BYU needs fast start

PROVO — If BYU wants to get back on track and put a three-game losing streak behind it, the Cougars will need to sprint out of the blocks today against a potent Tulsa offense in LaVell Edwards Stadium in their home opener.

The Cougars will need more than the 13 points hoisted up at Arizona last Saturday in the season-opening 16-13 loss in Pac-10 country. Tulsa lit up Division I-AA Stephen F. Austin in a Thursday night game, scoring 45.

BYU's offensive agenda is simple: Execute much better than a week ago. That includes getting touchdowns instead of field goals, stretching the field, avoiding penalties and doing without turnovers.

Senior Cougar offensive tackle Eddie Keele said the Cougars will need to simply step up and deliver on offense, the opposite of what they did at Arizona.

"We played hard," Keele said. "I feel being at home, having our home crowd and having them cheer for us at the right time will help. The big thing for our offense is we need to execute and we've worked on that. Once we get the ball moving, we're not going to stop. I feel confident and we're going to get going this week."

The Cougars wanted to start the 2006 season like they left off — moving the ball against Cal and scoring 28 points in the Las Vegas Bowl. Against Cal, the Cougars gained 446 yards, 94 on the ground. Against Arizona last week, BYU managed just 313 total yards and settled for too many field-goal attempts.

Keele said the Arizona game was not a true glimpse of the offense.

"That was not a true reading," he said. "We had the effort but we need a higher level of execution. The biggest issue is we need to relax and do our thing."

In the Golden Hurricane, the Cougars face an attack similar to Boise State. Tulsa will use a lot of formations with players in motion spreading the ball around to a myriad of receivers, according to BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith completed 80 percent of his passes in the opener (16 for 20 for 229 yards and 3 TDs), and is fresh off a 20-touchdown season, sixth best in Tulsa history.

Mendenhall will be facing an old friend and mentor in Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe. Both worked at Oregon State for Steve's father, former BYU offensive line coach Dave Kragthorpe, and it was Steve who recommended Mendenhall for a job at Northern Arizona. Kragthorpe is also a close friend of Cougar offensive line coach Jeff Grimes, who was a graduate assistant at Texas A&M when Kragthorpe was on the Aggie staff.