In his first year as head coach, Bronco Mendenhall wanted to bring back the fire and the tradition of the old BYU teams. After three straight losing seasons under Gary Crowton, Mendenhall was successful in turning things around. 

While most might consider the program to still be reloading after Crowton was dismissed, the expectations are always high in Provo. The fans want the old days of BYU back when the program was winning conference titles with some of the most prolific offenses in college football history, and this year's team might not disappoint with veteran quarterback John Beck, excellent running back Curtis Brown, a fantastic offensive line, and Mackey Award candidate Jonny Harline at tight end.

However, the defense full of question marks could give up points just as quickly. The line has issues with experience, the linebacking corps, while good, is nothing special, and the secondary might be a major problem until the middle of the season. All this means lots of shootouts, lots of scoring, and fun, fun, fun.

At one time, BYU was one of the most innovative programs in college football. It's offenses were able to move the ball at will with a high-octane passing attack that cranked out yards and points on everyone. Now the Cougars are followers continuing to employ a sort of spread formation, but it's the good, old-fashioned BYU passing game that will get everyone humming.

Thanks to Beck, who's in the hunt to finish as BYU's number two passer of all-time behind Ty Detmer, a 4,000-yard season is possible with at least 30 touchdowns as long as the wide receivers come through with a big season. Throw into the mix Brown, who should be a 1,000-yard runner, and BYU will put up pinball numbers. If the defense can just hold serve and make a couple of plays here and there, this could be a big bounce-back season.

If nothing else, the Cougar fan base is excited about the direction of its program. Mendenhall says and does all the right things, but winning is all that matters. This year's team might struggle here and there, but it'll show that BYU football is close to being back.

The Schedule: It shapes up well for Mountain West play with four non-conference games to use as tune-ups, helped most by a light scrimmage against Utah State, before the conference-opening showdown at TCU. If the Cougars can somehow get out of Fort Worth with a win, it's smooth sailing with home games against San Diego State and UNLV followed up by a road trip at Air Force. In other words, a win over TCU will likely mean an unbeaten conference record going into November with the road trip to Utah looming. The non-conference slate is tougher than it looks with road trips to Arizona and Boston College and a home date with Conference USA champion Tulsa.

What you need to know on offense ... While BYU technically uses the spread offense and certainly has the ability to run the ball with Curtis Brown and an NFL-sized offensive line, this is a passing attack. John Beck is mobile, but he's a bomber with a good array of weapons to work with. Brown is a fantastic receiver, and tight end Jonny Harline is one of the nation's best. Now the wide receivers have to step up with the loss of deep threat Todd Watkins. This is an offense that can score in bunches, but it can't bog down like it did at times. With more experience in the system, the attack should be more consistent.

Best Offensive Player: Senior QB John Beck. Other Mountain West quarterbacks will put up big numbers, but Beck has the experience, the offense, and the talent to put up the best numbers in the league. If BYU wins the league title, Beck will probably be the Mountain West player of the year.

What you need to know on defense ... The 3-3-5 is gone in favor of a 3-4 defense, and that's a positive considering the strength of the D is at linebacker. Head man Bronco Mendenhall is a defensive coach and will look to get far more production, but there isn't a whole bunch of talent. Linebacker Cameron Jensen is a playmaker and there are a few good defensive backs, but this group will have to be prepared to be in plenty of shootouts.

Best Defensive Player: Senior LB Cameron Jensen. With 187 tackles over the last two years, Jensen has grown into the unquestioned leader of the defense and a legitimate All-America candidate. With the defense a big question mark, he'll have to be a steadying force from the start.

Key player to a successful season: Senior NT Hala Paongo. The defense needs to be better in all phases, but making sure things are solid on the inside will be a good starter. Cameron Jensen and Markell Staffieri will be good inside linebackers, so the more Paongo can be an anchor up front and let the linebackers roam free, the better.

The season will be a success if ... the Cougars come in second in the Mountain West. This is a relatively lofty goal considering the defense is mediocre at best and with road trips to TCU and Utah. The offense will simply outbomb everyone else.

Key game: Sept. 28 at TCU. Last year's 51-50 overtime loss to the Horned Frogs was a classic. If the Cougars can win the nationally televised Mountain West opener in Fort Worth, they'll be in a perfect position to go on a huge run up until the regular season ender at Utah. Lose to TCU and there will be no margin for error the rest of the way.

2005 Fun Stats:
- Penalties: BYU 100 for 870 yards - Opponents 100 for 848 yards
- Yards per catch: Opponents 12.5 - BYU 11.2
- Time of possession: BYU 32:21 - Opponents 28:54