Mendenhall tries to fix sloppy play

Two alarming trends have developed within Brigham Young's football team, and coach Bronco Mendenhall said both have to stop if his team is to turn around its 1-2 season.

The Cougars are committing too many turnovers and too many penalties. They have seven turnovers and 222 yards in penalties in the last two games, losses to UCLA and Tulsa.

With BYU opening Mountain West Conference play against a disciplined and undefeated Air Force squad Saturday in Provo, Utah, Mendenhall is moving quickly to address the issues.

"I've put a lot of pressure on our assistant coaches to watch our players and hold them accountable whenever we commit a penalty in practice," he said Tuesday during the MWC coaches teleconference. "Some of the penalties are from overaggressiveness; some are from a lack of concentration. But we can't afford to continue to rack up those kinds of penalties and expect to win."

BYU's defense will be challenged to stay focused on its assignments against Air Force's option attack. The Falcons are off to a 3-0 start under first-year coach Troy Calhoun and have received votes in the Associated Press poll.

Mendenhall said last week's 55-47 loss at Tulsa provided his team with a good example of what not to do against Air Force.

"Tulsa ran a lot of option stuff, and we didn't do a very good job against it," he said. "You have to be very disciplined when you play Air Force. They're very precise in what they do, and we have to match their precision."

The Cougars also need to do a better job of taking care of the football. They have fumbled eight times in the last two games, losing four of them. And sophomore quarterback Max Hall has thrown three interceptions in the last two games.

"We need to be better with our concentration, and it starts with me having our team better prepared to play," Mendenhall said. "The turnovers are coming from different players. Some of them are the result of youth. Some are hits on the quarterback. But we can't keep turning it over at the rate we have been."

Mendenhall also has to deal with the loss of junior running back Fui Vakapuna, who is out six to eight weeks after having surgery Tuesday to repair a broken bone in his right hand suffered in the Tulsa game. Vakapuna had 74 yards in 23 carries this season. Manase Tonga and Harvey Unga will get more work in Vakapuna's absence.