BYU and Tulane don't have much in common. The two schools have met only twice on the football field, splitting those two games. And, in terms of culture and geography, Provo and New Orleans couldn't be more different.
But when the No. 9 Cougars (1-0) and Green Wave (0-1) meet Saturday at the Louisiana Superdome, there will be plenty of familiarity — at least on the coaching staffs.
As recently as three years ago, Tulane coach Bob Toledo was an assistant coach at New Mexico under Rocky Long. Prior to that, Toledo was the head coach at UCLA, where one of his assistants was current BYU offensive line coach Mark Weber.
Green Wave offensive coordinator Dan Dodd was the offensive coordinator at New Mexico when BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was the Lobos' defensive coordinator.
Tulane's first-year defensive coordinator, Steve Stanard, was the D-coordinator at New Mexico State when Mendenhall was at New Mexico. Stanard held that position for several years at Colorado State under Sonny Lubick.
This tapestry of connections should make for an interesting chess match on Saturday.
"Bob Toledo is someone that I've known for quite some time, if not personally, by reputation and what schemes they run," Mendenhall said. "There have been plenty of opportunities to study offenses that he's coached, whether at New Mexico or UCLA. His philosophy is very sound. It's always been productive and it hasn't changed much from university to university. The core remains the same and the use of personnel becomes a little different ... The scheme uncertainty isn't nearly the same as what those might think against a new opponent. The personnel is something we don't know quite as well."
Mendenhall added that Toledo "is always known for gadgetry. There will be one, two, three, maybe more, trick plays that will happen in the game. They're always very sound and very well-coached."
Defensively, Tulane reminds Mendenhall of Colorado State.
"They're fast, they're athletic and they're solid in their fundamentals," he said. "We have a lot of respect for Steve Stanard and Bob Toledo .... We know who's coaching them and we know they're going to be prepared. That has added a sense of urgency to our preparation that's similar to any good team we play."
As a program, Tulane has struggled in recent years. The Green Wave have won as many games in the past three seasons — 10 — as the Cougars won last year. Including its season-opening loss last week at home to Tulsa, 37-13, Tulane has dropped nine consecutive games.
In that setback to the Golden Hurricane, Green Wave sophomore quarterback Joe Kemp threw for a career-high 278 yards and a touchdown in his first collegiate start. Senior wide receiver Jeremy Williams caught five passes for 139 yards, and rushed four times for 20 yards, while junior wideout Casey Robottom caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Toledo has a great deal of respect for BYU and the way the Cougars opened the season last week with an upset of then-No. 3 Oklahoma.
"I've played them many times and they are a mature football team," Toledo said. "They don't make a lot of mistakes. They're an excellent football team. They're big, they're strong, they're physical, they're athletic. They're well coached and they'll be one of the best teams in that Mountain West Conference, if not, the best team this year ... Bronco will get his team play (Saturday). They are on a mission right now and having started with a great win. They know they could quite possibly run the table and be like Utah was a year ago."
e-mail: jeffc@desnes.com