Cougar bowl victory sets stage for BCS run in '08

It didn't take Harvey Unga very long after BYU's 17-16 win over UCLA to put the entire affair into focus.

That's what makes the MWC freshman of the year the player he is.

Unga stood in the north end zone of Sam Boyd Stadium. It had only been a matter of minutes since the ending of the game when freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a 28-yard field goal to preserve the win.

Unga hadn't kissed his mother or hugged his father yet as masses of celebrating BYU fans swarmed around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw UCLA players leaving the field, dejected and hurt. That would have been him if not for a few inches and the palm of somebody's hand.

Unga knew the Cougars hadn't played that well, especially on offense, where the Cougars continually struggled to take advantage of UCLA's cheating linebackers and safeties that crowded the line and shot gaps to nail him.

Unga knew BYU's defense would miss Manumaleuna, who'd received his LDS mission call and would be headed to Oklahoma City next month.

And finally, more importantly, Unga was already thinking of the UCLA-BYU rematch in Provo next season, a few months from that very day. The Bruins and Washington are BYU's two BCS opponents the way the schedule stands today.

"UCLA's defense is very, very good. And you know, it's going to be tough when we see them next season. I'm glad we're playing them next year at LaVell Edwards Stadium, but it's not going to be easy, and they're going to bring it."

"Our preparation for next year starts right now. We have to be ready for next season," said Unga, who became the MWC's all-time leading freshman rusher with his effort, however limited by the Bruin defense last Saturday.

Unga knows what everybody in the country will figure out when 2008 projections by those drugstore magazines hit the shelves this summer. BYU returns 10 of 11 starters on offense — and Unga is in the center of it all.

With two 11-2 seasons, the Cougars own a 10-game win streak, soon to be the nation's longest when Hawaii loses to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

You get the idea. Bronco Mendenhall has something going in Provo.

Aside from Unga, Max Hall, Dennis Pitta, Austin Collie, Michael Reed, Manase Tonga, Fui Vakapuna and all but one of the offensive linemen returning, the Cougars also return a solid core of the league's No. 1 defense, led by sack leader Jan Jorgensen.