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BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall held his weekly press briefing on Monday, but didn't have much in the way of news about the injured Cougars and whether they will play on Saturday against UNLV.

"Anxious to get ready to play our next game," Mendenhall said. "A lot of great work a week ago, not only in healing, but in school and in practice. I like our team's mindset right now. Anxious to have a strong finish to the season, and play well at home this next week.

Looking forward to coaching a lot of eager and optimistic players that I think really had a nice bye week. Hopefully we can get a few [injured] players back. I won't be able to answer specifically as you ask me [injury questions], but our hope is we are looking forward to them playing again."

Later, Mendenhall was asked specifically about safety Craig Bills, who missed the 27-7 win over MTSU with residual effects of a concussion suffered against UCF, and all he could say was that he was "hopeful" of getting Bills back.

After the presser, BYU football spokesperson Brett Pyne said Bills, linebacker Alani Fua (ankle) and running back Algie Brown (ankle) are all "probable" for the game.

Not a lot of news out of the press conference — BYU had a bye last week — but Mendenhall did again lobby, more discreetly this time than in June, for BYU's inclusion into a Power Five conference. You can read more about that when my article is published online tonight at sltrib.com.

The timing's not particularly good — a four-game losing skid has moved BYU way, way off the national radar — but Mendenhall went with it anyway, after being asked by Greg Wrubell of KSL-Radio.

The coach also said the losing skid has not affected recruiting.

"We haven't lost a single player that was already committed, nor have we lost any interest from others that have expressed interest," Mendenhall said. "BYU is a really unique choice. And so the kids that are interested, they know we are always going to win, which we have. And they know that that will continue, which it will. And they know that there is only one BYU. There is only one school in the world owned by the [LDS Church] that plays football. And that's what it was designed for. I am anxious for everyone to see how that continues to play out recruiting-wise, because that hasn't changed anything."

A lot will be written and said this week about motivation, as BYU plays for bowl eligibility this week (six wins) and not much else. I asked Mendenhall if he's learned much from previous seasons as an independent about keeping his team motivated without a conference championship for which to play.

"A lot of it depends on the year, but it is more challenging than I would say if there was conference play and you are competing for a conference championship. More difficult. But that doesn't mean not possible. And again, so far in independence, the schedule is flipped, where again, most teams that most people play in weeks one, two and three, we are playing in November, prior to postseason," he said. "That means you have to start really fast, you have to play really well at the beginning through the middle. Then sometimes you get a reprieve at the end before bowl competition. So, more difficult."

A few more comments from the coach today:

On how much the team progressed in bye week:

"Oh, quite a bit. They are certainly anxious to play, they are certainly anxious to win, they are certainly anxious to finish the season the right way, and they are working really hard. And so I think hungry is the right word, from where I see them."

On what he knows about UNLV:

"Bobby Hauck is there [as head coach] he's a really good friend of mine. His wife, Stacy, and my wife Holly, are good friends, growing up in Montana. So we have been friends. Bobby and I worked on the same staff together at Northern Arizona.

And so different styles of offense and defense that we have played, but there are still some explosive athletes. They have always had that."

On how he gauges success in the final month:

"To me, it is each game, are we improving, are we getting better? I think I have a great gauge of that. Really an interesting dynamic: Most teams have our next two games at the beginning of the season. As an independent, we are basically the opposite, where we are playing, rather than Oregon coming in, we are at Texas early and so we are switching basically our opponents that most people have at the beginning, as an independent we have them at the end. So I am anxious to play well. We are certainly anxious to play postseason. We are eager to win as many games as possible."

On whether California game will be best way to judge where they are at end of year:

"I think that is maybe from the outside world's perspective, but when I watch us play, I have a great idea of whether we are improving or not, regardless of the competition, and so I think if you ask me, I will be able to say we improved here, or there, or need to work here still, or there. But I sense a hungry group."

On whether he watched college football over the weekend:

"Very little. And I was with my family, or with our team. But man, there were a lot of key match ups, I know that, and it is the next weekend to show that really the rankings start to matter. I have always said week 7, I would say now week 9.

Basically, wait until November. The first poll comes out then, and your chance to be accurate is a lot more likely."

On how the morning practices have gone:

"I will frame it to you this way. Over the bye week, we were doing some work for spring practice, planning, so I sent out a 3 x 5 card in a team meeting to each player, ask them to vote for either morning or afternoon. The stacks came back about 90 percent to less than 10 for the morning.

Even though the players are now up, up, up early, the players and coaches like it a lot, which surprised me."

On whether he was surprised at morning preference feedback:

"No, it is just that when team meetings start at 6:30, and training room is open at 5, that's an early get-up for college kids, who normally like to stay out later than us grownups, and usually like to go to sleep later. Man, when you are getting up that early, that surprised me."

On whether he would consider change if vote went other way:

"I would certainly acknowledge it, yeah, because what I want is the best chance for our team to practice well. The reason we shifted it was because of the number of majors that were becoming inaccessible in the afternoon, the number of class projects and conflicts and all these different things. That was the main motive, was academics, and so I am hopeful to see that in our grades.

It has certainly shown up in maybe the fewest players I have ever seen not attend a class. They are all going and so that's great."

On getting bowl eligible being an achievement:

"For the 10th straight year. So I don't know how many teams do that. But if they do that, and win, that's accomplished. I am certainly not going to apologize for it. We will then be ready to play whoever it is after that, and whoever it is after that.

But I like playing in the postseason, and it is not easy. And it is certainly not easy 10 times."

On UNLV QB Blake Decker's time at BYU. Decker walked on in 2013 after a church mission but was cut before spring ball.

"I don't remember anything. Preferred walk ons and walk on tryouts, it takes awhile, if they haven't enrolled, before I notice. So coach [Paul] Tidwell kind of just filled me in on that the other day. But I don't remember anything."

On whether there are any depth chart changes after evaluations through bye week:

"No, really the only changes that will happen will be if some of our injured players come back. But there isn't anything where we will say, man, we have been playing the wrong guy here or there."

On Harvey Jackson listed as a cornerback on depth chart:

"That should be he still is a nickel, or as a safety."

On whether this is a chance from bye week to evaluate guys:

"They are improving, every single week. Maybe as a program, and because we have had so much success defensively. Maybe saying, 'you put anybody in there and regardless of year, the system will take care of it.' I have learned this year that experience does have more to do with it than maybe I anticipated. But they are improving."