On point though, serious congratulations are in order. It’s obvious Oregon entered a tailspin following the Cal loss, but this was still a devastation and vindicates a fine season on the part of the Cougars. Can they keep it up? Tough to say. I’ve said before that the MWC is in a tough spot: obviously superior to the CUSA/WAC/MAC crowd, but behind the Big East and nowhere in sight of the five top conferences. What that means to me is that BYU has to step out and face quality nonconference opposition in order to make any national noise. Next year, they’re facing Eastern Washington and Arizona at home, with road trips to UCLA and Tulsa. That’s a perfectly fine nonconference schedule that compares very favorably to many national powers. It’s certainly tougher than OU’s (pending what happens at the U). But, at the end of the day, I don’t know that it’s enough. Replace EWU with at least a mid-level BCS opponent (I’m thinking Georgia Tech/Missouri/Alabama caliber) and you’d be moving in the right direction. Ideally, you’d schedule a top-15 type team and beat them. That’s probably not fair: I do think the MWC is a legitimate conference that deserves some respect, although it certainly isn’t on par with the major conferences. But it’s reality. Unless BYU wants to limit its aspirations to dominating the area between Lubbock and Berkeley, that’s a necessary step forward (and one that I think BYU’s able to take, if they’re willing to do a 2-for-1 with somebody).

1. Switzer was not the coach in ’94, duh! How’s that payback?
2. Many BYU fans, of the Utah-Mormon variety, embarrass themselves with their anti-Switzer obsession. If your team had been there before, you might’ve known how to act. The inferiority-complex reaction was understandable to football fans with tradition. The Salt Lake County Council of Governments sounds like a model government entity – NOT! (Borat style):-)

Either way, most Sooner fans I know really enjoyed BYU’s superior play against the Ducks.

Not bad for for the 2nd year ever as a head coach, after 3 losing seasons. The two questions I have for next year are:
* sustainability with the loss of the seniors, which leads to
* can Coach Mendenhall make something of his comments:

It will serve as a great motivational tool. What these players have done is establish a whole new mindset. They won’t be satisfied. They’ll ask, ‘What’s next?’ Tonight was another step in our evolution of returning to where this football program needs to be. We showed that (in the Las Vegas Bowl).

and

Last year, we were motivated after losing to Cal in the Las Vegas Bowl to work harder, to get bigger, faster and stronger. It motivated us all season long. That’s what this win tonight, and this whole season, will do for this program next year. We’ll keep getting better.

and

This is the next step in our evolution to being a great program. This team won’t be satisfied with just this.

So much for “Aw, Shucks — we’re just fortunate to be able to play PAC-10′s tied-for-5th team.” What does he have in mind; maybe wiping away the implicit smirk in Uncle Rico’s (“Napolean Dynamite”) fascination about faded football glory from the 1980′s with some current national titles? We’re headed towards some interesting seasons.

Nobody noticed because the week before, BYU had lost to UCLA 27-24 and Washington had lost to Okla St (?).”

But alas, it doesn’t matter what happened the year after or even the year before. It does matter that all BYU had to do was beat a 6-5 team in December.

Lets get a playoff system in place and things like this will go away and be a thing of the past.

Barry Switzer, Oklahoma’s coach back then, kept running his mouth about how his team or at least the winner of the Okla-Wash bowl game should be ranked #1 instead of BYU. Washington won and Mr. Switzer kept his word, endorsing Washington for the top ranking.

Payback came twice:
(1) 10 years later, when BYU beat Okla by 25 points in the Copper Bowl
(2) Immediately