BYU football: BYU heading back on road for MWC games

PROVO — It's back on the road, and back to Mountain West Conference play, for BYU.

Coming off of three consecutive home games, the Cougars, who defeated Utah State, 35-17, last Friday in their final non-conference contest of the regular-season, are starting a stretch of seven straight league games.

"Every week is a new game and a tough game, especially when you get into conference play," said BYU linebacker Coleby Clawson. "Our conference is tough and our opponents are going to be gunning for us. I think we're ready for it ... One of our big goals is to win a conference championship. It's good to focus on that goal and have it in mind."

The Cougars (4-1, 1-0), who moved up a couple of spots in the Associated Press poll to No. 18, travel to Las Vegas to take on a beleaguered UNLV (2-3, 0-1) squad on Saturday (8 p.m., The Mtn.). The Rebels absorbed a 63-28 drubbing at the hands of in-state rival Nevada over the weekend.

The game was tied at halftime, 21-21, but the Wolf Pack outscored UNLV, 42-7, in the second half en route to 35-point blowout. The Rebels allowed 773 yards of total offense to Nevada, including 559 yards rushing. Nevada converted all seven third-down attempts and never punted.

The loss was so bad that it prompted questions from reporters about fifth-year coach Mike Sanford's job security.

"That's the last thing I'm even thinking about," Sanford told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "All I'm thinking about is getting this team back and finding a way to beat BYU."

Added Sanford: "I believe in this football team, and we're going to bounce back. That's what my job is, and that's what we have to do."

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Ed Graney opined, "Sanford should be given one week to prove he has not completely lost his team, and whether the Rebels compete against visiting Brigham Young on Saturday should go a long way to determine his immediate fate. He doesn't have to beat BYU. That is far too large an objective to consider after the embarrassment that was 63-28 to a winless UNR team. Simply, it's about how the Rebels compete ... Maybe he gets the players back for the BYU game. Maybe they rally around him. Maybe they shock the Cougars. That's for them to decide."

UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton, who passed for 321 yards in a 42-35 loss at BYU last year, did not play against Nevada due to an injured throwing shoulder. In his place, Mike Clausen completed 26 of 50 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown.

"I would say Omar was pretty beat up. It isn't anything long term," Sanford said. "We felt like he would be injured more if we played him, and we needed to get him back healthy."