Curtis Brown said Grimes, like any coach, will say they've got to improve. But every single week they get better out there. It's amazing how if guys want something bad enough, how well they improve and push themselves."

Brown said he is surprised that none of the linemen have missed a game this year — although they've been nicked and bruised and had sprained ankles and sore shoulders.

"They never doubt themselves," Brown said.

Walking back to the huddle, Brown said he can tell BYU's line blocking has an impact on an opponent. He can hear it in how defenders talk, he can see it in their eyes. "You see it, you hear it, you feel it. You get up from a 10-yard run, you walk back and cross the other team and you hear confusion, frustration, doubt and things like 'what can I do' and I love to hear that.

"As a running back, I love to see linebackers so frustrated, trying to make adjustments. It looks like they're about to stop a play but our offensive line opens a hole. A prime example is the Colorado State game when we'd line up on the goal line, and they'd stack eight people in there and they knew exactly where we were going to go with the ball but they couldn't stop it. In my head, I know my offensive line is going to come through." Sanders' link to French is a fragile thread to a legendary era. It was working under French that led current Philadelphia Eagle head coach Andy Reid to once nickname BYU's offensive line "The French Legion."

Now Sanders is witnessing his career wind down as "Lunch Room," a sort of legend himself as the heaviest Cougar lineman, something in the range of 350, depending on snacks of the day. Will he see a nickname go beyond himself, applied to his mates?

What's in a nickname? Just fun. Nominations are now in order.

These hogs might have just earned one if somebody can find one that settles just as true as a nice slab of rib eye.

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com