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With Thursday's Wyoming game approaching, Cougars take little time to celebrate Top 25 ranking |
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JaredCowley | Monday, November 6, 2006, 7:32 am
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Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
For the first time since Sept. 8, 2002, the BYU football team finds itself ranked in the nation’s Top 25.
But the Cougars (7-2 overall, 5-0 MWC) will have little time to celebrate that particular huge landmark — Wyoming, which trails BYU by 1 1/2 games in the Mountain West Conference standings, comes to Provo on Thursday for a 6 p.m. showdown. The game will be televised on CSTV.
But Sunday was already Tuesday, and today is Wednesday, at least as far as BYU is concerned.
Wyoming (5-5, 4-2) is ranked as the top defense in the conference.
“We have to come ready to play,” said BYU junior linebacker Bryan Kehl. “It’s to our advantage to be at home. They’re a great team and they have a great defense. I saw them play on film against previous opponents. We might have another game like this one (Colorado State).”
BYU throttled CSU 24-3 on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon, the Associated Press Poll showed BYU ranked 25th in the country with 72 votes. The Cougars are 27th in the USA Today/Coaches Poll and 26th in the Harris Interactive Poll. CBS Sportsline, which ranks all 119 Division I teams, has BYU No. 23.
“We appreciate the recognition of being considered a top-25 football program,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “When you look back at the great tradition of BYU football, being ranked on a weekly basis is very much a part of that tradition. As we continue to improve and make progress, we expect this type of recognition for our program to continue.”
Fans of high-scoring shootouts probably left the CSU game after three quarters, much like many of the Ram fans did. But the Cougar defense continues to overpower MWC opponents. Colorado State is the second MWC opponent BYU held to seven points or less and the Cougars are giving up an average of just 9.6 points in five league games.
“I was gratified with the way we played,” Mendenhall said. “It’s another solid victory on the road.”
But hurry, hurry, rush, rush — BYU plays another game in just three days.
Earlier this year, BYU had a short week to prepare for a trip to TCU and came away with its biggest win of the season. Preparation for the Wyoming game started almost immediately after BYU’s 24-3 victory over Colorado State in Fort Collins.
“The difference (from the TCU short week) is the coaches don’t have an afternoon to start preparing,” Mendenhall said after the CSU game. “The coaches will begin preparation work on the buses to the airport and then on the airplane. The players will receive their DVDs when we leave the airport in Utah. For us, Monday is really a Wednesday practice.”
But BYU will practice today, Tuesday and Wednesday knowing it is ranked in the Top 25.
Dealing with success: Last year, BYU won its sixth game of the season at Wyoming to become bowl eligible, a major accomplishment for Mendenhall’s new program. After Saturday’s victory, the team’s seventh of the season, the mood was decidedly different.
“Last year when we won our sixth game, everybody blew up with excitement,” Kehl said. “This year it’s more expected. Our mindset is different. This is just another step in the road.”
Mendenhall acknowledged the accomplishment after the game as well.
“This is a different place, a different time,” he said. “But seven wins is a landmark and not to be discounted.”
Sophomore running back Fui Vakapuna, who scored two touchdowns against Colorado State, echoed what Mendenhall and others have been repeating since Day 1.
“We’re going back to the glory days,” Vakapuna said. “We’re coming back. This is part of the onward progression. We want to go back to the time when every team has to go through us to get to the championship.”
Picked off: BYU quarterback John Beck’s interception in the end zone in the second quarter ended a Cougar scoring threat.
“That play in the CSU end zone, that was a well-defended play,” Mendenhall said. “That play has worked for us all year. That was a missed opportunity for us.”
Colorado State’s Darryl Williams left the man he was guarding (Vakapuna) to make his third interception of the season.
“He tried to deke me, or trick me, tried to make me come up,” Williams said. “I kind of faked the quarterback like I was coming up and I just went back and got the ball.”
Extra Points: Attendance for the game was 21,117. ... BYU was 8-of-13 on third-down conversions and was 4-of-5 on red zone opportunities. ... BYU had six penalties for 40 yards. Five of the penalties were on the offense. The other was a block-in-the-back penalty on a punt return. ... BYU is guaranteed a winning season for the first time since 2001. ... Beck, who won his 20th game as a starter, is just 50 yards from overtaking Jim McMahon for second place on the all-time BYU passing yards list. Beck is 244 yards from passing McMahon for second in total offense. ... BYU has won all seven of its games by two touchdowns or more.
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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