This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
By now you've probably read or heard that BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall said Tuesday that the Cougars' goal as an independent football program is to win a national championship. It's nothing new, folks. I've been covering the Cougars full-time for three seasons (heading into my fourth), and I've heard the coach say that at least once a year. Still, sports radio talk show hosts and other bloggers are getting plenty of run out of the statement this week. During a sitdown session with print reporters Tuesday, Mendenhall was asked why he keeps saying the Cougars have their sights on a national title. Here's his response: "Nobody has asked me to say that from the athletic director to the administration, etc. It is just simply that I am looking to help our program reach its potential," he said. "And I would like us to move forward. When I consider now, what are the obstacles? And is it possible? I think it is. And I would just as soon say it. There will be detractors everywhere that say it is not possible, that we won't be able to. I am not one of them. I think it is possible. I can't give you a timeframe, but it is a worthwhile goal. And what if, with our standards, with this climate, and with this institution, what if we were able to accomplish that here? What would that do to the national landscape? And that to me is an intriguing reason to get up every day and come to work. And that is something I think we all look for as a purpose to continue on with whatever we are doing."————————————————The American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament that BYU's Jimmer Fredette is playing in begins today at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club at Lake Tahoe. The television network VERSUS will begin televising the event at 2 p.m. MT today. Fredette, in a pairing with Tim Tebow and former NFL coach and player Herm Edwards, is scheduled to tee off around 12:35 p.m. MT. Here's my preview of the event from today's newspaper. Fredette played in the celebrity-amateur portion of the tourney on Thursday. Here's a report on how his golf game looked from the Sacramento Bee. Finally, the Reno Gazette-Journal says that because he's now an NBA owner, Michael Jordan cannot talk to the NBA players at the tournament, a group that apparently includes Fredette. Jimmer has said several times this week that he's looking forward to meeting Jordan, his boyhood hero.————————————- BYU quarterback Jake Heaps is one of 38 quarterbacks in the country to make the 2011 Davey O'Brien Award Watch List. Three other quarterbacks that BYU could face this year — Utah's Jordan Wynn, Central Florida's Jeff Godfrey and Hawaii's Bryant Moniz — are also on the list. The field will be narrowed to 16 semifinalists on Monday, Oct. 24. Three finalists will be named on Monday, Nov. 21. The winner will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 8.