Cougars get an up-close look at new Cowboys Stadium

DALLAS — The BYU Cougars certainly have a huge challenge tonight when they square off against national college football power Oklahoma.

But one factor that adds another huge obstacle to this game — other than the Sooners' No. 3 ranking — is the huge obstacle in which the game will be played. Tonight's game will be the first college battle ever contested in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington — a $1.2 billion, 3-million-square-foot domed arena built by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Some feel the stadium might be just as big of an attraction as the game itself for the 80,000-plus fans expected to attend and the millions more who will be watching on national television.

"I think if you look from a business perspective of what the sponsors of this game were after — the best venue and a compelling matchup — I think that's what's happening," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "The ticket sales are reflective of that. We consider it an honor to play there against a team like Oklahoma but also to be the first college game played in that stadium."

Recognizing the awe factor the mammoth structure might have, however, Mendenhall tried to get a little of sightseeing sideshow out of his players' system on Friday by taking them straight from the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport to the stadium for a tour. That's far from the Cougars' normal road-trip protocol.

"I don't think it was a random selection, I don't think it was an accident that we were picked. I think it came through a lot of hard work and our players ought to be commended for that," Mendenhall said. "That only gets you to the stadium. Now I'd really be hopeful that we play at a manner equal to, if not exceeding, the stage that they're on. That would be saying something considering it's the eighth wonder of the world, or what somebody is calling it."

The players surely recognize the special nature of the game and the arena in which it's being played.

"There's a feel that this isn't an ordinary game," BYU safety Andrew Rich said. "This is our season-opener against one of the elite teams in the country playing in the nicest stadium, arguably, in the world. There is a different feel, no doubt."

The Cougars also acknowledge that it would be easy to get caught up in the distractions the stadium can present.

"It's an amazing stadium. Coach showed us an overview of the stadium. To play in a setting like that, it's just hard to explain. You dream of playing in situations like that. It's a dream come true for a lot of us. There's a lot of us players who are untested and have never played on a stage like that," Rich said.