BYU football: Oregon State helped refine Bronco Mendenhall as a coach, man

PROVO — You won't catch BYU's Bronco Mendenhall waxing nostalgic as he prepares to coach against his alma mater, Oregon State, in Tuesday's Las Vegas Bowl.

When the No. 15 Cougars meet the No. 16 Beavers (6 p.m., ESPN), Mendenhall will face a once-beleaguered program that has transformed into one of the top teams in the Pac-10 and in the nation. It's a school where Mendenhall spent six years of his life as a player, graduate assistant and an assistant coach.

Over the past couple of weeks, he's been asked many times about his memories of his time spent in Corvallis. He said he doesn't remember much, calling it "a blur."

Truth is, much of that period was forgettable because when Mendenhall was associated with OSU, it was one of the worst programs in the country. One of the worst of all time. Who would have guessed that Mendenhall would emerge from that experience to become a head coach who would guide BYU to four straight seasons of double-digit victories?

Consider this: Mendenhall's 2009 Cougars have almost as many wins (10) as Mendenhall saw in his six seasons in Corvallis (13).

Yet those struggles at OSU helped shape him.

"Everything was difficult. That, in and of itself, established a work ethic and an appreciation for just the nature of how difficult winning football games is," Mendenhall said.

From 1971-1998, OSU suffered 28 consecutive losing seasons — an NCAA record. During that time, the Beavers twice strung together 15-game losing streaks. No wonder they were known as "The Bad News Beavs."

All of which makes the job that coach Mike Riley, who has been called the savior of OSU football, has done in Corvallis nothing short of amazing.

"Those times were hard times in Oregon State's history," Mendenhall said of his stints at OSU. "Oregon State hadn't turned the corner yet. Coach Riley's staff was probably the first to capitalize on a lot of the facility improvements and the vision (former) coach Jerry Pettibone had to then move it forward. I was part of a program that wasn't having much success."

Riley coached the Beavers for two seasons, in 1997 and 1998, before becoming the head coach of the NFL's San Diego Chargers. In 1999, his replacement, Dennis Erickson, led OSU to its first winning season since 1970 as the Beavers rose from the ashes of futility. Riley returned to Corvallis in 2003 and OSU has now been to a bowl game in nine of the last 11 seasons — and posted five straight bowl victories.

Since 2006, the Beavers have posted records of 10-4, 9-4, 9-4 and 8-4.