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Bronco Mendenhall looked ahead to his team's Saturday matinee matchup with San Diego State on last night's "Bronco Mendenhall Show," and here's your weekly show re-cap...
: at the season's midway point, Bronco declared his 5-1 team "good," but "not great," saying "great football teams win conference championships." He added that "how it finishes will be fun to watch."
: the coach called his teams national rankings of 17th (Harris), 18th (AP) and 19th (Coaches') "very fair...and accurate." He said BYU does not deserve to be ranked any higher than where the team is slotted right now.
: asked to name Offensive and Defensive MVPs at the midway mark, Mendenhall selected the entire offensive line and safety Scott Johnson as hi honorees. He singled out Brandon Ogletree, Blake Morgan and deep snapper John Pace for special teams recognition.
: Bronco called San Diego State defensive coordinator Rocky Long "an expert and a master at using his resources," citing Long's "toughness, work ethic and creativity" as factors in the Aztecs' defensive improvements. As soon as new SDSU head coach Brady Hoke hired Long, Mendenhall says he "knew they would be a lot better" on defense. Bronco added that "it's fun to see a culture change with a good leader."
: Mendenhall said Long left the head coaching post at New Mexico because he was probably not "appreciated" at a high enough level, tiring of poor attendance among other issues. Bronco says Long "wanted to be a football coach again," and the new job at SDSU gave him that opportunity.
: Regarding BYU's personnel/health concerns, Bronco said backup linebacker Brandon Ogletree will be back in action after two games away (groin) and will be used normally; NT Russell Tialavea (knee) might be back this week, but the coach indicated Tialavea could still be "a week away right now." Tialavea has not practiced this week, and will have to practice Thursday to be eligible to play on the weekend--that also goes for FB Manase Tonga and FS Scott Johnson. Neither had practiced as of Wednesday, with Johnson "closer to playing" than Tonga. Bronco says he always waits until after the Thursday practice to make judgment calls on player status.
: WR Mckay Jacobson (hamstring) is "on schedule," and "ideally" would return for the TCU game, with Bronco acknowledging Jacobson might be further out and need the bye week before returning to action.
: If Tonga can't play Saturday, look for Bryan Kariya to get most of the fullback snaps. If Johnson can't play v. SDSU, Craig Bills steps in at FS, while Travis Uale remains the fourth safety.
: asked about Austin Collie's breakout rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts, Bronco said Collie's success "doesn't come by accident," noting that the wideout was a "film rat" at BYU. Mendenhall noted former Cougar Aaron Francisco is also on the Colts' roster, and said the "Colts think highly of BYU players, and are looking for others to come" to Indy.
: Bronco says BYU is "struggling" to fill three schedule openings in 2011. He says BYU "might have to make a concession" and play a two-for-one, if the team requesting it is a "Top 5" program. The coach says he and AD Tom Holmoe have had extensive schedule conversations in the past two weeks, with Bronco admitting that his "internal clock is starting to ring," and that BYU is "having a difficult time" filling its schedule.
: as for this weekend's game, Bronco says he's "expecting a difficult game," calling the Aztecs "well-prepared, athletic, and good enough to beat us."
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