Cougars get back to business

PROVO — Quarterback John Beck spent part of BYU's bye week in the mountains, hunting deer. However, due to inclement weather, it wasn't exactly a successful trip.

"Saturday morning, it rained, snowed, hailed, you name it," said Beck, who went with his father, Wendell, and teammate Markell Staffieri. "It was pretty bad. We almost had to leave the four-wheelers up on the mountains because we were so worried about it being muddy coming down."

Monday, Beck and the rest of the Cougars were back at practice, preparing for Saturday's game against UNLV, and continuing their hunt for a Mountain West Conference championship.

"It was good to have the bye week to let people recover. But at the same time, you wanted to play," Beck said. "I think going into this week, our team is very excited about the second half of the season and wanting to start off good with a good game Saturday against UNLV."

"It seems like a long time since we played," said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "The players ran around with a lot of energy today and excitement. We're anxious to play. I think our players are hungry and we're anxious to take on the next part of the season."

The Rebels, who own a 1-5 record overall and have lost five straight games, fell in overtime last Saturday to New Mexico, 39-36.

"I believe they're improving," Mendenhall said. "I think the game against Colorado State and the game against New Mexico were hard-fought contests that weren't determined until the very end or close to the end."

While the Rebels are floundering at the bottom of the conference standings, Mendenhall is keeping his team focused. Next week, BYU travels to Air Force, which, like the Cougars, is undefeated in MWC play.

"There are no easy Saturdays. Our team understands that, our coaches understand that," Mendenhall said. "Any team on any given day in this conference can beat another. It's not a problem of focus. We understand that to win a league championship and to reach our goals, it's each and every week being completely focused on that opponent. That's what we are now. (UNLV) is capable, athletically, and schematically, through their coaching, to play very well. We don't anticipate any problem in terms of focus."

While Mendenhall said he doesn't talk to his players about other teams in the league, except for the upcoming opponent, he does show them the conference standings.