BYU's Quest for Perfection

BYU is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2001. Their No. 11 ranking is also their highest since that same 2001 season, where they started 12-0 before dropping their final two games.

Even before the 4-0 start, much was expected of this year’s team. 

Coming off back-to-back 11-2 seasons, which included two undefeated Mountain West Conference Titles and top 15 rankings at the end of each season, BYU and their fans were expecting a lot from the 2008 Cougars.

So far, so good. Actually, that is a vast understatement. Coming off of two straight shutouts where BYU outscored their opponents 103-0, BYU is sending a message to those who don’t believe.

Much was made of the penalty that UW QB Jake Locker received at the end of regulation against BYU. The penalty moved what was expected to be a game-tying PAT back 15 yards. The longer PAT was blocked, and BYU left Seattle with a 28-27 victory, but not according to many national media outlets.

Most Talking Heads viewed the victory as tainted. They said that BYU was handed the victory by the late flag.

That talk went on all week leading up to UCLA’s visit to Provo, UT.

By six minutes into the second quarter, UCLA was wishing the national media had just kept their mouths shut about the UW game.

BYU met UCLA that Saturday tired of all the talk about a tainted victory and looking to send a very clear message. The halftime score of 42-0 sent shockwaves around the nation.

By the time BYU’s first string offense was pulled, about halfway through the third quarter, BYU was leading 49-0. The backups added 10 more points for the final margin of 59-0.

In the process of making a statement, BYU handed UCLA its worst loss in 79 years. They followed that up with a 44-0 blanking of Wyoming.

When BYU’s mantra for the season, The Quest for Perfection, was released, many called it arrogant. Some said it was brash. Even more said they were setting themselves up for disappointment and failure.

Many misunderstood the mantra to be a football-only slogan about BYU’s desire for a BCS Bowl Game appearance.

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall has done his best to explain very clearly what it actually means. Part of the BYU mission statement for the school says in part, “to aide each student in their quest for perfection.”

This mantra, like everything else to do with head coach Bronco Mendenhall and BYU’s football program, has very little to do with football at all.

In an age where so many only care about wins and losses, Bronco Mendenhall cares first and foremost about his players as people. Many have said that is their primary concern, but when push comes to shove, the importance of winning always wins out.

Most recruits and those within the program have been absolutely floored when they first meet with Coach Mendenhall. Each new recruit is expecting to hear lots of talk about football and how they will be employed in BYU’s system.

They are all surprised when in most cases football never even comes up, or if it does, is relegated to the backseat. Coach Mendenhall himself tells each recruit and player that football should be fourth or fifth on his personal list of priorities.

Coach Mendenhall has clearly taken the road less traveled. When he got the head coaching job in December of 2004, he said from day one he expected to return BYU to its former glory and bring back its tradition by winning conference titles and competing for national championships.

By doing so, he has once again returned BYU to the college football forefront.

Are the expectations high around the BYU program and their fans? Yes!

Coach Mendenhall wouldn’t have it any other way.