"We had to earn it," said Heaps. "They weren't going to give it to us. It was gratifying to see our guys make plays. It was good to see things go our way at critical points in the game."
Bronco Mendenhall said the decision for Doman to leave the field and go up in the press box was all his, and his alone.
Mendenhall said Doman's decision on the proximity to play calls came Friday.
"Brandon wants our football team to be better and wants to do the best job he can do. He struggled with that decision because he's been trying to get know his staff members and find what he could do. He has a strong personality and he thought may be best to look in the eyes of players and make that count so he decided to be on the field.
"On game day Brandon felt his vision of the field (from above) was something he wanted more of and had Lance Reynolds, with his calm resolve and perspective, go down on the field."
In defense of Doman, his offense, and Heaps against the Knights, BYU had very challenging field position in the first half with possessions that started twice from their own 11 and once from the 7.
The Cougars also played more than half the game without freshman receiver Ross Apo, who suffered a concussion right before BYU's first score — a field goal by Justin Sorensen that tied the game 3-3 with 6:19 to play in the first quarter.
To the point Apo left the game, Heaps had lost a player that had produced 100 percent of the Cougars' offensive touchdowns through three games.
"We haven't arrived, but it is a positive step," said Mendenhall, who said the victory that leveled BYU's season at 2-2 came just in time after a week where things were said that hurt his players and himself after the Utah loss.
"We all needed it," said the coach. "Anytime you play or perform or coach below your potential you are anxious to show to your self but to feel different in a more positive way."
Perches, plays and plenty of passion.
That's what BYU displayed in the win over UCF.
"It wasn't easy but we found a way," concluded Mendenhall.
Email: dharmon@desnews.com
twitter: Harmonwrites
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Dick Harmon is a columnist for the Deseret News with a focus on college athletics. He previously worked as executive sports editor, sports columnist, city editor and police reporter for the Provo Daily Herald for 26 more ..
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Jake Heaps, we already know you are not good. Stop bringing it up in every interview. Remember, actions speak louder than words and quite frankly you and Doman are not very good.
"My performance wasn't that great, but we got the W," said Heaps. "More importantly, I can learn from it."
Now, someone needs to teach Heaps how to throw long passes that guys can run under, not catch up to! He seems to More..
Dick was more impressed with the offense than I was. Their touchdowns drives together didn't add up to 80 yards. Heaps has a good arm but no touch. He often throws his passes before the play develops and doesn't seem to show a lot of presence in the More..