BYU football: Quest still alive — Cougars remain perfect, but it isn't easy

Published: Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 12:15 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
PROVO — BYU may not have looked like a top-10 team Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium, but at least the No. 9 Cougars made things interesting.

And so did New Mexico.

After trailing at home for the first time this season, albeit by just 3-0, BYU scored 21 unanswered points over the final three quarters and held off the gritty Lobos, 21-3.

While many fans and pundits expected BYU to cruise to a blowout victory, it was pretty much what coach Bronco Mendenhall said it would be — a physical, tough, Mountain West Conference battle.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars led 14-3 before a game-clinching drive — capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Max Hall to Austin Collie — sealed the deal with 3:05 remaining.

"It's a great win for our football team in the way that it came — hard-fought, inch-by-inch, foot-by-foot," Mendenhall said afterward. "I don't expect any of the games from this point on to be easy. It's a great transition, a bridge, from the first five games to what's to come."

The Cougars know an even tougher battle is looming Thursday night when they travel to TCU.

Story continues below

"This is conference play. Teams are going to do everything they can to disrupt what we're doing," said Hall, who completed 22 of 34 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns. "New Mexico is a good football team. They have a good defense. They did a great job against us. Teams are going to figure out ways to confuse us and put pressure on us. A 21-3 win is big-time in a conference game."

Certainly, it was much more difficult than home wins in September over UCLA and Wyoming.

"I think UCLA spoiled us a little bit," Hall said. "We're not going to win every game 59-0. The rest of these games are going to be dogfights. I'll take 21-3 every time."

New Mexico coach Rocky Long, for one, expected a tight game. In fact, he expected it to be much closer than 21-3.

"BYU is a great football team and they deserve their ranking, but this should have been close to the end," Long said. "We came here to win, not to keep it close."

The final score may not help the Cougars when the polls are released today, but defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen doesn't care about that. "If we start worrying about the polls, we're going to get sidetracked and we won't focus on what we need to focus on and we'll lose," he said.

Saturday's game was a chess match, with both teams playing conservatively for much of the contest. The Lobos relied on the ground game and its bruising running back, Rodney Ferguson, who rushed for 86 yards on 24 carries. New Mexico's offense had possession for 32:31, compared to 27:29 for BYU — which was a main focus of the Lobos' game plan — to keep the ball away from the Cougar offense.

Recent comments

What about that big win for the UTES at home against Weber. 16 point...

For Sad Ute Fans | Oct. 13, 2008 at 9:26 p.m.

Everyone knows that I'm along time fan of the Cougs. But I really...

Spencer Davis | Oct. 13, 2008 at 8:16 p.m.

OK then:

Saturday:
Yewts 10
Rams 31

Tom in CA | Oct. 13, 2008 at 8:14 p.m.

Image
Douglas C. Pizac, Associated Press

New Mexico safety Frankie Solomon breaks up a pass intended for BYU wide receiver Michael Reed.

previousnext

Latest comments

Palin not a point guard

Yeah it a lot better to give some crazy marxist/communist nut with a MESSIAH...

The body is not a prison

If anyone says its a halfway house, I'll scream.

Palin mistreated

There is more than one Can of spammed HAM on this blog. I'm for Palin, and...

Jackson memorial performers announced as L.A. braces

Irony so thick...

What happened to Luis Miguel Escalada?

Return to original

What does the 10th admendment say? Your ignorance is showing.

That is one way to get rid of Chaffetz. Good riddance, I say.

I remember when the GSL ran along I-5. Legacy Highway today would have been...

As a support ridder you usually are infront of the team leader working for...

Star Wars:The Original Trilogy would rock in 3D! It is cool to see great...

Advertisements