PROVO, Utah (AP) -The BCS is pretty much out for BYU and the Cougars are behind in the Mountain West Conference standings for the first time in years.
With just one loss, the No. 18 Cougars’ outlook has changed considerably entering Saturday’s home game against UNLV.
“We’re not as good as we thought we were. We’ve just got to work on some stuff,” BYU quarterback Max Hall said. “We’ve still got a lot of potential and we’re a good football team, but there’s some stuff that needs to change.”
BYU (6-1, 2-1 MWC) was humbled last week in a 32-7 loss last week at TCU. Just a month ago, the Cougars were getting questions about the Bowl Championship Series and even whether BYU should be considered a contender for a national title. Those questions won’t be coming up again soon.
ll over four times in their first conference loss since 2005.
“I think this is the first time in my life that I’ve really been flat out beat – and beat bad,” Hall said.
BYU had the nation’s longest winning streak entering the game at 16 in a row. But TCU was up 26-0 before the Cougars scored on Hall’s 2-yard run late in the third quarter, much too late for a comeback.
TCU took advantage of BYU’s turnovers and quickly turned them into points, much like the Cougars had in shutouts of UCLA (59-0) and Wyoming (44-0) that made BYU an early season favorite among the teams with a chance of cracking the BCS from a conference without an automatic bid.
“What I believe is that the last game is clearly who we are. I like to address brutal facts more than feeling good,” BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Once you acknowledge those, then you can start doing something about it. Just identifying the truth is what I would encourage them to do.”
UNLV (3-4, 0-3) hasn’t won a game in the conference this season and has lost 17 straight MWC road games. The Rebels lost to Air Force 29-28 at home last week. UNLV coach Sanford said it was especially disappointing to lose such a close game because the Rebels had chances to win.
BYU is also disappointed entering Saturday’s game, but whether that’s an advantage for the Rebels will depend on how well the Cougars regroup.
here BYU is at mentally, and that’s not my concern. I’m more concerned about getting our team ready and us being prepared and being at our best,” Sanford said. “Either way, we’re playing a good football team and they’re going to be ready to go.”
Mendenhall pointed to the previous two seasons, when the Cougars lost twice in the first few weeks and went on to close the year with 10 straight wins. There are only five games remaining in the regular season and what the Cougars can accomplish will depend on what they do and what happens with the rest of the league.
Mendenhall said technically the Cougars’ goals of winning every home game, the league title and winning a bowl game haven’t changed. But a third straight outright Mountain West title is now a long shot.
BYU would need TCU to lose twice in the conference in order to pass the Horned Frogs for the MWC title – and that’s only if the Cougars can win the rest of their games.
“If the team choses and the staff choses to leverage this as a real indicator of where we stand, then we can move forward,” Mendenhall said. “When it came time to making a play at any critical moment, TCU’s execution was at a higher level than ours. That’s the first time that’s happened in a long time.”
The regular season concludes Nov. 22 at rival Utah, which is now in position to do what the Cougars had wanted before the trip to TCU.
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