Fort Worth, Texas ? BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who doubles as the football team?s defensive coordinator, probably watches less football on television than any coach in the country.
But even Mendenhall has noticed the abundance of trick plays in the dozen or so bowl games played so far this bowl season.
?When you have extra preparation [time] ? normally after a week or a week and a half, you are looking for things to do ? I think that?s why you will see more plays that are a little bit unusual, just because of the extra time,? he said.
Which brings the Cougars to their opponent in Friday?s Armed Forces Bowl (10 a.m., ESPN), the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. BYU is expecting a lot of trickery from the Conference USA team and not just because Tulsa used several ?gadget plays? in 2007, when it rolled up 595 yards and 55 points on the Cougars.
?Especially when they get to what most people refer to as the red zone, or the blue zone, that?s kind of part of their identity already,? Mendenhall said after the Cougars? practice on Wednesday. ?My guess is we will see some we haven?t seen yet. ? No way can we predict which one it is going to be, but we have put an emphasis on it and hopefully that will be enough.?
As for the Cougars? offense, expect business as usual, said running back JJ Di Luigi.
?We are going to run our basic stuff,? he said. ?No need to change it now. It has been working, so why change??
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Slowly sinking in
Approximately 16 seniors will be playing their final games as Cougars on Friday, including Di Luigi. Linebacker Jordan Pendleton is also with the team but won?t play after having had season-ending knee surgery last month.
?It is a little weird, a little surreal right now,? said Di Luigi, who graduated earlier this month. ?I think it will set in after the game. ? I mean, it is a sad time, and it is a happy time at the same time.?
More problems for Putnam
Senior Matt Putnam?s college football career is over. The BYU defensive end will not play in Friday?s game because he is academically ineligible, Mendenhall announced after Wednesday?s practice. Putnam apparently failed to improve an incomplete grade in one class dating back to last summer when academic struggles kept him from playing in the first five games of the season.
Putnam recently had surgery on a broken finger but that was after learning he would not be eligible for the game.
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