This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall met with reporters at noon today, and nobody bothered to ask him about Wagner's defense. Or its offense. Or anything specific about the Seahawks.
That's a good thing, because I can't imagine the Cougars are spending any time watching film of their opponent for Saturday's 1 p.m. game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. BYUtv has to, errr, gets to, televise the thing.
Really, the theme of today's session was about focus, and how the Cougars will keep theirs this week despite playing in a game where they can probably name the final score.
"I think the biggest challenge will be probably managing the external environment," Mendenhall said. "So inside, our message will continue to be working on improving, which we think there's plenty of room to improve. I don't think the players will see, feel or acknowledge anything that's different from us this week, but I know from the outside it won't be presented as such. So our players, just like anyone, are impressionable, so it'll be managing a different kind of challenge in having to show as much or more maturity as if maybe there was a ranked opponent coming in. It's just a different kind of challenge. And I'm sure the team from Wagner will do the very best they can and the kids will play hard and it'll be a great opportunity for them to see if they can upset a team like us. But our focus is really just on how much we can improve and what else we can do to continue to gain momentum through our season."
Mendenhall said he will gauge whether his team progresses this week by how it prepares for the game against the 0-6 Seahawks, who have scored 23 points total in their last three games.
"By what I see daily: execution-wise in practice, what I see mindset-wise, what I see execution-wise, what I see in terms of work ethic and consistency, and usually that manifests on Saturday, not all the time, but usually." Mendenhall said. "But really I notice it more not just as a one-day thing, but just as a weekly progression. That's where I find the most solace. So our staff meetings are the same, our mindset is the same, our waking up is the same, everything's the same: it's just the next opponent."
Some are thinking that BYU shouldn't play quarterback Tanner Mangum at all and let the freshman rest his pulled hamstring all week, but Mendenhall said Mangum will practice all week, start on Saturday, and play as much as necessary. "I think we've done extremely well," Mendenhall said of the season as a whole. "To be at 5-2 after seven games, having not played with Taysom [Hill], and to see Tanner emerge and play as well as he has, I think we've done really well, to this point. And I am excited about our future."
A cupcake game, followed by a bye, will be good for BYU now, although the Cougars have won three straight and are coming off their best overall performance of the season. That's because a bunch of players are injured: offensive linemen Ului Lapuaho, Kyle Johnson and Ryker Mathews, punt returner Garrett Juergens, tight end Bryan Sampson and running back Riley Burt, to name a few.
Mendenhall didn't provide details or the extent of any of the injuries. Running back Adam Hine is also still out with an ankle issue, but is expected back on Nov. 6 for the San Jose State game. Asked to sum up the roller-coaster season, he said it "Seems like just one long game, right now, that we won in the fourth quarter."
Offensive lineman Tejan Koroma said although the offensive line is banged up, and will likely play without Johnson, Mathews and Lapuaho on Saturday, it is proud of the fact that Cincy did not get a single sack on Friday night.
"That's always the goal of any game, but we knew going into this game that Tanner was hurting a little bit, so we wanted to make his job as easy as possible. We tried to give him as much time as possible to make it easier," Koroma said. "…I think as a whole offensive line, I think we did really well. It was the first time that we gave up no sacks, so we're really proud of that. There's always stuff you can improve on, so we'll look to get better week by week.
BYU fans who are disgusted that BYU is playing Wagner this week should remember that the Cougars added Wagner and dropped Idaho State and UNLV so they could get a two-game series scheduled with Missouri. The Tigers will play BYU at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Nov. 14, then play BYU in Provo on Nov. 7, 2020.
I asked Mendenhall today if the tradeoff is worth it.
"We will find out," he said. "I think the Missouri game at Arrowhead Stadium [is worth it]. Again, I am looking to play the best teams possible on the biggest stages, and so I had forgotten the details, but I think it is. And to have an SEC opponent late in the year, I think it matters, and so, man, a lot of unique movement has to happen. But in thinking about it, to move the teams we had to move to get an SEC team [on the schedule]. It is not at a neutral site, but at least it is not a home game for them, I think is worthwhile. Talk to me in a couple of weeks and I might change my mind, but right now it seems like a good idea."
Mendenhall doesn't usually watch college football games live, but he was watching Saturday's Michigan-Michigan State game because his family was out of town. However, he said he went out to feed his horses with 1 minute, 43 seconds remaining, and missed the wild ending in which Michigan punter Blake O'Neill lost control of the ball and MSU returned it for the winning touchdown as time expired.
"I couldn't believe it," Mendenhall said, explaining how he found out the final score from a radio broadcast later while riding in his truck. "Then I saw the play and holy cow, that was amazing."