This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Game day is finally here in warm, steamy Austin, as the Cougars tangle with the Longhorns at 5:30 p.m. MDT (6:30 p.m. local time) at DKR-Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by the Fox Sports 1 network. It is about 84 degrees this morning, and is expected to be in the high 80s at kickoff, with 80 percent humidity. There is a 20 percent chance of rain. I didn't hear the Cougars talk much about the weather conditions before the game; My guess is they are used to it, having played in some warm, humid climes several times since going independent back in 2011. Actually, 2011 is when the Cougars were last here. They lost 17-16 on Sept. 10 after taking a 13-0 lead. It was just their second game as an independent. Of course, today everybody is talking about last year's BYU-Texas game, the one in which Taysom Hill ran for 259 yards and three touchdowns and the Cougars cruised to a 40-21 win. Here's my advance of today's game, which focuses on how Hill will have a huge target on his back tonight. The past few days, Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe and I have been working on a piece about former BYU QB Max Hall's troubles. It was posted online this morning, and can be found here. Friday, Hall was removed from his position as an offensive coordinator at Gilbert High. No surprise there, really. OK, time to thumb through the ol' notebook for a few leftover comments about the game that didn't make my articles this week: Hill on this being a big game for Texas, surprisingly:"That's how I viewed it last year. So it is all the same. You know, last week it was all about UConn. This week it is all about Texas. Each week is a big one to me, and my mindset is to win each of them. So as football players, that is my mindset. So I would assume that would be the mindset of others." Mendenhall on whether he's talking to Taysom about the target on his back, etc:"I haven't. I am kind of allowing him to take the lead if he feels like he needs it. He's in a really good place right now and so I am just going to let his rhythm kinda dictate if he needs any advice from me. But he is in a good place."Mendenhall on the challenge of facing Texas and them mad about last year:"That will be the story all week, of what happened last year. But I don't think from a coaches perspective that that will affect the outcome of the game at all. Certainly the media, certainly the fans and those around it. But ultimately, you still got to get prepared and play a football game. We are anxious to play. I am looking forward to the challenge. We like the opportunity we have. So based on how the players looked today running around in walk-through, it is going to be a good week."Mendenhall on Taysom Hill's confidence after UConn game:"Really good. The game looked like it slowed down for him, and I was really impressed. To me he picked up right where he left off a year ago." Offensive coordinator Robert Anae on Texas gearing up to stop Taysom Hill and how he will respond to that:"I think the media makes more of that. It is going to be their team against our team. And so their 11 against our 11. I know a lot has been made of the Taysom deal, by himself. No. That to me is more a media thing. So you are asking me. My take is it is our team against their team. At the end of the day, our execution, our pile of productivity, the points we score, will be up there on the scoreboard, and that's our focus — simply the scoreboard."BYU running back Jamaal Williams on what is the importance of Texas game as opposed to other games:"It is important for us to keep this advantage that we have, the feeling, the confidence that we have to keep going into Week 2 against Texas. I feel like the way that we are going in their playing, and being assignment-sound, is good."Williams on whether this is best chance they have, vs. Texas, to make a national splash:"Every year I think we can do that. It is just us playing our game. No matter who we play, whether it is Texas, UCF, Utah State, Savannah State, it doesn't matter who we play. We just got to go out there and play our game, and no matter who it is, if we play dominant, and people see how we play against anybody, we play the same, vicious, ferocious, like dogs, they know we are a team to be reckoned with." Williams on whether it is fun that a program such as Texas is so worried about BYU:"Yeah, it is. That's what makes college football college football, you know, all the drama and everything. People don't like us because of last year and stuff like that, but it is just part of college football. To know that Texas, now they know we are not the underdogs anymore. They got to play us like we are a big team. And we know we are a big team, so it is going to be a great game."