Cougars look to finish strong despite adversity


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PROVO — From an exciting 4-0 start, to a four game losing streak, this BYU team has seen a full range of emotions this season. The Cougars are coming off a devastating 25-point loss to Boise State, but there was an overwhelming feeling of unity and high expectations at Monday’s practice.

“Of course we’re a little disappointed, I mean, it’s been four games,” senior wide receiver Jordan Leslie said. “But, we’re coming in with a strong, competitive mindset. We need to prove something. We need to come out and play strong.”

The Cougars put up more than 300 yards of total offense on Friday, but allowed their opponent to reach more than 600 yards for the first time under head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

“Obviously we feel like we’re not playing to our potential,” senior defensive back Skye PoVey said. “We’re disappointed, but at the same time, we realize it’s things we can fix. Watching film, there was nothing magical that they were doing, it wasn’t that they were just better, it was assignment mistakes and things I think we can fix.”

Mendenhall said he called every defensive play during Friday’s game, but Boise State was still able to put up a record number of yards on the Cougars. PoVey said he thinks this speaks more to player execution than coaching.

“I think if anything, that was just evidence that it was on us — nothing to do with the coaching,” PoVey said. “We’re being coached really well, we’re preparing really well. I think each and every week we’ve had a great scheme. I think at the end of the day, we’re not making the plays that need to be made. There’s no one to point the finger at but us as players. The coaches are going to try and take responsibility, but I think at the end of the day, it’s on us.

Mendenhall said he took over play calling last week due to Boise State’s complex offensive scheme, but won’t continue that role this week. He said he takes responsibility for not preparing the team well enough for the Broncos and wants to make himself available to help in as many areas as possible as the team prepares for Middle Tennessee State.

“My responsibility as the head coach is just to help them all be most prepared,” Mendenhall said. “And the way we’ve performed so far regardless of circumstance is really my responsibility. I would love to have ownership from the players, but I don’t want them to shoulder that to the point where they think it’s their fault. That’s my job.”

Despite the struggles in the last four games, many of the players expressed a desire to move forward stronger and come out more like the team that fans saw at the start of the season.

“We have a great team. We saw that in the first four games,” Leslie said. “We can come out, score points, we can defend. We can do all the things we need to do, we just haven’t done them the last four games, and we need to get back, and maybe go back to fall camp and that same kind of mentality.”

The Cougars began preparatingn for Middle Tennessee State on Monday. Coach Mendenhall said he expects a similar team to what BYU saw last year in Provo. The Cougars took that one 37-10, but as the team heads out on the road, they say they aren’t taking anyone lightly.

“I know they’re going to come out, they’re gonna fight hard,” Leslie said. “They know that they can play with us, so we’ve gotta go out there and kind of hit them in the mouth first and get ahead.” Sydney is a KSL sports radio intern and BYUtv Sports Producer. You can follow her on twitter @sydneykayc

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