Back to work

The Cougars practiced for about an hour Monday night in their indoor facility. Russell Tialavea, David Nixon and Scott Johnson were held out due to injuries, though they are all expected to be practicing again by Wednesday, according to coach Bronco Mendenhall. Fui Vakapuna was also held out of drills due to “bumps and bruises” suffered against TCU.

Wide receiver/kick returner O’Neill Chambers was not at practice, though Mendenhall said he was excused for academic reasons.

Mendenhall said one of a “signature mark” of BYU’s program the last couple of years has been his team’s slow starts. The Cougars started 1-2 in 2006 and 2007, but they parlayed the lessons learned from those losses to 10-game winning streaks in each of those seasons. Until last Thursday in the defeat at TCU, BYU hadn’t had that experience. Mendenhall hopes his team can rebound after a loss like it has the previous two seasons.

“The reason we’ve had success is a lot of it is because we stumbled early. Losing to Tulsa or Boston College gives you a lot clearer reference point of what you need to accomplish,” Mendenhall said. “Then we’ve separated ourselves from the league the past two years as we’ve grown and improved each and every week. That has not happened statistically or through momentum or position mastery and execution. If anything, it’s flat or declined.”