BYU football 2008

Record: (10-3, 6-2)

BYU 41, Northern Iowa 17

BYU 28, Washington 27

BYU 59, UCLA 0

BYU 44, Wyoming 0

BYU 34, Utah State 14

BYU 21, New Mexico 3

TCU 32, BYU 7

BYU 42, UNLV 35

BYU 45, Colorado State 42

BYU 41, San Diego State 12

BYU 38, Air Force 24

Utah 48, BYU 24

Arizona 31, BYU 21

2008 highlights — BYU enjoyed one of its best, and most complete,

performances in years with a 59-0 shellacking of UCLA as quarterback Max Hall threw seven touchdown passes. ... The Cougars ended up with a perfect record at home for the third straight season, something that had never happened in school history. They also snapped a nine-game non-conference road losing streak with a 28-27 victory at Washington. ...

Wide receiver Austin Collie became the all-time leading receiver at BYU and notched 11 consecutive 100-yard receiving performances, which tied an NCAA record.

2008 lowlights — Three words: TCU, Utah, Arizona. Despite the Cougars' 10 victories, those three losses defined the season. For the year, BYU turned the ball over 28 times, and 13 of those came against the Horned Frogs, Utes and Wildcats. The Cougar defense was porous at times, allowing an average of 37 points in their three setbacks.

Key departures — Linebacker David Nixon, who recorded 90 tackles, 11 1/2 tackles for loss and two sacks. Offensive linemen Dallas Reynolds (who started four straight seasons), Ray Feinga, Travis Bright and David Oswald. Collie is exploring his options and could enter this spring's NFL draft.

Key recruits coming in — Cornerback Lee Aguirre, a 5-foot-10, 200-pounder from Fullerton Junior College, and linebacker Jordan Atkinson, a 6-foot-3, 240-pounder from Diablo Community College, will probably be expected to contribute immediately next season.

To succeed in 2009 — The best news is, almost all of BYU's skill-position players on offense return. ... While Collie could jump to the NFL, another standout receiver, McKay Jacobsen, will be back from a mission. ... The Cougars will have to replace almost the entire offensive line, with the exception of left tackle Matt Reynolds. ... BYU's defense certainly missed the contributions of linebackers Bryan Kehl and Kelly Poppinga in 2008. The big task during spring ball for coach Bronco Mendenhall and defensive coordinator Jaime Hill will be shoring up the defense, which will return eight starters. ... The conference schedule should be more favorable, with games against TCU and Utah at home.