BYU Staff and Players talk UVA loss, facing Texas

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The Texas Longhorns (1-0) head to Provo on Saturday to face the BYU Cougars (0-1), and some of the Brigham Young players spoke to Jeff Call of the Deseret News, from whom the following quotes were obtained.

Call got some good talk from Cougars RB Jamaal Williams, who was the workhorse on Saturday with 33 carries for 144 yards and 2 receptions for 25 yards. The play that Williams will remember from his outstanding effort will be the one he didn’t make.

With the Cougars leading 16-12 late, in a “slip and slide” caused by torrential rain which delayed the game over two hours, BYU Offensive Coordinator Robert Anae slowed the tempo down to try and kill the clock. At the BYU 45, with about 3 minutes to go, Anae chose to attempt a pass on 3rd and 6 to get the first down instead of putting the game in the hands of BYU’s stellar defense. A high throw of a slippery ball was intercepted by the Cavaliers Anthony Harris. Viginia would cash in the turnover for a 19-16 lead and go on to win the game.

About the play, Anae was quoted as saying “We were short when it counted. We have an opportunity to use this and get a little better feel for who we are. We’re still searching for an identity. You get taxed in ways in a close game on the road. I do believe we’ll be able to grow from this.”

On the play, Williams said “It was on me, pretty much. I felt like I should have caught the ball. It might have been high. Taysom threw the ball, and I should have caught it. It touched my hands. I should have caught it. Now, it’s out of my mind. You can’t catch all of them. I knew I should have caught it. I didn’t.”

“It’s football. You’ve got to go with it, even if it does feel heavy. I felt like I could have caught it. It was right there. I should have. The ball felt fine. … It felt like it was in my hands. I just didn’t catch it.”

On his thoughts after the loss, Williams stated “It’s over now. I had my boohoos after the game, I talked to my mom and the coaches. I knew after that, the game was over with. It’s about Texas now. Virginia is out of my mind already.”

On preparation for the Texas game, Williams said “We came out with a chip on our shoulder in practice today. I’ve never seen us be this good on a Monday. I’m real proud of our teammates today. We came out with some fire — angry from the Virginia game and ready to show people that we can beat Texas. We knew we were struggling on third downs, and we practiced third downs and did exceptionally well today. I’m glad my teammates and the coaches forgot about the Virginia game and we’re looking forward to Texas. We improved that fast on third downs today. Coach Anae tested us today and he’s going to be testing us in practice all week on third downs. I think we are up to the challenge.”

On dealing with the loss LB Spencer Hadley said “We don’t have any choice. Texas is a good opponent. There’s no sulking. You have the plane ride home, but that’s about it. Maybe a little bit (Sunday). You’ve got to refocus and come back Monday ready to work.”

BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall had this to say after the loss “Certainly, no one is more disappointed that I am. The team is hurt right now. It’s a great chance to discover who we’re going to be and how we’re going to be going forward. It will take a day or two. This one wasn’t an easy one. Another significant test coming, which is what this season will be. There is a sense of urgency, but there also has to be time to recover from this one. That’s how we’ll approach it.”

A few notes about the contest:

Texas is currently a seven point favorite against BYU after opening as a three to three and a half point favorite.

Perhaps the best BYU WR, Cody Hoffman, missed the Virginia game with a hamstring injury. His status for Saturday isn’t yet known, but even if he does play, I’d expect him to be limited.

Unconfirmed update on LB Uani Unga, who was reportedly hospitalized with possibly broken ribs after the game. Report indicates he did not suffer any breaks, just badly bruised ribs. If this is the case, I’d expect him to be out there Saturday, but not 100%.

This will mark the Longhorns second trip to Provo, the first coming in 1988, ending in a 47-6 Texas loss.

BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall has never led the Cougars to an 0-2 start in his tenure.

We’ll have more as the week progresses.