PROVO — Something happened to BYU safety Quinn Gooch on his way to finishing the season in acceleration mode.
After posting what head coach Bronco Mendenhall called the best performance by a Cougar safety against Air Force in Provo, a hamstring muscle he'd been nursing along suddenly drew taut as a drum, hugging his bone so tight he was severely hobbled.
The cramp, which came on midweek before the UNLV game, brought excruciating pain. He tried to make a comeback last week, but his leg went through a spasm so severe he was taken to the hospital emergency room. An MRI showed his muscle had balled up into a bump on his leg.
"They tried to get it to release, but it got worse and worse. The drugs they gave me didn't work."
The cramp is a mystery to Gooch. Why it came on so hard is something he can't figure out. He did not travel to the UNLV game.
"I don't know why," Gooch said Tuesday after sitting out his second practice of the week. If Gooch can't practice today or Thursday, he admits it wouldn't be fair to expect any playing time over those who have prepared for Wyoming Saturday — and he wouldn't be ready even if his leg felt OK.
"I'm not sure when I'll be cleared. The head trainer and I need to talk to see what's going on. But I feel OK now."
Gooch said the injury came along at the worst possible time for him. "I'm trying to be positive. It's still day to day."
"He was pursuing the ball in practice when it happened," Mendenhall said. "It's not a tragedy as much as it is a setback. In this game there're different adversities that hit every day, and tragedy is too strong of a word. He'll work diligently to step up, and the next player performed well.
"If there's one thing we've learned as a team, day in and day out and week after week this season, especially in the secondary, there are tremendous opportunities for people to step up and play. Through all this, we've been able to prepare a lot of players, played different players in different combinations of lineups, and I'm not sure that hasn't made us a better football team going down the stretch."
Mendenhall said BYU's six interceptions the past two games on defense is the result of a continued sustained effort, scheme changes and playing offenses that have struggled avoiding turnovers.
"The effort has been the same," Mendenhall said. "So has the attention in practice to get turnovers."
But going down the wire late in the season, with what is at stake (a winning record and a bowl game) has forced the Cougars to execute better on defense. "It still takes execution at the right time with the right scheme against an opponent."
Two first-half interceptions by BYU's defense at UNLV proved key in separating the Cougars and Rebels, Mendenhall said. The short fields given to the Cougar offense made a huge difference in the game.
COWBOY FEVER: The Cougars expect a dogfight in Laramie with a Wyoming squad bent on correcting a four-game losing skid. After leaving Florida with a loss, the Cowboys won four straight over teams with a combined losing record of 11-24. Their four straight losses have come to teams who are a combined 31-15. Wyoming coach Joe Glenn told the Rocky Mountain News this week: "We've got a chance for a winning season but not if something doesn't change drastically," coach Joe Glenn said. "We've got to answer, we've got to battle and we've got to make some plays."
UTE-COUGAR KICKOFF: ESPN and the MWC announced the kickoff time for Utah's game at BYU on Nov. 19, the season finale for both teams. The Cougars and Utes will face off at 1 p.m. in LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Cougars on the air
BYU (5-4, 4-2) at Wyoming (4-5, 2-4)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
TV: KSL Regional Radio: 1160 AM; 102.7 FM
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com