Bye week no vacation for BYU

Brigham Young didn't play last week, but Cougars coach Bronco Mendenhall said this morning that his team didn't exactly take the week off.

"We spent more time throwing and catching," he said. "We spent more time competing against each other than healing (from injuries). Whether that shows or not, we'll probably have to wait till Saturday to see if we made a jump or not."

The Cougars (3-5, 2-2 Mountain West Conference) host UNLV (1-7, 1-3) at 11 a.m. PDT Saturday.

BYU needs to win to have a legitimate chance to become bowl eligible.

"I think there's been an urgency for quite some time," Mendenhall said. "Whether that relates to a bowl game, I can't say that's a motivator."