Like what?

Things like Beck inviting every receiver to film sessions. They had pizza delivered and a big group of guys dissected game films to improve how routes were to be run. Beck pored over tendencies of opposing corners and linebackers, trying to discover when they were trying to bait him before sprinting into something else.

Beck took note of minute details, like the placement of feet by defenders, whether it meant blitzing or dropping into coverage. Hours and hours on DVD work, Beck discovered what looking off a receiver or a pump fake could do in freezing a defense.

"It's a little funny that the team finished 10-3 and people are upset with that, but when we finished 6-5 heading into a bowl game people were happy at the time. We went to a bowl for the first time in a while. Things change," said Jensen.

"What happened in 2005 is we lost to Cal and we'd lost some close games by just a few plays. We gained a lot of confidence because we knew we could do better.

"We took that mindset into the off season. We were an experienced team with a lot of guys coming back. The experience we had really helped. This 2008 team, especially on defense, was pretty young. They've learned a lot. What we then did is use a lot of senior leadership to take it up a few notches. Confidence was a factor, but so was knowledge, in how to win those close games."

Jensen said it paid off in 2006 when the team started executing at a higher level. The mistakes that caused losses were eliminated and when it came time to make three or four more plays, they simply did, with the exception of road games at Boston College (overtime loss) and Arizona (out by a field goal).

That synergy, a lot of it from within, propelled BYU to 8-0 in MWC play. The next 8-0 in 2007 may have come too easily.

Jensen said the Cougars have almost the entire team back in 2009, and being hungry can be a great motivator if they take knowledge and experience and apply it.

It is no secret this 2008 was composed of some cliques and sub-groups. It would have been well for the squad to repeat the Band of Brothers slogan and leave out The Quest.

Back in 2004 and '05, the Cougars had some divisions within.

"We knew we couldn't win if we had those factions," said Jensen. "We eliminated them. What it takes is senior leadership that doesn't allow those factions to surface. That comes with maturity."

Jensen added a prediction for 2009.

"These guys," he said, "will be more mature next year."

E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com