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You could make a case that last year's 55-30 loss to the Boise State Broncos marked a low point in BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall's career. With Mendenhall having taken over the defensive play-calling duties from Nick Howell that very week, the Cougars promptly gave up more points, 55, and more yards, 637, than ever before in the coach's 10 seasons at the helm.

After the game, Mendenhall took the blame for the uninspired play and blowout loss upon himself. He said that things would change. They did, for the most part, and BYU reeled off four straight wins before getting exposed by Memphis in the bowl game.

At LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night (8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN2), the Cougars will have a chance to show how far they've come defensively, as No. 20 Boise State rolls into Provo. The Broncos don't appear as potent offensively as they were last year — sophomore Ryan Finley has replaced Grant Hedrick at quarterback — but still have plenty of playmakers.

"They are very versatile," Mendenhall said Monday around noon after spending most of the morning watching film on the Broncos. "They are very dynamic in what they choose to do. There is a number of unique alignments and trick plays. So certainly it helps [to have played them three straight years], rather than playing them for the first time. But it still will be a challenging week to get ready."

BYU fans are devastated by the loss of quarterback Taysom Hill for the season — and rightfully so — but having nose tackle Travis Tuiloma go down for 4-6 weeks with a knee injury might be just as difficult to overcome. Boise State's offensive line had a combined 95 career starts among them entering the season, and is every bit as good as anything the Cougars will face this season. That includes Nebraska, Michigan, UCLA and Missouri.

"I think any offense's approach isn't to allow their quarterback to be attackable," Mendenhall said. "And so with the multiplicity with what they do, and the way they manage and call a game, and really with how quickly he comes off his first or second look and just scrambles for yardage, they are going to protect him every way possible. And that's part of what they do anyway. So yeah, he doesn't have experience, but the system will help him a ton."

The Cougars will try to get to Finley with a variety of blitzes and hope Bronson Kaufusi can pick up where he left off last week when he was in the Huskers' backfield half the game. Getting LB Sione Takitaki and DE Tomasi Lauile back from suspensions could be huge.

"What we will get back from Sione Takitaki is more of a pass rush threat and more of a dynamic playmaker kind of personnel off the edge. And so that is what he demonstrated a year ago was the ability to pressure the quarterback. And he is a playmaker. He has that capability," Mendenhall said. "In terms of Tomasi [Laulile], same thing — a little bit more athleticism on the D-line, blended with some physical play. So, more depth as far as possibly more play-making ability and athleticism. I would put those two together in the same category."

BYU's secondary did not play especially well against Nebraska, allowing receivers to roam free and missing a lot of tackles, but should be better with safety Kai Nacua returning from suspension. Junior college transfer Eric Takenaka struggled early and was benched in favor of returned missionary Matt Hadley. Then cornerback-turned-safety Jordan Preator suffered some sort of injury and left the game for good in the second half. I will be surprised if Preator plays Saturday night, although Mendenhall said Monday he should be OK.

The Cougars seem to get more tight-lipped over injuries with each passing year, following a trend in college football.

"Michael Wadsworth actually had a really nice game, and I was very impressed when he came in, the way that he tackled, and the way that the perimeter changed when he came in," Mendenhall said of Preator's replacement. "So he did a really nice job. To have Kai Nacua back is a big boost. We did not play the perimeter well in terms of getting off blocks and then making tackles, and Kai is very athletic, can get off blocks and make tackles, so that will be a help."

Takenaka met with reporters Wednesday and said he learned a lot in his first taste of Division I football.

"I have to play faster and more physical, definitely. At first, getting used to the speed and the size [was tough] but after a couple plays I felt good and I just had to make those adjustments," he said.

The former West High star said the Cougars will be ready for Boise State's assortment of trick plays, something the Broncos used effectively last year in the blowout.

"There is a lot of trickery, a lot of formations that we have to know and recognize," Takenaka said. "If we get aligned right and play our correct assignments, I feel like we are going to do really well."

Wadsworth said stopping Boise State on first down will be key.

"Their formations are something that we have to be aware of. It is one thing that we are really focusing on," Wadsworth said. "We just feel if we can align right and play really good defense and stop them on first down, then all the trickery and all that stuff goes away and they are just like another team."