This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Well, at least the ending was mildly interesting, for those few hearty souls who braved 20-degree temperatures all the way to the bitter end of BYU's 52-13 win over Idaho on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars went ahead by 42 points when BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall elected to send Justin Sorensen in for a 31-yard field goal on 4th-and-3 with 1:50 remaining in the game. After the Cougars forced Idaho into a punt, and Cody Raymond fumbled it back, took over at the BYU 18 with 10 second left. That's when interim Idaho coach Jason Gesser sent out his field goal kicker. Trey Farquhar booted it through from 35 yards out to cut BYU's lead to 39. I wonder how that went over in Las Vegas.——————————- Because I was in the pressbox fighting a deadline, I wasn't able to get to Mendenhall's postgame news conference. It was brief, though, lasting fewer than five minutes. Mendenhall did reveal that sophomore cornerback Jordan Johnson did not play due to disciplinary issues. He was not asked whether the previously unannounced one-game suspension is related to the altercation at the Rancherito's restaurant in Provo on Halloween night that led to the dismissals of Joe Sampson and Zac Stout. From the videos I've seen on the incident, Johnson was there, but seemed to be acting more as a peacemaker. Mendenhall said Johnson has performed some community service and will play next week against San Jose State. As for Stout, Mendenhall said the sophomore can apply for readmission to BYU a year from January. I can't imagine that will happen. Here are some comments from Mendenhall's presser that were distributed by BYU's sports information department: Opening: "It was a great way for us to finish up at home. I think they were anxious to play, they were resilient through the week of practice. We're looking forward now going on the road for the next two weeks." On Jordan Johnson's suspension: "Jordan Johnson will play next week. Basically, team discipline. I gave him a bunch of hours of community service that took all the way up to this game to finish. So he's back in good standing now and we'll have him next week." On the recent suspensions of Sampson and Stout: "I've been really saddened by it. I care a lot for every one of my players, so when they make a poor choice or two it hurts a lot, especially when I've built strong relationships with them and I care as much or more about them as I did before. I'm really committed to help them." ——————————— Here are a few of Idaho coach Jason Gesser's postgame comments: "BYU has a great program and they have some good players and they're fundamentally sound." "BYU started doing some things and they have a great defense and I was surprised a little on how well they could move the ball on offense." "I'm proud of our guys, fighting through all those things, especially with the score."—————————— A few other notes from the game: * Cody Hoffman tied a career-high with three TD catches and now has six this season. He had nine catches for 108 yards. Hoffman passed Reno Mahe for No. 7 on the school's career receptions list, and now has 168. He has 2,267 receiving yards, good for No. 10 on BYU's list. Hoffman is now No. 4 in career TD receptions. He also has 11 100-yard receiving games. * BYU's 42 points in the first half were its most since it scored 49 against UCLA in the first half in 2008. BYU went on to a 59-0 win against the Bruins. * Jamaal Williams has 10 rushing TDs this season after picking up two more against Idaho. He is the 19th player in BYU history to get 10 or more rushing TDs in a season. With 104 yards tonight, Williams became the first Cougar RB to go for 100-plus yards in consecutive games since Harvey Unga in 2009 against UNLV and Utah State. * Romney Fuga and JD Falslev carried out the team flags tonight. Former Cougar Bobby Roberts, a def. back from 1965-67, carried out the alumni flag.