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PROVO — There's no place like home, but for BYU, it's time to get back on the road again.
The Cougars stung the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium for a dominant 38-20 Homecoming victory. The win also concluded a five-game streak of games played within the state of Utah -- four at home (Texas, Utah, Middle Tennessee, and Georgia Tech) with a road victory over Utah State in the middle. BYU will return to the road to face the Houston Cougars this Saturday at Reliant Stadium, the home of the NFL's Houston Texans.
Even though Georgia Tech's triple-option attack contrasts from most offenses BYU will face this season, head coach Bronco Mendenhall said at his weekly "BYU Football with Coach Mendenhall" radio show tonight that it was still a strong victory that will benefit the team this week and throughout the season.
"It's a great win. The players worked really, really hard," said Mendenhall. "It was completely separate from the rest of the season and what will be coming up after this, so it took a lot of energy and time from the coaches and players, but they played really well and had a convincing win against a strong team."
The Homecoming victory also extended the Cougars current winning streak to a season-high three games -- a feat the team failed to achieve all of last season.
"Our practice habits have contributed to that, and there are no signs of slowing up," said Mendenhall. "The guys work really hard. They're doing everything they can to keep up with what we tell them.
"I basically told them the next time they'd be healthy is January. They smiled when they heard that but then realized I was serious, and it was no more smiling (laughs). It's gonna take a lot of work, but they're willing to this point, so we're looking forward to it."
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BYU's next opponent, the red Cougars of the University of Houston, boast a perfect 5-0 record so far this season. Even though the level of competition has been suspect at times, facing an undefeated team is always a challenge.
"Their schedule hasn't been that difficult, but man, it's hard to win college games," said Mendenhall. "They're taking the ball away at a really high level. They're athletic, fast, and really confident now that they've won five games."
Houston indeed flies around on defense. They lead the nation in turnover margin at +14 and stand at no. 3 in total takeaways (18) so far this season. The red Cougar offense has some bite of its own as well averaging 39.8 points per game -- good enough for no. 20 nationally.
"They play wide open, and they've been one of the top scoring teams in the country the past couple of years," said Mendenhall, "and they know what they're doing. They have good protection for their system, and I don't think they're afraid. They respect us, but I think they're confident, and it's a great challenge to go on the road to face them."
Hurry-up will be the common theme on offense as both teams look to go fast and go hard up and down the field.
"Houston throws it really quick in regards to how fast the ball comes out," said Mendenhall, "and they're an up-tempo team just like we are. Their hope is that the defense is tired so they can get the ball out before the pass rush to make it easier on the quarterback, and they throw from the shotgun all the time."
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Freshman running back Algernon "Algie" Brown joined the show as the weekly player guest, and the backfield bruiser explained the origin of his unique name.
"My dad actually said he found it in a dictionary and said it means ‘prosperous,' " said Brown. "I was actually born three months premature, and I only weighed about 2 lbs, and so my dad wanted to find a name that went along with how I survived."
Brown rushed for his first career touchdown at BYU against Georgia Tech -- a 15-yard smash in the fourth quarter. He earned the reputation of a hard-hitter on the scout team, and that physical style is what earned him playing time on the field.
"Algie [was on the scout team] a little bit at the beginning of this year, and we liked hitting Algie, a lot," said Mendenhall, "but at some point, he started hitting back, and then he started hurting some of the defensive guys. So, Algie earned his way from being hit to hitting and being a hitter, and now he does that at LaVell Edwards Stadium on gameday."
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Tonight's show also marked the first rewarding of the weekly "Firehouse Subs Firestarter of the Game" award, and coach Mendenhall bestowed the inaugural honor on linebacker Alani Fua for his stellar play against Georgia Tech.
The junior defensive stud recorded four tackles and added a highlight-reel 51-yard interception return for a touchdown to break the game open in the third quarter.
"There was a ton of pressure in that game," said Mendenhall when explaining why Fua received the award. "Defenses kind of battled back and forth all through the third quarter ... and then Alani intercepts one for a touchdown, and everybody cheered, including me."
Mendenhall plans to honor the weekly recipient with a vintage fire extinguisher that said player will sign and keep in his locker until a new winner is chosen the following week.
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Interesting excerpts from Mendenhall's Q & A session with fans at the end of the show:
On what's the hardest part about being head coach at BYU: "The visibility. I prefer a bit of solitude and privacy, but there isn't any of that here (laughs)."
Since defensive lineman Bronson Kafusi played with the men's basketball team last year, Mendenhall said he'll ask head basketball coach Dave Rose to borrow star shooting guard Tyler Haws for a few football games this year. "That would only be fair," joked Mendenhall.
A BYU fan said he married a Utah fan 15 years ago and asked Bronco for marital advice. Bronco responded saying, "What were you thinking?" He then recounted the story of how his wife Holly Mendenhall wore a red sweater to his first press conference as the new head football coach at BYU. He said she claimed she only wore it because it was a Christmas color during Christmas season without recognizing the rivalry implications.
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Jason Ludlow is a KSL Newsradio BYU intern.
