by Robert Gagliardi , Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

rgagliardi@wyomingnews.com

CHEYENNE - There are 12 games in college football's regular season, and one game rarely makes a season.

Especially the first game.

But Brigham Young knows it has a chance to make a lot of waves in the college football world in its first game.

The 20th-ranked Cougars play No. 3 Oklahoma on Sept. 5 at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. If BYU pulls the upset, it will vault up the national polls and set itself up for a run at a Bowl Championship Series bowl game.

If, of course, the Cougars win their other 11 games.

"It's a fantastic opportunity. Our team has earned the right to play in a game like this," coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "As a coach, there are a lot of things to consider in scheduling, but this was a great reward to allow our team to play in this game. We were asked to play in this game, and I think our team deserves a chance to play in that game."

Mendenhall's reasoning for why his team deserves a chance to play one of the nation's best squads is based on his teams' 32 victories over the last three years, including back-to-back undefeated conference seasons in 2006 and 2007.

The Cougars have played in the Las Vegas Bowl each of the last four years. They return a team in 2009 that includes the Mountain West Conference preseason Offensive Player of the Year in senior quarterback Max Hall, and two more preseason all-conference picks in senior tight end Dennis Pitta and junior running back Harvey Unga.

Last season didn't end well for BYU with a 48-24 loss at rival Utah and a 31-21 loss to Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl.

"I think our team has our goals set to improve and play in the manner we're capable of playing, regardless of where anyone picks us," said Mendenhall, whose team was picked to finish second in the conference by the media.

BYU's non-conference schedule also includes a home game with Florida State. The Cougars get the two teams that beat them in league play last season - Utah and TCU - at home.

But first and foremost on the minds of the Cougars is the opener against Oklahoma.

"It's hard not to get caught up in it, but it's a great opportunity for our program," Pitta said. "We're not overlooking anyone to look at Oklahoma. They're the first team we're going to play, so we're preparing for them right now.

"We've used it as motivation because (Oklahoma) played for the national championship last year. They're going to have a ton of talent. We know we have to be prepared to be ready to play at that kind of level."

Practice notes

BYU will have four new starters on the offensive line, and there have been a couple of injuries through fall camp, including a broken hand to the lone returning starter, sophomore tackle Matt Reynolds. . The Cougars return eight starters on defense, but their two starting cornerbacks could be a pair of junior- college transfers. . Junior defensive lineman Rick Wolfley, who is from Afton, recently left the team. . The Cougars must find a go-to guy at wide receiver with the departure of Austin Collie. The leading candidate is sophomore McKay Jacobson, who is back this season after a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Senior fullback Manase Tonga joined the team for practice Friday. He was academically ineligible last season.

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