Coach Mendenhall Press Conference - TCU

The following is a partial transcript of BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall's weekly press conference:

Good morning. It was great to have a victory on Saturday, especially against a good football team and a conference opponent. It was fun to see the players have a chance to smile and be invigorated after playing with a lot of effort. Now we look forward to a formidable task in going to TCU and playing another conference team.

How much harder do you push these guys?

A lot harder. Consistency is really important. If there’s any more that I didn’t ask last week, I’ll ask for that this week. One time doesn’t mean that we’ve arrived, nor does it mean that our team is finished or polished. This is just the beginning. There’s a lot more to ask for.

How much has Andy Dalton improved?

In terms of TCU, they look very similar scheme-wise to what they’ve been doing the past number of years with success. I think they’ve found schematic answers that they really like and those answers complement regardless of what year you’re playing. They play with a lot of conviction and belief that they will have success. They’re very physical and they’re fast and athletic. When you put that all together with a good scheme, that makes them a good team. Then when you’ve had a quarterback who has had a lot of success as well, I think they carry themselves with a presence that they expect to win.

Statistically, it’s hard to find a weakness with TCU, but early on they did have some turnover problems.

There has been some in there, but they’re playing so well on either side around the turnovers that it hasn’t been an issue to cause them to have games that are even close to this point. Again, I’ve been impressed with them.

What are your feelings on playing Utah in September?

I think that the preference for both schools, or at least for me, would be to still play on the last week of the season. One of the other ideas that intrigues me until we get to that point is to make the BYU/Utah game the Friday night before conference the date to play the game. I think until the point where there’s a more solid date that can be a featured date the rivalry should continue.

After the win, did you learn anything new about your team?

I would just say that they’re willing. If you ask them correctly and frame the outcome and what the expectations are appropriately, they will try hard and give you their heart and lay it on the line. Last week was a good start to capturing that.

Are you planning on stopping or just keeping up with TCU?

I would say neither. The focus is on improving our team. TCU is the next opponent, but I didn’t address San Diego State really at all last week. I really don’t intend to address TCU this week. My focus still is on our team and driving them and motivating them and teaching them. TCU is just our next opponent.

Last week you talked about defense, but the offensive line seemed to play so much better. What changes do you make?

None of that really came from me. If there was any spillover from the defensive culture to offensive play it was incidental. I would hope that that would happen and that my involvement would be visible to the entire team. But we had had some success running the football against [San Diego State defensive coordinator] Rocky [Long’s] teams the last couple of years.