BYU offense comes under pressure

Brigham Young is facing tough times. Still reeling from a stunning 54-10 defeat to rival Utah in Provo, the Cougars (1-2) don't catch a break this week, with Central Florida (2-1) visiting LaVell Edwards Stadium tonight.

The game begins at 5 p.m. PDT and will air live on ESPN (Cox 30) and KSHP-AM (1400).

In the first of back-to-back Friday games, BYU is in familiar and unsavory territory. Last season, the Cougars were surprisingly manhandled by Utah State, 31-16. They left Logan with a 1-4 record and questioning everything.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall responded by firing his defensive coordinator and assigning those duties to himself and making minor adjustments on the offensive play-calling. The changes ignited the Cougars, who regrouped and rebounded to win five of their final six games, including the New Mexico Bowl.

There have been no firings or reassignments this week, but a message was sent to the program that a 44-point loss at home was not acceptable. However, the heat is definitely on an offense that has only three touchdowns in 12 quarters.

"We have to perform as an offense, and that's the bottom line if we are going to win games and be a good football team," sophomore quarterback Jake Heaps said. "I have to do better and perform the whole game."

Heaps passed for a career-high 305 yards against Utah, but fumbled twice and threw an interception. All three turnovers led to Utah touchdowns.

The Cougars are averaging 48 yards rushing to rank 118th of 120 Football Championship Series programs. BYU is averaging 13.3 points (111th).

Central Florida is ranked No. 1 nationally in pass defense, allowing 72 yards a game. The Knights are second in total defense (166 yards) and third in scoring defense (6.67 average).

BYU offensive coordinator Brandon Doman, receivers coach Ben Cahoon and running backs coach Joe DuPaix were part of an offseason restructuring plan to bolster the Cougars' offense.

"At some point that is going to show on game day," Mendenhall said. "It is certainly taking longer than the fans would like, but I am confident it is going to happen. I like the decision, and the results will be forthcoming."

■ OWN WORST ENEMIES -- BYU and Central Florida are looking to rebound after last week's performances. The Cougars had seven turnovers in their loss to Utah. The Knights allowed six sacks, committed 10 penalties and had two turnovers that led to touchdowns in a 17-10 loss at Florida International.

■ FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS -- BYU's TV deal with ESPN comes with a price. If the Cougars flourish or struggle, the entire country gets to see it.

The Cougars will be on center stage in back-to-back Friday broadcasts on ESPN, facing Utah State next week.

"Hopefully I can coach the team to (where) we are playing at a level high enough where the exposure really helps us," Mendenhall said. "(Playing on Friday) certainly makes it difficult for us to prepare, but with this being the first year of independence, some concessions have to be made."

■ SIGN OF THE TIMES -- An Arby's restaurant in Provo put up a marketing sign before the BYU-Utah game that read, "Bring in your BYU (ticket) stub for a free turnover!" As it turned out, the Cougars had seven turnovers against the Utes -- none of them cherry- or apple-flavored.

Dave McCann is a morning news anchor on KLAS-TV (Channel 8). He hosts "True Blue" at 5 p.m. Monday on BYUtv, is the play-by-play voice for BYUtv and hosts "Cougar Countdown" at noon Wednesday on KSHP radio (1400 AM). He can be reached at dmccann@8newsnow.com.