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Provo • Back in September, when the BYU Cougars were 4-0 and starting to eye something bigger than the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl, getting bowl eligible seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
It probably still is, because BYU's next two opponents at LaVell Edwards Stadium have a combined record of 2-18.
However, nobody would have imagined heading into October that the Cougars would need to beat lowly UNLV (2-8) on the second Saturday of November to get to six wins, but that's where coach Bronco Mendenhall's team is as it renews hostilities with the Rebels (5 p.m. MST, ESPNU), a former Mountain West Conference foe.
Next week, BYU hosts 0-10 Savannah State of the Football Championship Subdivision before finishing the regular season at 5-5 California, which in all likelihood will be trying to become bowl eligible itself.
Mendenhall said earlier in the week that getting to a bowl for the 10th straight year is an achievement, but seemingly nothing short of blowout wins over UNLV and Savannah State and a win in Berkeley will rescue a season that held such promise six weeks ago.
"I am certainly not going to apologize [for getting bowl eligible]," Mendenhall said. "We will be ready to play whoever it is after that, and then whoever it is after that. But I like playing in the postseason, and it is not easy. And it is certainly not easy 10 times."
At least, the Cougars find themselves in a familiar situation — playing out the string in November without a conference championship for which to play. They've already started to field all the questions about motivation, to the point where receiver Jordan Leslie acknowledged they "bug" him.
"I mean, [the possibility of] 9-4?," Leslie said. "Ninety percent of the teams in the nation would love to have that available, and we have a great chance to do it."
Leslie, the UTEP transfer, said he's never been on a team that has won more than five games in one season before, dating all the way back to Pop Warner ball, so that's what drives him.
And defensive end Graham Rowley is eager to show that holding the Blue Raiders to seven points and 228 yards after it was humiliated by Boise State on Oct. 24 wasn't a fluke.
"This is the closest I have ever been to my teammates in my few years here at BYU," Rowley said. "It is kinda rough to lose four games in a row, but you have to look at the positive things. We have a lot of [strengths]. I feel like we are able to put them all into action now, and find that balance and positive energy. We are feeling it again."
There are other storylines to Saturday's game besides BYU's quest for bowl eligibility.
UNLV is the first of BYU's old MWC foes (which are still in the MWC) that has willingly agreed to play the Cougars since they went independent, and the Rebels' starting quarterback, Blake Decker, returns to Provo after having tried to play for BYU in 2013. Assuming he can shake off an injury that caused him to leave the AFA game in the third quarter, the returned missionary will have plenty of motivation to play well against a BYU defense that ranks 113th in the country, allowing 284.8 yards per game.
"From a team mentality, it's another game on the schedule," Decker told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "… But I would be lying if I said there wasn't some personal relevance there, that there wasn't a little fire and added motivation after walking out of the coach's office [and him] telling me I was never going to play there."
Having lost to Utah State and Nevada in October at home, the Cougars are trying to avoid losing their third straight game at LES for the first time since 2003, when they lost five straight to finish that season under coach Gary Crowton.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU vs. UNLV
O At LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo
Kickoff • Saturday, 5 p.m. MST
TV • ESPNU
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM
Records • BYU 5-4,UNLV 2-8
Series history • BYU leads 15-3
Last meeting • BYU 55, UNLV 7
About the Rebels • They are led by junior quarterback Blake Decker, a former BYU student who tried out for the team in 2013 but was not invited to participate in spring ball. Decker was injured in last week's 48-21 loss to Air Force, but is expected to play. … Senior WR Devante Davis returned from injury against AFA and posted his 10th career 100-yard receiving game.
About the Cougars • They had a bye last weekend after ending a four-game losing streak with a 27-7 win over Middle Tennessee on Nov. 1. … Defensive starters Alani Fua (ankle) and Craig Bills (concussion) are expected to play after missing the MTSU game with injuries. … They are 12th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 112.8 ypg.