Mendenhall on 1-2 start: 'We've been here before ... I'm not hitting the panic button.'


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Acknowledging that his team was "disappointed" and "saddened" by Saturday's 20-13 home loss to Utah, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall on Monday said a short week before the Cougars' next game would be "the best medicine" for his team.

Mendenhall said Friday night's home meeting with Middle Tennessee "forced (his players) to get right back to work."

"I was impressed with their practice habits today," Mendenhall told media members Monday evening, "and their resiliency and looking forward to getting back to work. That's the temperament and the mood I saw today."

Defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna said in trying to put the Utah loss behind the team, the short week "could be a blessing; we want to bury all of that really fast. This is another opportunity for us to show what we have and how hard we're trying to work for this upcoming game."

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Mendenhall said his Monday afternoon post-mortem with the team turned into "an extended team meeting to go over where I thought we were currently as a program...then (we were) kind of past (the Utah loss)."

"I stood in front of them," said Mendenhall, "and basically let them know that my take on the game was that our team earned more chances to score and win the game than our opponent--through field position, and through short fields."

"We earned that chance, but didn't take advantage of those chances when we got them, and that was the difference in the game. There's a dose of reality, of urgency, in getting the execution to match the opportunity."

Regarding the program's current status, from a big-picture standpoint, the coach reflected on past accomplishments that have included bouncing back from previous shaky starts to record double-digit win seasons.

In 2006 and 2007, BYU opened 1-2, but finished 11-2. In 2011, a 1-2 start resulted in a 10-3 record. Two other 1-2 starts led to 6-6 (2005) and 7-6 (2011) records.

"I think we're one of the best (programs) in the country, if you consider top 25 (rankings) consistently," Mendenhall said on Monday. "I think we all acknowledge we've been here before at 1-2; I'm not sending any flares off, nor hitting the panic button."

"We've been 1-4 before, and we've yet to be excluded from a bowl game. We always just find a way to be resilient and win, because that's who our players are. We're a consistent winner; we're a program and a head coach that is expanding scheme and strategy with hope to be better than we've been."

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BYU has never been worse than it is currently, when it comes to passing the football. Through three games, BYU is dead last nationally (among 123 FBS teams ranked by the NCAA) in pass efficiency, at 73.63. BYU is also the worst third-down passing team in the country, with a 19% completion rate.

Referencing the numbers, Mendenhall said "there's just one way to go, and that's up."

"Our focus has been predominantly on being able to run the football," Mendenhall noted on Monday, "and pass it in a complementary nature. Accuracy of throwing it, plus catching it consistently...I think is just simply where it is, and that's what we need to improve."

Receiver Skyler Ridley said the anemic offensive production is not at all what he expected under offensive coordinator Robert Anae's tutelage.

Mendenhall is similarly optimistic regarding Anae's up-tempo attack, adding that "three weeks is probably not (long) enough to say how well that is going to work."

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BYU leads the FBS in plays per game (95.7) and fewest seconds per play (17.5), but the Cougars lag in points per game (23.0; 91st nationally) and yards per play (5.2; 93rd). Mendenhall doesn't believe that tempo is a natural hindrance to productivity, and has no plans to slow things down on offense.

"What I'm encouraging more than anything is for the pace to remain the same," said Mendenhall, "and the execution to catch up with it."

"What I've seen is opponents substituting seven or eight (defensive) guys at a time and having a hard time getting on and off the field. When we execute with that tempo, that's the vision I see of our program."

The coach was asked about the uptick in the number of drops from his wide receivers, and he did observe that tempo might have something to do with their performance.

"All i can do right now is speculate," says Mendenhall, "and I think if I were to say what's influencing it, it's one thing to catch it when you have a lot of rest in between, and it's another thing to catch it when you're sprinting, coming back, springing, coming back, and things are going so fast."

"There's a mental resiliency, and a physical conditioning that's taking its toll. Whether that's the reason (for the drops), I'm not sure."

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Notes:

Mendenhall said running back Jamaal Williams, who was taken to the hospital in the third quarter of the Utah game, was diagnosed with a concussion and severe stinger. Williams was discharged from the hospital on Sunday morning, with "no neck or skeletal damage," said the coach.

"Basically, he'll have to pass concussion protocol," said Mendenhall, "and that can be anywhere from four days to two weeks; we'll have to see."

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Mendenhall said he doesn't anticipate linebacker Spencer Hadley's suspension lasting any longer than the school-mandated five-game term. "I've given Spence pretty specific criteria that I would like to see met. At the end of those five weeks, if he's met my criteria for him, then I can't wait to have him back."

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Safety Chris Badger has been practicing with the team since enrolling school at the start of the fall semester; the Notre Dame transfer last week got approval of a waiver that will allow him to play immediately for BYU.

The former Timpview HS standout says "everyone here at BYU has been really welcoming I love the spirit here."

"I love the team, such great people on the team," says Badger. "A lot of them I played with in high school, like Craig Bills and Bronson Kaufusi; it's like picking up where we left off. It's been a really good transition just being back home; I feel really comfortable, I feel like I'm going to be able to develop and really become a good player here."

Badger says he hopes to earn an active role on special teams, adding "that's kind of where you have to earn your stripes."

"If I get in on special teams, I can just show what I can do--that's my goal right now."

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You can hear post-practice interviews with Mendenhall, Manumaleuna, Ridley, Badger, WR Ross Apo and DB Mike Hague, in "Cougar Cuts," top left.

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