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Provo • An hour or so after his team's shocking 35-20 loss to Utah State late Friday night, a loss that some believe is the most devastating in school history, given the circumstances, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall found himself consoling radio listeners.
"A lot to think about, a lot to work on," Mendenhall said. "All hope is not lost."
As the harsh reality set in Saturday morning, however, and ESPN's scroll about No. 18-ranked BYU's sudden demise rolled across the bottom of television sets around the country, it sure seemed that way.
Not only did the Cougars (4-1) lose to an improving in-state rival with whom they compete more and more for the state's top recruits, they were dominated in many aspects of the contest, especially when their defense was on the field. They got exposure on ESPN, but not the kind they crave.
Then there's the fact that BYU was 4-0 and a three-touchdown favorite, with a schedule favorable enough to dream of an undefeated season. That went up in smoke, too.
And the final insult to injury was a devastating injury, as all-everything quarterback Taysom Hill sustained a fractured left leg, which was operated on early Saturday morning and will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Expected recovery time is 3-4 months, Mendenhall said.
Talk about a nightmare.
"It knocks the wind out of us," said receiver Jordan Leslie, who caught four passes for 135 yards.
Leslie later added that the team has "all the faith in the world in Christian Stewart," the backup who replaced Hill late in the second quarter and completed just 10 of 29 passes for 172 yards, with three interceptions.
"It is just one loss," Leslie said.
For all the big plans BYU had this season, though, it must seem like 100.
Hill was easily the player the Cougars could least afford to lose, even for one game. The debate will rage whether BYU could have pulled out the win if the superstar didn't get hurt, much like last year when USU quarterback Chuckie Keeton suffered a season-ending injury early in the Cougars' 31-14 win in Logan. The irony is thick, to be sure.
What's clear was that Keeton's backup, Darell Garretson, had his way with BYU's defense, before and after Hill's injury.
"We addressed [giving up long passes] hard the past two weeks," Mendenhall said. "It is now a matter of personal responsibility, not only for the players doing it but the coaches to make sure it happens. … Credit Utah State — they had some fast guys out there that ran by us."
Mendenhall turned the defensive play-calling over to defensive coordinator Nick Howell before the season started, and it will be interesting to see if he becomes more involved with the defense this week as BYU prepares for a short turnaround.
The Cougars play Thursday at Central Florida (5:30 p.m., ESPN), which has a higher offensive ranking that any team BYU has played to date.
"Too early to say at this point," Mendenhall said. "I will look at the film, and I will continue to put myself where I need to be to try to help our team win. If you asked me that before this game, obviously it would have been a different story."
As for Stewart, he talked confidently about being ready to lead the offense, despite the abysmal showing in his debut on Friday.
"It's a terrible thing that Taysom went down, but if there's a guy that's ready to step up to the challenge, it is me," Stewart said.
Mendenhall said Stewart's backup will be McCoy Hill, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound redshirt freshman. This Hill hasn't taken a snap since his senior year, 2010, at Sandy's Jordan High, and was a tight end in 2011 before a church mission to Texas.
He's no Taysom, obviously. But as a solemn Mendenhall noted Friday, nobody else in Provo is, either.
BYU at Central Florida
O Thursday, 5:30 p.m
TV • ESPN