Provo » They probably can't win the conference championship, and they certainly won't make it to a BCS bowl game this year. But the Cougars' football season is far from over, quarterback Max Hall said this week.

Noting that the "pressure is off of us now" after the Cougars fell 38-7 to No. 6 TCU on Oct. 24, Hall said BYU still has a chance for a successful season.

"We have four games left," he said. "To go 10-2 and go to a bowl game is not a bad season, so you can't let a loss ruin everything. I think that's what happened last time. That loss [to TCU in 2008] ruined everything. We are having fun still, and we are excited about our next opponent."

The quarterback

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said the mood around the team "is the exact same as it has been all season, and that's kind of been the goal. We are still very positive and optimistic about the season."

After losing to TCU last year, the Cougs won their next four games, but finished the season with losses to Utah and Arizona.

Running back Harvey Unga seconded Hall's opinion of the morale of the team, saying leaders such as Hall and Jan Jorgensen have kept spirits high.

 

No issues here

While rival Utah recently changed its offensive play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Dave Schramm to Aaron Roderick , BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall says that won't be happening

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anytime soon in Provo.

"The play calling is good [at BYU]," he said. " I listen to every call and I have the choice to override it or not override it, and I like what we are doing. I like what we are calling.

"Our focus now is to continue to execute at a higher level, so really how we practice, making sure that we are precise enough for it to translate on game day, especially in the critical moments, is what our focus is on."

 

Preparing for tricks

Wyoming scored its only touchdown against Utah last week on a trick play, and Mendenhall expects the Cowboys to try even more against the Cougars on Saturday.

"We have been a target [of trick plays] for a long time. At least since I have been the coach. ... So we try to prepare for some every week. We always throw four to five to six into every team [practice] period, even though they haven't shown them, just to make us aware of them. Hopefully we will defend them better than we did against TCU."

The Frogs picked up a 44-yard gain on a reverse pass from Jeremy Kerley to Bart Johnson .

 

Briefly

Mendenhall said special teams players Tucker Lamb (hamstring), Carter Mees (foot) and Landon Jaussi (shoulder) are injured and won't play on Saturday. Jaussi will have surgery today. ... The coach said receiver McKay Jacobson "looks good" in practice but doesn't know if the sophomore is 100 percent recovered from his hamstring pull or not. ... BYU freshman receiver Brett Thompson has received an LDS Church mission call to serve in Louisville, Ky., and will leave in February.

drew@sltrib.com