The Cougars went to Washington ranked No. 14 - same, they are No. 15 now - in their third game of that season, looking to make an impression by beating a national program - same, only watered down - amid an otherwise relatively weak schedule - same, sort of - filled with mostly unimpressive league teams - same.

If that talented BYU team - same - could find a way to beat the Huskies, it would be pushed in a positive direction - same - toward what appeared to be a legitimate shot - same, but slightly different - at a perfect season - same.

If the Cougars went undefeated, they likely would be breaking into the bowl alliance - same, only now it's the BCS - headed toward the Fiesta or Sugar or Orange Bowl - same - but their margin for error, given their schedule, was supermodel thin - same.

BYU was loaded that season - same - with an explosive offense that included a solid quarterback - same - and a group of gifted receivers and a pair of clutch tight ends - same - that defenses could not cover - same. They also had a sound run game - same.

That year, BYU had already beaten Texas A&M, a notable opponent - different - in Week 1. Beating Washington would mean that the heaviest lifting would be done - different.

And a national championship, though an extreme long shot, could be attained - different.

Point is, there were true national implications to that game.

And there still are, even though the Huskies have fallen far from where they once were.

BYU, on the other hand, has fallen and risen again.

The football program is stronger now than it was in '96, the latter part of LaVell Edwards' era, with Bronco Mendenhall still a young coach and ambitiously building toward a crescendo. That '96 team was one of the top three in BYU history, eventually winning 14 games, including its Cotton Bowl victory over a strong Kansas State team.

With a win over the Huskies in September, that slightly diminished New Year's Day bowl would have been replaced by one of the biggies, and the Cougars, who finished ranked in single digits that season, would have had at least a claim to another national championship: 15-0? Who does that?

BYU didn't. It lost that day in Seattle, and later finished 14-1.

Really, really, really good; not perfect.

It came down to that one misstep, a 29-17 defeat.

Notable thing about that game, before it, the Cougars were fully aware of the meaning attached.

"This is it," said offensive tackle John Tait, a couple of days in advance. "A big hurdle. We know how big it is. If we win this, it sets us up for a big season. Everyone knows how serious it is.

The Huskies have a lot of things going for them up there - the crowd, the turf, the rain. But our team is confident we can beat these guys. That would show everyone we're for real."

Washington, losers at Oregon last week, and relative weaklings in the Pac-10 in recent seasons, are nowhere near as potent now, even in their own home, which, by the way, is rotting from the inside out. (A new renovation of the stadium, first built in 1920, is forthcoming.)

Led by athletic quarterback Jake Locker, the Huskies are young all around, and that inexperience was exposed and exploited by the Ducks.

Still, the circumstance that hauls the Cougars back toward comparisons with that 1996 season, and the bigness of their date in Seattle, beyond their current potential and prowess, is their failings.

BYU hasn't beaten a nonconference opponent on the road in a regular-season game since a one-point victory over Utah State in Logan six years ago.

And that, naturally, includes four losses over the past two seasons, the only losses the Cougars suffered in their recent ascent.

On the road; to a nonleague team.

Washington this week fits the criteria.

Especially since nowhere in the record book does it say that nonconference team has to be exceptionally good.

BYU lost to Arizona, Boston College, UCLA, and Tulsa.

"I think we have a good chance to win the game," says BYU quarterback Max Hall. "We just have to not have the turnovers. We can't give them anything. If we give them turnovers, they'll get excited and play well . . . We're going to stay inside our system and run the plays we run best."

If they do, a single landmine will have been avoided.

There's another difference from 1996: other large explosives remain in the field. That bygone regular season's major threats, after the Husky game, were New Mexico and Wyoming. This time, there's UCLA at home, TCU on the road, and Utah at Rice-Eccles.

BYU's season, then, starts now. Last week against Northern Iowa was for laughs. This, all of a sudden, just like Tait said in '96, is serious. And everyone knows it.

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* GORDON MONSON hosts "The Monson & Graham Show" weekdays 2-6 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com.