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Cougars not interested in sharing MWC title |
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JaredCowley | Saturday, November 11, 2006, 8:44 am
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Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
Excuse BYU if it doesn’t want to share.
The 25th-ranked Cougars earned at least a tie for the Mountain West Conference regular-season title with Thursday’s 55-7 rout of Wyoming, and needs just one win in their final two games to win the championship outright.
But no one on the BYU sideline wants to settle for just a “share.”
BYU quarterback John Beck even busted out the old “a tie is like kissing your sister” line.
No, the 2006 Cougars want no questions to be asked about who is the best team in the conference.
“We’ve worked too hard to let someone else get a piece of it,” Beck said.
All that hard work has gotten BYU to the top of the MWC with a 6-0 mark with games against New Mexico (3-2) and Utah (3-2) remaining.
“Getting a piece of the championship is gratifying,” BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said, “but we’ve got two games to go and I don’t think anyone on this team is satisfied yet.”
After a lackluster performance at Colorado State last week, the BYU offense was unstoppable against what was supposed to be a strong Wyoming defense. The Cougars rolled up 454 yards of total offense and converted 12 of 17 third downs. Beck finished 20 of 26 for 313 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more. Nate Meikle’s 84-yard kickoff return to set up BYU’s first touchdown set the tone of a dominant Cougar performance.
“One of the keys to our offense is to come alive from the get-go,” Beck said. “When you get a kick return like that, we score and the defense stops them and we score again, that’s tough on an opponent in our stadium.”
BYU players will get the weekend off (including Friday) and will hold practice on Monday in preparation for New Mexico. The Lobos host TCU today (3:30 p.m., The mtn.) and Utah will play Colorado State in Salt Lake City (noon, Versus).
Mendenhall expects nothing short of complete focus on New Mexico when his team comes to practice on Monday.
“It comes from the leadership on this team,” Mendenhall said. “It doesn’t need to come from me. Every time there could be a lapse or complacency, Cameron (Jensen) or John or one of the leadership committee takes control. In the locker room after the Wyoming game we celebrated for about 20 seconds and then the focus was on New Mexico.
“That can’t be imposed by a coach. The seniors have taken ownership and hold themselves to a very high standard.”
The best: Beck is now the all-time MWC leader in passing (9,807 yards) and total offense (9,810). He passed former Wyoming quarterback Casey Bramlet in both categories. Beck’s pass efficiency rating is 172.71, which is good enough for third in the nation.
A Kyle Morrell moment: In the fourth quarter, Wyoming faced a fourth-and-1 at the BYU 49. Jensen and fellow inside linebacker Markell Staffieri timed the snap and vaulted over the offensive line to stop Cowboy quarterback Karsten Sween in his tracks.
“After last week (against Colorado State) when I jumped the snap on the goal line and we got a penalty, I had to come back and redeem myself,” Jensen said. “That was fun.”
A similar play BYU fans hold in great regard occurred during the 1984 NCAA championship season when defensive back Kyle Morrell dropped Hawaii quarterback Raphel Cherry in his tracks at the goal line to help preserve an 18-13 victory.
On a roll: Thursday marked BYU’s seventh straight victory. The Cougars haven’t trailed in a game since Boston College (Sept. 16). In eight straight games, BYU has scored first and has led at halftime in all 10 contests. In four straight games, BYU has held its opponents scoreless in the first quarter and has turned that trick seven times in the past nine games.
The General: Jensen has long been the leader of the BYU defense but has been perhaps the league’s best defender the past three weeks. In games against Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming, Jensen was credited with 31 tackles (six for losses), two sacks and a fumble recovery. Last week against Colorado State, Jensen earned MWC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Extra Points: The 48-point margin was the largest for BYU this season. ... BYU was just 1-5 at home in 2003 and 3-3 in both 2004 and 2005. This year, BYU is 5-0 at home. ... Wyoming was just 1 of 11 on third downs. ... Next week’s meeting with New Mexico will be the final home game for 24 BYU seniors.
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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Read his blog at blogs.heraldextra.com/darnell. |
