PROVO - Shortly after taking over as the 13th head coach in BYU football history, Bronco Mendenhall said his top priority was restoring the Cougars' dominance at LaVell Edwards Stadium, where they had gone 4-8 in Gary Crowton's final two seasons.
BYU promptly lost two of Mendenhall's first three games at home.
Since then, though, the Cougs have been stopped just once at LES, that 41-34 heartbreaker to Utah in overtime in 2005.
"It just feels right there," BYU quarterback Max Hall said, noting that if the Cougars could play as well on the road as they do at home, they would be a top-10 program every year.
The Cougars (6-1) can tie the school record of 17-straight home victories today if they can beat UNLV (3-4) at noon in a game that will be televised by The Mtn. The Rebels, who had a huge 23-20 road win at then-No. 13 Arizona State in September, actually beat the Cougars twice (2002 and 2004) in Provo in the Crowton era.
Two years ago, though, BYU pounded UNLV 52-7 at home.
"It has been tough for us to go into it in the past, there's no question about it," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. "We've gotta have a great game. We've got to be at our best. We have to be able to deal with the crowd and the whole thing. That's going to be a big challenge, and we have to be ready for that."
Aside from his first year when the Cougars finished 3-3 at home, Mendenhall's teams haven't just won in Provo, they have dominated. In 2006, their average margin of victory was 35.1 points, a school record. It was 17.3 last year, and this year it is 36.2, thanks mostly to that 59-0 win over UCLA.
Mendenhall reiterated his goals earlier this week, and No. 1 again was to play well at home, followed by winning a conference championship and then going to a bowl game, and winning that.
Hall said the Cougars feel almost invincible at home, and it is a tradition that is passed from player to player.
"I think it is exciting for us, after a loss, to come back home and play against a good UNLV team, but a team who, you know, we should be able to beat if we do things right, because we are playing at home."
The question is: Why can't the Cougars play the same way on the road?
They have outscored opponents by an average of 38-16 in Mendenhall's 22 homes games, but are 13-7 in his tenure on the road, and only outscore opponents 29-24 in those games.
The Cougs have been outscored 73-69 in three road games in 2008, and they looked shell-shocked and discombobulated last week in Fort Worth. Does so much emphasis on winning at home effect how the Cougars play on the road?
"Possibly. I am not certain," Mendenhall said. "We have put increased emphasis on playing [well] at home. That has been most important to us. . . . I don't think they are not trying to perform well on the road, but the emphasis probably hasn't been quite what it has been at home, and so possibly there is something to that. But I am not positive."
The Cougars last reeled off 17-straight home wins from 1989-1992, when Ty Detmer was their primary quarterback. Currently, only Oklahoma (21) and Boise State (17) have longer home winning streaks.
Sure, most teams play better at home in college football, but that advantage is nothing like it is in college basketball. In the MWC this year, home teams have won only 58 percent of the time.
"You just feel more comfortable, man," Hall said. "You have tremendous support, and you don't panic if you fall behind. You think you are going to win every game at home."
Certainly, huge crowds help. BYU is expecting its 11th consecutive home sellout (64,045) on Saturday.
