As usual, Bronco Mendenhall blamed himself for his team's shortcomings. When asked about the plethora of mistakes made against Arizona — the same could be said for the games at TCU and Utah — Mendenhall said, "Championship teams don't do that. Championship coaches don't coach a team to do that. I've never shifted responsibility to anywhere other than myself. A team plays how they're coached to play."

Defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen, a team captain, said earlier this month that his team didn't work as hard as it needed to in order to maintain its Mountain West Conference supremacy.

"I think the biggest thing a lot of us have learned this year is how hard that we need to work off the field," he said. "I think we do a great job when we are on the practice field. And when we are out on the field we work as hard as we can, but I think where we have been kind of lax a little too much this year is the off-the-field preparation.

"And if anything, I have learned that you can't relax when it comes to watching film — getting in the film room and really studying your opponent and studying your own jobs. I think that is one thing where we need to do a better job next year."

Jorgensen emphasized that the players need to be accountable for their preparation.

"Off-the-field preparation is huge. You go back and look at those games, a lot of the mistakes that we made were just scheme mistakes where guys didn't know their job," he said. "And I think where in the past we have had those guys who have put in the time in the film room, knew exactly what to do all the time, and this year we've had guys who have been kind of lax in that. And so we have to do a better job off the field in getting ready."

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com