Cougars looking to '08, BCS bowl

PROVO — BYU's 17-16 triumph over UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday night wasn't easy — in fact, the Cougars came within inches of losing to the Bruins for the second time this season. That aside, BYU has put together back-to-back 11-2 seasons and capped the 2007 campaign with a 10-game winning streak.

So, what's next?

With a host of key players returning, particularly on offense, expectations will be even higher in 2008. The rallying cry in Provo just might be "Bowl Championship Series or bust." It will be a quest for perfection.

"The BCS is our goal. That's what we're going for," said sophomore defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen. "We have to go for higher goals."

"We've got a great team coming back. We're losing some of our really good players, but we have a lot of young guys sticking around, a lot of sophomores," said sophomore defensive lineman Brett Denney. "You can never be complacent and be OK with what you got. We're going to be aiming for the next best thing, going undefeated. I don't know what's going to happen with the BCS, but all we can control is winning the games that we've got. We've done this two years in a row and this will be a little momentum that we'll take into next season."

Departing senior Ben Criddle said a BCS bowl bid might be within BYU's grasp next season. "As long as coach (Bronco) Mendenhall and his coaching staff stay here, I think the sky's the limit for this program. I think they'll be nationally ranked going into next season and they should go undefeated in the Mountain West Conference again and hopefully have a chance at a BCS bowl."

The future looks bright with quarterback Max Hall, wide receiver Austin Collie, tight end Dennis Pitta and running back Harvey Unga, among others, returning next season.

The Cougars claimed their second consecutive outright, unbeaten MWC championship and will finish the season ranked in the top 25, which could serve as a springboard to bigger and better things next fall.

"We've talked all along that our goal is to get to a BCS game and to get into that spotlight," Hall said. "Hopefully (the win over UCLA) will be good for our start next year and we can open in the top 25 and keep fighting and working until we get there."

It took a blocked field goal in the final seconds for the Cougars to preserve a win over UCLA. True freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna got his right hand on the attempted 28-yard field goal attempt by Kai Forbath to alter the trajectory of the ball, which fell short of the crossbar as time expired.

"For the game to end on a play like that, with that kind of surge and that kind of effort is unbelievable," Hall said. "It speaks a lot about our program and where we are going and the type of players that we have here. I don't think we could have gone out on a better play. I just think it was awesome for our seniors to end their season and careers like that."

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