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BYU football: It isn't always about game day

Every time I hear another quote by Mendenhall it amazes me how perfect the guy is for the BYU progam. We all know BYU is unique in that the mission of the Church/school is the main emphasis. Mendenhall is the perfect leader for those objectives. I worry that he will leave the Y for a BCS job like Washington but he definitely would not get the satisfaction there in the fireside, character building, spirituality aspects that he seems to like so well here. Now - if he would just keep Collie at receiver rather than QB :).

Bronco is a very competitive person. He likes game day and he likes winning. It's just the game day stress that he doesn't like so much.

Mendenhall is a role model for young and old alike. As a working 34 year old father of three, I've asked myself many times how I could "execute at a higher level?"

But Collie IS the right choice at back-up QB. From what I hear, he can scramble, run and throw a pretty good dart.

Saturday can not come quick enough!!

If you think Bronco would leave for a BCS team you honestly don't really know him. He isn't about money and recognition. He will coach at BYU until he is financially secure enough to retire and will walk away without looking back. Go Cougs!

Mendenhall, though, has said he does not plan on staying in Provo in any LaVellian manner. He said there are other places to be, other things to do.


If you think he wouldn't bolt for bigger better you zoobies are greatly misguided

Bronco seems to want a challenge. If BYU plateaus...he may move on. Imagine Lavell leaving after 1986 (worst season in 10 yrs). Bronco wants a Ranch and surfing. Finding both will take some money (which could be earned at BYU). He could go somewhere bigger for more money, and BYU would be fortunate to keep him for as long as possible.

Collie may be good at QB, but everyone seems to fail to mention one thing: Putting Collie in at QB takes him off the field as a WR (as if he were injured). That is an asset lost.

If Max Hall goes down, I would rather see Gaskins throwing to Collie, than Collie throwing to Ashworth.

Sure leaving for a BCS program would double or triple his Cougar salary. But he may make the jump more for the challenge. Once he gets the BYU program into auto pilot mode he may want to turn another program around. Talk about a challenge - turning around a storied program like a Washington without the help of the spiritual aspect he uses so well here. Some coaches like that next challenge. It's the reason coaches like Holmgren and other former Cougar coaches moved onto the next challenge. I'm afraid we are a little naive to think Mendenhall wont't do the same. We like to think he will consider coaching at BYU as some kind of life-long calling ala Edwards but I'm afraid it doesn't seem Mendenhall will follow that same life-long, church-calling path as head coach.

And only I will decide what I will or won't do with my future.

Did anyone read the part that they didn't practice special teams...hopefully we will be ready. Scarrrrryyyyy.

Never say never about Bronco leaving. The deals are just too good to pass up these days. Wasn't the case when LaVell was in town.

Forget Washington. When Notre Dame tires of Charlie Weiss, they will look for a guy like Bronco. The same program he uses at BYU would fit perfectly in South Bend. Bronco will have a hard time turning down the money and a chance to win National Championships.

Collie is the best WR on the team, but consider this list: Pitta, George, Reed, Unga, Ashworth, Chambers, Hafoka, DiLuigi, Latu. Scout team has Kozlowski, Brown and there's Mahuika and White.

Deep, deep, deep.

Urban, although good for the Utes and really for the entire MWC, had only one goal in mind during his short tenure in Utah. Utah was nothing more than a stepping stone for his career and the opportunity to move on to a higher and more prestigious address. Mission accomplished, he now finds himself at the top of the BCS heap.

Although it is certain that Bronco may have some of the same aspirations, he is wise enough to see that success at BYU and bringing them back to national prominence is far more rewarding than brief moments in the spotlight at somewhere higher up the BCS food chain.

Like LaVell, he understands that there is probably no where else that his style and coaching methods would work near as well as they do in Provo. And like Coach Edwards, Bronco is indeed the right man at the right time.

A Mormon head coach at Notre Dame?

Now THAT would ALMOST be worth the cost of losing Bronco.

almost...

It would be interesting to see the looks on the faces of the Notre Dame players when Bronco started talking about "Stripling Warriors."

Notre Dame would never hire an LDS coach. That's like BYU hiring a Catholic to coach BYU . . . not gonna happen.

It is easy to talk about how great Bronco is and how is efforts off the fields are more important than his efforts on the field. I'll bet we wouldn't be hearing any of those comments if they were only winning 5 or 6 games each year. As a Utah fan, I can admit that Bronco has been the perfect guy for the job down there. As a Mormon, I am glad to see that he has been able to reduce the number of "off-field" issues. But as a realist who has seen both good years and bad for BYU, I know that winning games is what keeps a coach his job, and losing, even if he has perfect angels off the field, will lose a coach his job. And the fans are the one's leading the cries for change. It is no different for BYU.

The comparison that Bronco's job is more rewarding than "brief moments in the spotlight at somewhere higher up the BCS food chain" blows my mind. Bronco's goals are to win conference championships, bust the BCS, then win a national championship. If he can't do it there, why not go where it will be easier?

Maybe he'll retire to Hawaii, the big island, buy a ranch and find some waves.

Should BYU win that ellusive BCS crown within the next several years, then maybe Coug fans could start fretting. That would be one of those major goals accomplished and...may cause him to reevaluate his tenure as BYU's HC.

OK, I'm gonna keep this short:

Go COUUUUUUGARS!!!

Best wishes for a fantasic season and I hope to be seeing you play on January 1st!

Dan Maloy
Enid, OK

I knew it wouldn't be game days that Bronco enjoys. A stadium full of grown up jr high kids, wearing every color but blue and white. The game starts and people are just getting there, and it ends with the stadium 1/4 full, because people leave early. That's why BYU doesn't compare to the big boys, like LSU, Michigan, USC etc. But don't tell them that or the fans will throw a jr high like temper tantrum.