BYU football: Cougars ready for a tussle

AIR FORCE ACADEMY — For BYU, there's been no need to worry about looking ahead to next week's monumental showdown against rival Utah.

The No. 16 Cougars have had plenty to occupy their time and their thoughts this week in preparing for today's game at Air Force. Armed with a triple-option attack and riding a five-game winning streak, the Falcons pose a stiff challenge.

"It's always a diligent and energy-filled week getting ready for the Academy," said coach Bronco Mendenhall.

And there's certainly plenty at stake. After all, both the Cougars and Falcons are still vying for a Mountain West Conference championship.

"It's going to be a heated game because they're still in the hunt as well. They still have a shot at winning the title, too," BYU quarterback Max Hall said. "They're in the top four (in the league) right now with us, Utah and TCU. They've got a shot. They know to get their shot, it comes through BYU. Most years, I think it does go through BYU.

"It's definitely going to be a highly emotional game. They're going to come out geared up and ready to go."

Certainly, the Falcons are eager to play — it's Senior Day and they haven't beaten the Cougars since 2003. For Air Force, facing BYU is akin to a rivalry game.

"This one ranks up there with Navy. We haven't beaten them since I've been here, and it's just one of those games," Falcon senior nose guard Jared Marvin told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "They're always at the top in the conference. This is the team to beat, along with TCU.

"This one means a lot to us, especially a lot of these seniors who've been beaten by them pretty bad. So we want to get this one done. Everybody's pretty ready."

As the Cougars have learned, particularly in recent weeks, they are in every opponent's crosshairs.

"We found we can't take any team in the conference lightly because we were down to the wire with UNLV and down to the wire with Colorado State," Hall said. "Everybody we play is going to come after us. Air Force is good. They're going to be a tough opponent. We have to be on top of our game."

In the three games since BYU's 32-7 loss at TCU, the Cougars' offense has scored 40-plus points in each.

"Offensively, we've been able to refocus ourselves after that TCU game," tight end Dennis Pitta said. "We're where we want to be. We still want to play our best game to date, but we feel good about where we're at."

Wide receiver Michael Reed said it's imperative the offense takes advantage of each possession.