BYU focused on Utah, not future bowl game

LARAMIE, Wyo. — There will be bowl representatives in Provo this weekend to look at the Cougars but BYU's collective football mindset is focused on one single task: beating Utah.

The Cougars' 35-21 win over Wyoming on Saturday lifted BYU to 6-4 overall and into sole possession of second place in the Mountain West Conference with a 5-2 mark behind league champion TCU.

Curtis Brown, who tied Luke Staley's school record for 10 games rushing of 100 yards or more when he gained 153 against the Cowboys, said going to a bowl and posting a winning record is fine, but there is still work to do.

"Having a winning season says a lot about our coaching staff, players and program. Our fans have stuck behind us 110 percent. We have another tough game coming up against Utah, but it is always rewarding to get a victory on the road."

Senior linebacker Justin Luettgerodt, BYU's defensive star of the game, concurred.

"We have a game left and we're not going to take that lightly, we're going to go to work," he said.

The Cougars got five turnovers from a slumping Wyoming offense that has now turned the ball over 22 turnovers the past five games. Luettgerodt recovered three fumbles and BYU's offense converted those miscues into 21 points. He also had an interception in the fourth quarter.

"It was reflective of Wyoming's past games and I'm sure it frustrated Wyoming's coaches and fans," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said.

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn called it a bad dream.

"This is like a recurring nightmare. We're making things work on both offense and defense and then boom, fumble and then hey, score a touchdown. Then boom, fumble and they score another touchdown," he said. "We've worked on both the mental and physical part of the turnovers, but it's just killing us."

BYU's recent surge at gaining turnovers may be contributed to the squad's effort, but also the victims, who have been very giving. The Cougars used to rank among the last in Division I in getting turnovers. Today BYU is fifth in fumbles recovered, 62nd in interceptions (after ranking 117th four weeks ago), 22nd in most turnovers created and 33rd in turnover margin.

TCU leads the nation in turnover margin with a 1.82 rating. In the MWC, the Cougar defense now ranks second to the Frogs with a .50 margin over opponents. In games against AFA, UNLV and Wyoming, the Cougars have scored 52 points off opponent turnovers.