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Provo • In the next two weeks, BYU's defense will play against one of the worst college football offenses in the country, and one of the best.
Knowing they face California's prolific offense on Nov. 29 at either 2:30 or 4 p.m. MST in Berkeley, the Cougars (6-4) should be thinking shutout on Saturday against woeful and winless Savannah State, shouldn't they? The Tigers were blanked 34-0 last week by North Carolina A&T.
Not necessarily, coach Bronco Mendenhall said Monday.
"I would just like to see us play really hard, really fast, and not quantify it other than to just play as hard and fast as we can as a team," Mendenhall said.
Defensive coordinator Nick Howell said Tuesday that the Cougars' defensive mindset hasn't changed at all this week. He even refuses to acknowledge that players who haven't stepped on the field all season could play a lot Saturday (1 p.m. MST, BYUtv).
"That would be a mistake," Howell said.
BYU's last shutout came more than two years ago, on Sept. 28, 2012 against Hawaii, a 47-0 whitewashing.
Howell said the defense played decently against UNLV, but didn't tackle well. Getting better leverage and taking better angles has been a point of emphasis this week, and will be especially important next week against the Bears.
"It is not a physical inability to sack a dude and wrap him up," Howell said. "It is angles and a lot of other stuff. We are working on it."
Don't corner Kaufusi
Two games ago, coaches used a different personnel package on defense that called for outside linebacker Bronson Kaufusi to line up at his old position, defensive end. He's still mostly a stand-up pass rusher from his OLB position, but Kaufusi has made an impact at both spots against Middle Tennessee and then UNLV.
"Whatever it takes to help the team, I am willing to do it," Kaufusi said after registering a career-high nine tackles against the Rebels. "I was just in the right place at the right time tonight."
Howell said he hasn't thought about what Kaufusi's role will be next year, while Mendenhall said it's good to know that the junior is finally healthy and able to be more versatile.
"There are still some possibilities for him to stand up, or be down," Mendenhall said. "But about three weeks ago, it became clearer where he might fit within this particular defense and this personnel, and his production just keeps climbing and climbing. That was probably his strongest game of the season."
Briefly
Howell said Tuesday that linebacker Sione Takitaki's limited playing time recently is a result of the freshman missing a few classes. "He's gotta go to class," Howell said. "He's gotta go to school. He is a student-athlete, not an athlete-athlete." … Linebacker Fred Warner (sore back) didn't practice Tuesday and is questionable for Saturday's game.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Savannah State at BYU
O Saturday, 1 p.m.
TV • BYUtv