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Provo • After the Cougars went 8-5 and defeated San Diego State 23-6 in the Poinsettia Bowl despite a mostly lackluster offensive performance to conclude the 2012 season, BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall replaced all five of his offensive coaches.
Most notably, he demoted offensive coordinator Brandon Doman and brought Robert Anae back from Arizona for Anae's second stint running the offense.
Doman was offered a job coaching the quarterbacks, but declined and went into private business. Tight ends coach Lance Reynolds retired a year or two earlier than he wanted, receivers coach Ben Cahoon and running backs coach Joe DuPaix were dismissed after only two years and veteran offensive line coach Mark Weber was awkwardly pushed out the door, eventually taking a similar position at Utah State.
Athletic director Tom Holmoe had hinted in October that year that moves were coming, but the game that solidified the need for change was played on Nov. 17, 2012 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif. Slight favorites despite the fact that San Jose State was 8-2 and had one of the country's best quarterbacks, David Fales, the Cougars sputtered offensively most of the game and were upset 20-14 to drop to 6-5.
It turned out to be a watershed moment in recent BYU football history.
"That was a hard one," Mendenhall recalled on Monday as the 6-2 Cougars continued preparations for Friday's rematch with the 4-4 Spartans. "It is funny, of all the games that I've coached, I usually only remember the ones that sting the most, and that was one of them."
In obvious pain with a fractured vertebrae in his back, senior quarterback Riley Nelson was mostly ineffective until the fourth quarter, but was allowed by Doman to stay in the game. Nelson had BYU driving for the potential game-winning score with two minutes remaining, but Spartans' linebacker Keith Smith's blindside hit on first-and-10 from the SJSU 21 caused Nelson to fumble, and the home team recovered to seal the win.
"I remember the exact blitz. A guy either hurdled Jamaal [Williams] as he went to cut block him, or something else happened. Anyway, San Jose State won," Mendenhall said. "Their coach [Mike MacIntyre] and their team, that was one of the best years they've had, and their coach ended up moving on to Colorado, and he is starting to recapture and do some nice things up there. But it was a hard loss at that time to a team that had momentum and was playing well."
BYU's No. 4-ranked defense, coordinated by Mendenhall, was partially at fault because the Spartans drove 65, 75 and 71 yards for touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 20-7 halftime lead. But the offense, especially Doman, took the bulk of the blame.
Sophomore linebacker Fred Warner said fifth-year linebackers coach Kelly Poppinga mentioned the loss three years ago after practice on Monday.
"He said it was probably one of his worst losses as a coach," Warner said. "He really wants us to get after them. He wants us to practice with an edge all week. So, we know the intensity and importance of the game. We are going to come after them."
The 2012 game was the second in a two-game series that was part of BYU's scheduling agreement with the Western Athletic Conference when the Cougars went independent in 2011. The Cougars won the first game, 29-16, in Provo. San Jose State leads the series 10-6, having won the first eight matchups from 1946-61.
Friday's game is the first of a home-and-home agreement signed in August of 2013. San Jose State will return the visit on Oct. 28, 2017 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
From an offensive standpoint, senior receiver Mitch Mathews said Monday that he suffered a broken collarbone against Idaho the week before the 2012 game against San Jose State and didn't play, but remembers the angst it produced. He said the rare loss in a game BYU was favored to win hasn't been discussed much. After all, it is an entirely new offensive staff.
"Guys know what to expect [at San Jose State]," Mathews said. "A lot of our seniors have been there and seen it. It won't be a surprise to us, I guess, so that does help. But the loss hasn't been mentioned at all."
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU vs. San Jose State: a short history
2012: SJSU 20, BYU 14 • Cougars fell behind 20-7 at halftime before rallying, but came up short in San Jose.
2011: BYU 29, SJSU 16 • Riley Nelson threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns in his fourth career start.
1998: BYU 46, SJSU 43 • Ronney Jenkins ran for 250 yards and four TDs in teams' first meeting in 29 years.
1969: BYU 21, SJSU 3 • After losing the first eight meetings with Spartans, Cougars win four of the next five. —
BYU at San Jose State
Friday, 9:30 p.m. MST
TV • CBS Sports Network