BYU football: Cougars, Aggies to battle tonight

PROVO — The way defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen sees it, BYU's 2008 season began to take a turn for the worse against Utah State.

The Cougars dominated the Aggies last year in Logan, 34-14, after racing to a 24-0 first-quarter lead. But BYU was shut out in the second and fourth quarters while the Aggies punched in a pair of touchdowns in the final period to outscore the Cougars in the second half, 14-10. USU marched 65 yards to the BYU 30-yard line as time expired.

That pair of USU TDs, and that final drive, ignited the passionate Aggie fans. In the end, judging by the crowd reaction, it was difficult to determine which team had won the game.

At times during the contest, BYU self-destructed, throwing two interceptions and committing 12 penalties for minus-123 yards.

"We played really well in the first half and kind of had a little lull in the second half," Jorgensen remembered. "That lull kind of set the tone for the rest of our season. We came out flat in that second half, and it seemed like we almost never recovered."

After beating a struggling New Mexico team at home the following week, BYU got crushed by TCU, 32-7, to spoil its perfect record, and the Cougars finished 4-3 in their final seven games of '08.

As No. 20 BYU meets USU for the 79th time tonight (7 p.m., The mtn.), Jorgensen is looking for his team to play strong for 60 minutes.

"What I expect is for there to be none of (those lulls), that we come out on top of our game from beginning to end and play the way we should," he said.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said that game last October at Romney Stadium made an impression on him.

"Utah State was very competitive. Not only was their team competitive, but their fans were certainly into the game," he said. "I don't remember much from the game, but I remember the end. Utah State was trailing, and trailing by a fairly large margin, but the fans were behind their team and really supporting them right to the end in a pretty chaotic environment.

"I was impressed that the fans would be cheering like that when the team was down that far," Mendenhall added. "They didn't have a chance to win, but it mattered if they could score and compete. I don't think anyone on our team will forget that. I think they're preparing for a tough game (tonight). Utah State is much improved."

Linebacker Coleby Clawson said he wasn't surprised by the wild enthusiasm exhibited by USU fans.

"It's a long rivalry. We expected the opposition from the crowd. I think we let it get out of hand in the second half and we let them run away with the momentum throughout the second half. That's going to be the focus this year, to try to keep the momentum and play hard throughout the entire game."