BYU football: Extra motivation

PROVO — On the heels of back-to-back outright Mountain West Conference championships and 11-win seasons, BYU entered the 2008 season with great expectations, only to see its BCS bubble burst midway through the season. Then the season concluded ignominiously, with losses at Utah and to Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Memories of devastating defeats a year ago have stoked the embers of motivation during the Cougars' long off-season.

"Everything that's gone on during this summer is the result of last year," said senior linebacker Matt Bauman. "Guys have been working harder. There's been a deeper fire. We went two straight seasons as undefeated conference champions. I think we got a little bit complacent, which is death. That's what we saw. So I think that really lit a fire underneath us. We've got a great group of guys who love the game and want to play and put in the work. It's a whole mentality that we've got to work. We've worked hard and it's shown."

For a number of reasons, expectations have been ratcheted down significantly compared to last season.

For starters, the Cougars have been overshadowed by conference rivals TCU and Utah, which both finished in the top 10 in the final polls in 2008. Then there's the non-conference schedule, with a season-opening game against No. 3 Oklahoma and a home-opener two weeks later against No. 18 Florida State.

What's more, the Cougars are replacing four starters on the offensive line as well as revamping the defensive secondary.

BYU players say they prefer not having the spotlight on them to start the season, unlike a year ago, when they felt a ton of pressure, which was heaped on them both externally and internally.

Most of the attention last fall on BYU was the "Quest for Perfection" slogan, and its bid to go undefeated and earn a BCS berth.

"This fall camp has been a little bit different from last year," said running back Harvey Unga. "It's fun to go under the radar instead of having a big bull's-eye on our back."

Not that the Cougars have been completely forgotten. They debuted at No. 20 in the preseason Associated Press poll and were picked to finish second in the MWC, behind TCU. It's not as if the wheels have fallen off. After all, BYU did win 10 games last season and it has posted a 32-7 mark since the 2006 campaign.

One piece of good news this year for the Cougars is that both the Horned Frogs and Utes visit LaVell Edwards Stadium, where BYU has won 18 consecutive games.