PROVO -- Looking ahead to BYU's trip across the country to take on No. 23 Boston College, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall addressed the media at his weekly press luncheon.
Opening Statement:
"After watching the Tulsa game film, I feel very good about our performance. I think they are a quality football team and that game was as solidly executed game in all three phases that I have seen. We intend to do that this week and we know that we will have to play at a higher level in all three phases to beat Boston College. I have a lot of respect for their program. They know how to win and have six straight bowl wins. We are anxious to play this team again after losing our season opener to them last year."
Q: Do you expect to see the same kind of things at Boston College that you saw last year?
BM: "We have an intern on our staff, Paul Peterson, who was the quarterback at Boston College and it's been interesting to have some insight from him as a player's perspective. As he's had a chance to see them play this year and as I've had a chance now to watch this year's games, last year's games and going back to the year before, there is very little change. Boston College has a very clear and specific identity. They're confident in that approach. It's proven to work over time regardless of the opponent. I'm not sure they'll change for us, nor anybody, because it's already working. They've provided a success rate and stability in that program and a clear direction that's hard to argue with so I think they will be the same."
Q: What can you do with (kickoff returner Jeff) Smith? It looks like he's spectacular.
BM: "I think we improved on our kickoff coverage from week one to week two. It's already been addressed, though. We know that our only ability to have any kind of field position advantage is to cover the kicks well. There are a few wrinkles that we plan on incorporating; however, they will eventually figure out where we are. We will have to play with leverage, we will have to get off our blocks and we have to tackle well. If there are seams, he will hit them and he'll be gone. We put a little extra time into kickoff coverage yesterday, we will today and anticipate to tomorrow. We acknowledge that he is a phenomenal talent but the focus in practice is our execution of the coverage."
Q: Based on your performance against BC last year, are you using this game as a gauge for where your program is currently?
BM: "Quite frankly, I use every game as a gauge. Each game seems more important than the last. I view this game as more important than the Tulsa game and I'm sure I'll feel the same way about our future games. From a peripheral perspective, I don't think that I couldn't acknowledge that playing on the road against a top-25 team can be overlooked. I'm anxious to see how we play. I'm anxious to see if our players can play with confidence and at high level. It's been quite some time since a BYU football team has beat a top-25 team on the road. That's one of the marks and expectations of this program. To this point, I have not been successful in that. I'm anxious to find out where I stack up as well to improve my own professional growth at this point."
Q: Talk about their offense and the Quarterback as he's being listed as questionable.
BM: "I wouldn't see him as being questionable. We are planning on him to play. Regardless of who the quarterback is, they're not going to change much. They are a very physical team. They like to run first. They like to knock you down. They like to wear you down over time. While it might not be a scoring outburst at the beginning, if you look at their football games, their approach is simply play after play after play after play, then see if you can stand up to them at the end of the game. It is very similar to our game with them last year. It was a close contest all the way to the end and then they pulled away with that same approach. Their running backs are back with a lot of experience. Three of five offensive lineman are back. The quarterback is experienced. We're facing a very similar unit to what we saw last year with an identical approach. It will be our execution against theirs, our physical play against theirs, our toughness against theirs is the way I see it playing out."
Q: What specific problems does an offensive line the size of BC's present for your young and somewhat undersized defensive line?
BM: "I think you just said it. We are young and undersized. They are older and experienced. Within the same scheme, within the same approach for a long time. Very seldom do they miss a block. Very seldom do they not execute up front. Very seldom do you align fronts that they haven't seen or don't know how to block. It will come down to the fundamental parts of the game. Can you come off a block? Can you come off the football? Can you make a tackle and how often can you do it? They're going to block you. Very few plays that I've seen in the last three years of looking at their film have I seen unblocked players, assignment mistakes upfront. They're as well coached as I've seen and the reason I think they're able to sustain the success they have as a program is because of the offensive front. It's a tremendous test for our players. I think maybe one of the underlying stories of our success, or relative success, to this point defensively has been the play of our defensive line. We played very conservative game plans the first two weeks and we weren't sure how conservative we could be, but our front has held it in there. They have played the runs effectively with very little pressure, very little blitzing. We'll have a lot better idea after this game where those guys stand."
Q: Last year you only had eight yards rushing against BC and they have defensive linemen that are over 300 pounds, how do you plan to deal with that?
BM: "We've seen that difference in week one and week two this season. Besides looking at the points scored if you looked at just rushing yards that will tell you if we won the ball game or not. Our running backs responded well this last week and will have a difficult test this next week. Fui, Curtis and Manase are capable and I like our offensive line. We know we have to run the football to win and I think Boston College knows that if we are going to win we need to run the ball."
Q: "As opposed to where you were at the last time you played Boston College what has taken place to create an identity for your team now?
BM: "I'll start with what we were and that was uncertainty and no identity when we went into Boston College the last time. Our identity was claimed through the media by how I was young and an aggressive coach. That was the only thing you could say about our team then being tied to the head coaches identity. I don't think that is the case anymore. Our program is a physical program, tough program and a resilient program. What we need to work on now is precise execution under any circumstance. In games like this--and games that will determine conference championships--we are quite not there yet. I think we are close where we have touched it and tasted it. We're just quite not that mature yet as a program."
Q: How do you get execution and eliminate mistakes?
BM: "I think its consistency. As I sat down with the players at practice yesterday its knowing what the schedule is, knowing what the drill is, knowing what the scheme is and knowing how we're going to be coached. Over time, it will allow them to execute at a precise manner. For a while there was change. Change in system, change in a head coach, really there was change week to week that was rather drastic that paid a toll on the players. I feel good about how the offensive play, the special teams play and the defensive play have evolved. Now the players know what to do and do it at a higher level and stay at a higher course."
Q: Will Boston College be different defensively at all?
BM: "They just lost some experience. They have similar coaching and schemes that bring similar results. In their first two games they probably gave up more points than they wanted to, but they got two wins and that's what matters."
Q: Does the 10 a.m. (local time) kickoff and travel take a toll on your team at all?
BM: "That is the motive for the travel Thursday. In a teleconference yesterday with the Mountain West Conference, the issue of sightseeing was brought up and that's not the reason for the early travel day. It's because of the early start time on Saturday. We want to get there and get accustomed to the situation so we can prepare to play the game."