Recap of Washington, a look ahead to UCLA

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said this morning during his weekly press conference that it’s “unfortunate” that there’s so much controversy surrounding the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Washington’s Jake Locker. Mendenhall said he does not pay attention to what’s been said around the country about the call.

“It’s unfortunate that a game that was so hard-fought and decided on the last play — not the second-to-last-play — by a phenomenal effort by a defensive group of kids, one player in particular, Jan Jorgensen, it sounds like the the focus has gone to a correct call made by an official within the rules and that then was viewed to determine the outcome of the game. It was actually the next play and every play prior to that that determined the outcome. Our team, from beginning to end, out-executed our opponent and deserved to win and demonstrated that in the clearest fashion on the last play of the football game — which was the deciding factor. If that’s been lost along the way, that’s unfortunate.”

Linebacker Vic So’oto underwent surgery on his broken foot this morning. Coleby Clawson is the new starter at the outside linebacker position. Clawson has been effective this season. Mendenhall is looking at some options for Clawson’s backup.

Mendenhall was impressed with the play of fullback Fui Vakapuna. Not only did Vakapuna score an 11-yard touchdown, but he also did yeoman work blocking for quarterback Max Hall and running back Harvey Unga. Vakapuna was physical and executed well.

Mendenhall acknowledged that he’s concerned about the defensive secondary, which allowed a long touchdown pass against Washington and would have likely given up a lot more yardage had Locker been more accurate in his passing. Mendenhall said it seems that opposing receivers have been able to get past BYU’s defensive backs in the last two games more than they have the last two seasons.

You may question his tactics and his judgment, but UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel knows how to win. He’s seemed to have infused his program with enthusiasm and confidence, just like he did at Colorado and Washington. That showed in the season-opening upset of Tennessee a week ago. He’s very good at motivating his players.
But, the way I see it, the Bruins’ turnaround started last December in Las Vegas, when DeWayne Walker, who took over for a fired Karl Dorrell on an interim basis, instilled toughness into the team. It would have been easy for UCLA to mail it in the Las Vegas Bowl against BYU, which was favored. But Walker had the Bruins focused and playing hard. They were a short field goal away from winning the game. Walker laid the groundwork for UCLA’s upset of Tennessee. Walker is a very good coach and his defense, once again, is solid. Once UCLA’s offense, under the guidance of former BYU offensive coordinator Norm Chow, gets going, the Bruins could challenge USC for Pac-10 supremacy.