Wrote Liff: "The team has a united bunch of hard-working and dedicated players who see football as a means to an end, not an end in itself.

"Coach Mendenhall runs the team as an organization, not merely a football team. By applying lessons he's learned from world-class thinkers such as Paul Gustavson, he has provided the team with a series of competitive advantages that traditional football coaches do not see.

"The BYU football team is truly a learning organization that thinks outside of the box and prepares its next generation of leaders for more responsible positions. The team's football facility is absolutely magnificent. It is designed in a whole-brained manner that leverages both the splendor of BYU's mission and tradition while tracking performance metrics at every level."

Liff toured the Rose Bowl after BYU played UCLA in September, and one of the tour guides remarked how impressed he was that BYU's team actually cleaned up after itself. Most football teams leave it like a party out of "Animal House." When asked about how UCLA treats the Rose Bowl, the guide told Liff, "They still have work to do."

Ann Herrmann Nedhi, president and CEO of Herrmann International, is recognized as the leading authority on the brain and learning (right brain/left brain research) with clients that include many Fortune 100 companies on incorporating brain research in learning and development environments.

Wrote Herrmann Nedhi: "It is always interesting to step into an organization that talks about the importance of culture and learning. I am blessed to work with some of the world's greatest corporate organizations and often find that reality does not match the articulated goals.

"My time spent with the BYU football players renewed my faith: Bronco's leadership and focus on development of these fine young men has created a culture of learning that I have rarely experienced. The true test is when you hear the players talk about why the program works, why they believe it is the winning strategy and how they see it as a competitive advantage.

"A wise friend once defined culture to me in this way: It is what happens when the leader is not around. I took the opportunity to talk to the players off-line, who were able to clearly articulate how they had grown through the program and how Bronco's leadership had inspired them to be the best they could be."

Concluded the CEO, "It was particularly exciting for me to see the way they are consistently applying our research on what we know about the brain and performance in such a practical and tangible way."

This week's MWC predictions: