. They've been learning a lot. Nick [Howell] is an excellent, excellent coach. I have been able to add myself now as an assistant coach to help.

The players keep working hard. It has just been a matter of time with them catching up. But I am optimistic about how they will finish.

We put together some really nice pressures for this game, and we knew if we could play their run effectively, we could get to third down, and then Nick just called them at the right time, did a really nice job." —