Provo » At one point in the first half on Saturday against San Diego State, BYU quarterback Max Hall will pass Jim McMahon for third place on the school's all-time career passing yards list. A senior, Hall has thrown for 9,528 yards in his three-year starting career, while McMahon threw for 9,536.

But don't expect Hall to gloat in the accomplishment after the game. He said Tuesday that only one Cougar quarterbacking record interests him, and it belongs to former Heisman Trophy winner, Ty Detmer . And no, it is not Detmer's 15,031 passing yards, a school-record that will probably never fall.

It is Detmer's 30 wins (28 as a starter).

Hall has 26 wins, all starts -- with six regular-season games remaining, plus a probable bowl game.

"Wins and losses have always been the one that has really meant the most to me, and that I have said from the beginning is the one that matters," Hall said. "So to have a chance to be tied or even ahead of [Detmer] on that list is amazing."

Hall said he hasn't paid attention to records in his BYU career, but recently people have been asking him about them and he is now aware of the 30-win mark.

"I just want to hopefully be remembered as a quarterback who won, and did what he had to do to help his team win," said Hall, who has lost just six games -- two in 2007, three in 2008 and one this year.

"It is a blessing to even play three years, and be able to start all those games, and to have an opportunity to do it," he said. "Not all people in college get to do it, so I feel blessed, and I want to take advantage of it."

Weighty matter

The Cougars (5-1) enter the game with the Aztecs with several players battling nagging injuries, but nothing serious. Scott Johnson (ankle), Russell Tialavea (knee) and Manase Tonga (knee) likely will be game-time decisions, although coach Bronco Mendenhall said Johnson seems to be more probable than the other two.

Asked if the caliber of the opponent affects his decision whether to play a guy or not, Mendenhall said it doesn't.

"It would be easy to do. But I don't. To me, every game is important, any chance you get to play the game is important. I get questions about that quite frequently, but it is really not part of my philosophy."

Which is best?

Is is better for the Mountain West Conference to have three ranked teams -- as it does this week with No. 12 TCU, No. 18 BYU and No. 24 Utah -- or have more balance top-to-bottom and have the other six teams stronger?

"It would be hard to have three ranked teams, and have 1-9 be really, really strong," Mendenhall said. "You couldn't put records together, probably, like that, so it is better right now to have three in the top 20 or top 25, gaining that exposure. And the others will certainly catch up, because you have already seen coaching changes. The institutions aren't going to let them stay where they are."

drew@sltrib.com