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Provo
After studying his football program during a week off and recognizing that his rival is making aggressive moves in an effort to improve, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall returned to work Monday and announced some changes of his own.
The Cougars are hereby planning to practice fundamentals and rotate more defensive reserves into the game.
Not quite like benching the starting quarterback or having someone else call the plays, is it?
Remind me; which school around here is coming off a 38-7 defeat?
Mendenhall and Utah's Kyle Whittingham have arrived in November of their fifth seasons with the same record (44-15). The latest career checkpoint offers another intriguing comparison, boiled down to this simplified summary: Unsatisfied with barely winning week after week, Whittingham is making changes. Not wanting to respond rashly to a loss to Texas Christian, Mendenhall is doing basically nothing.
And you know what? They're both right. Not overreacting with a month to play in the season is as important for Mendenhall as taking action is for Whittingham.
It is also true that Whittingham had a quarterbacking alternative standing next to him on the sideline and Mendenhall is stuck with his defense. Yet Mendenhall understands that staying the same is what works at BYU. That approach sustained LaVell Edwards' program through some tough times and, in contrast, the constant temptation to blow things up and start
As former assistant coach Norm Chow said during the Edwards era, "The players know we may get shelled one game but the next Monday, not everything's going to be changed."
Or this Monday, as the Cougars regroup for the closing stretch. Mendenhall knows the outside world is clamoring for something new from him -- further reinforced by Utah's willingness to change -- but he considers consistency his own and BYU's "hallmark." And he's not going to do anything just for appearance's sake.
"We probably are more thorough in our [self-] analysis week to week than any program certainly that I've been part of, and maybe any other," he said, "and I don't think anyone could be harder on our program than myself. If I saw a need to change, I would."
Whittingham did, and did.
While switching the play-calling assignment from offensive coordinator Dave Schramm to receivers coach Aaron Roderick is significant, changing quarterbacks is particularly bold. Assuming the substitution is permanent, having Jordan Wynn replace Terrance Cain under these circumstances is the biggest in-season QB move in the state's history.
At the two-thirds mark of the season, Utah is still in Bowl Championship Series contention -- with a starting quarterback who has played two quarters of college football in his life.
At least Wynn was listed No. 1 for a while in August and Roderick called Southern Utah's plays with some success for two seasons.
There's some irony in Whittingham's making big changes, considering how he saved his career by remaining steady during some rough stretches. Now, he's unafraid to do things differently during the good times, which actually requires more courage.
"Not that [Schramm] was doing a bad job; sometimes you need a change," Whittingham said. "I kind of believe you make a change whenever you need to, not necessarily when things aren't going well or you become in a panic mode or all that stuff."
The Utes are "always trying to get better," Whittingham added, "and we'd like to blow out people by 40 points every week. That's not happening, but we're finding ways to win. We're just trying to find that right combination so we can play up to our potential."
Whittingham demands a lot in terms of performance from his staff and players. That has not changed, obviously. Like Mendenhall, Whittingham is practicing consistency, just in a different way.
No. 25 BYU at Wyoming, noon, TV: The Mtn.
