Mendenhall investment proves wise

LARAMIE, Wyo. — In businesslike fashion, BYU snagged its fifth conference victory at Wyoming, a 35-21 win that could have been prettier but never felt sweeter for Bronco Mendenhall after his first stop here as a head football coach.

It was an accomplishment the 1999 MWC champions, a ranked team led by Kevin Feterick bound for the Motor City Bowl could not do: win at Laramie in front of an emotionally charged Wyoming crew.

With Cowboy fans screaming insults and flipping single-digit salutes, Mendenhall walked as stoic as an officiating mortician to the BYU sideline after a handshake with Wyoming coach Joe Glenn. He then accepted praise from a small army of Cougar fans at the rail leading to the end of the stadium and headed for the locker room.

He may have managed a smile, but it was hard to tell. You could have cracked his face with a hammer and chisel. He was stoned faced as something from Michaelangelo.

In 10 games of 2005, Mendenhall accomplished what his predecessor and friend Gary Crowton could not the past three seasons in Provo in 12, 12 and 11. Where three previous teams of yore tripped, missed field goals, dropped key passes or fumbled the ball, when even one of those miscues could have made the difference in a winning record the past three years, the Mendenhall cadre of invested players did just the opposite.

Saturday Wyoming had five turnovers. BYU had zero.

Cougar players made plays. If they were any more invested to Mendenhall's mantra about being invested, he'd have to issue stock certificates and eyeball an impending split.

The Cougars got on the bus Saturday night in Laramie with a 6-4 record, 5-2 in the MWC. They have played the toughest schedule in the league. A few bounces here and there, they could be 7-3, working for an eighth win. They occupy second place in the league all alone heading into a season finale against rival Utah in LaVell Edwards Stadium next Saturday.

A guy with a salary in the middle of the pack of the league - you could say BYU got a bargain. Check that, from where they've been the past three seasons (5-7, 4-8 and 5-6), they stole something in a fire sale last December.

The Cougars are headed for a bowl. It most likely will be in Las Vegas, but could be in San Diego or San Francisco. Since it looks like the SEC can't fill its bowl obligations, the Houston Bowl could also be a possibility if the MWC qualifies four teams.