Y.'s Miyahira will be tested early by Oregon

LAS VEGAS — Safety Cole Miyahira will get his first college start at cornerback for BYU when the Cougars meet Oregon tonight in the Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl.

Listed as a safety all season, with a sprinkling of playing time, Miyahira will be expected to fill in for injured junior Ben Criddle, and do well, according to BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Miyahira will experience baptism by fire with Oregon, the No. 8-ranked offense in the nation.

"He's had every practice with the ones and done all the bowl preparation; we've prepared him to the best of our abilities," said Mendenhall. "He's not noticeable out there in practice, which means he's just one of 11 players on defense who are doing what they are supposed to do."

Mendenhall said he knows Oregon will throw at him, target him during the game. "His performance and how he handles that pressure will determine how successful we've been in getting him ready to play. But he's been doing a nice job."

Mendenhall said BYU's zone-oriented schemes is far better suited to inserting a new player like Miyahira in as a starter than the 3-3-5 he ran last season.

Why?

"It's zone based, more conservative, more leverage; he'll receive more help and less athleticism is required," Mendenhall said. "All those things are contributing factors and it ties right into our point of emphasis."

Mendenhall said Criddle, who'd never played until the season opener at Arizona, had to learn the same things Miyahira has and BYU's defense is user friendly for its cornerbacks.

The head coach and defensive coordinator, who has loosened his hold as coordinator this year, spreading around responsibilities and he likes the results. He didn't appear worried at all about losing Criddle to injury.

The Cougars enter this game with the nation's 16th ranked scoring defense, allowing just 15.2 points per game.

"If teams are going to score on us, they're going to have to hang onto the football, drive the ball consistency and the teams who have done that have been able to score but the underlining theme this year is, along the way, a team is going to turn it over, not execute at a high level or throw in incomplete pass. If you look at our third down defense, we've been very consistent. When we've needed to make a stop here or there, we've been able to do it and keep points off the board."