Tie third, BYU

Brigham Young

2005 record: 6-6

2005 MW record: 5-3

2006 predicted record: 7-5

Predicted bowl game: Fort Worth Bowl, BYU vs. UTEP

Head coach: Bronco Mendenhall, second

Last bowl appearance: 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, lost to Cal 38-25

QUARTERBACK: BYU ended a streak of three straight losing seasons with a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl as the Cougars returned to the postseason behind first-team All-MWC quarterback John Beck. BYU averaged 33.0 points and 462 yards per game. Beck is a two-time all-conference pick with 26 starts under his belt. He finished first in the MWC and fifth in the nation with 309.1 yards passing a game. He threw for 3,709 yards and 27 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 64.5. In addition to experience on the field, Beck has the advantage of maturity off it after serving two years on a church mission in addition to beginning his fifth season in the BYU program.

RUNNING BACK: Senior running back Curtis Brown joins Beck as a returning first-team pick on the 2005 All-MWC team. He was a 1,000-yard rusher last year with 1,123 yards and 14 touchdowns. His ability to run the ball was emphasized by the new coaching staff as Brown’s total ranks as the fifth best single-season total in BYU school history. He’s a dual threat as a receiver, catching 53 passes for 454 yards and two touchdowns. Brown has been so durable and reliable there isn’t an experienced back behind him, but the coaching staff likes the future of Wayne Latu, Joe Semanoff and Maanase Tonga. They all saw spot duty in 2005.

RECEIVERS: Receiver is the third phase of the BYU offense that returns a first-team all-conference player with junior tight end Jonny Harline in addition to Beck at quarterback and Brown at running back. Harline led the team in catches last year with 63 and in yards with 853, including three 100-yard games. BYU also likes it depth at tight end with senior Daniel Coats and promising sophomore Vic So’oto behind Harline. Among the wideouts, the leading returner is Nate Meikle, a second-team academic All-American. He caught 36 passes last year for 292 yards. Other returning receivers with experience are Matt Allen (21 catches), Michael Reed (18 catches) and Zac Collie (11 catches).

OFFENSIVE LINE: The BYU offensive line doesn’t feature a first-team all-conference pick, but a second-team choice and three returning starters are good building blocks. Jake Kuresa, a 6-4, 339-pound tackle, was a second team choice last year. The other two returning starters are Eddie Keele and freshman All-American Dallas Reynolds. In addition, Terence Brown saw extensive playing time in a backup role a year ago. Ray Feinga and Travis Bright are two backups who saw playing time and are competing for a starting job at guard.

DEFENSIVE LINE: BYU has traditionally scheduled a tougher non-conference slate than other MWC teams because of its ability to play defense. But that wasn’t the case last year as the Cougars lost to two ranked teams in Notre Dame and Boston College and wouldn’t have finished with a 6-5 record and t a bowl bid without a win over Division I-AA Eastern Illinois and a 5-3 mark within conference. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who doubles as defensive coordinator, has scrapped the 3-3-5 for a 3-4 defense this year. BYU will be green up front after losing three starters and five of their top six on the depth chart. Hala Paongo is the veteran after playing in 12 games last year, including a start in the Las Vegas Bowl.

LINEBACKERS: The linebacker corps will be the strength for the Cougars. Cameron Jensen was the only BYU player named on first- or second team on defense, but senior Justin Luettgerodt joins him as honorable mention last season as a junior. Jensen led the team in tackles for the second straight year as a middle linebacker. There also is experience with Markell Staffieri having played in 12 games last year. He made two starts and responded when pressed into duty against San Diego State with 12 tackles.

SECONDARY: Like the defensive line, the secondary is short on returning starters. The veteran is Corby Hodgkiss at safety. He finished with 26 tackles and two sacks last year. He will hold down one safety spot while Quinn Gooch and David Tafuna will compete to start alongside him. The Cougars will rely on Justin Robinson and Kayle Buchanan to take over as starting cornerbacks after seeing extensive playing time a year ago. Robinson moved into the starting role the second week and finished with 11 starts. He led the team in pass breakups with 10. Buchanan was a starter for five games.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Cougars return both their punter and place-kicker. Jared McLaughlin hit 14-of-19 field goals last year. He was automatic inside the 40-yard line as he connected on 11-of-11 tries. Punter Derek McLaughlin (no relation) transferred from Washington and averaged 40.0 yards a punt in his first year back from a church mission.