FORT COLLINS, Colo. ?— BYU has started the same five offensive linemen through the first nine games of the season.
But left guard Braden Hansen suffered an MCL sprain in his knee during last week's win over UNLV, and center Terence Brown injured his knee during Tuesday's practice. Both players are listed as "probable" for today's meeting with Colorado State.
Right guard Jason Speredon said he's not concerned should the Cougars' O-line be forced to play without at least one starter against the Rams.
"You definitely get comfortable with the same guys," he said. "But in practice we rotate guys in, so it's not that foreign to have Houston (Reynolds) snap the ball or Marco (Thorson) play guard. Those are guys we trust."
The O-line's starting streak "is probably in question," said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "We practiced with five or six (offensive linemen). Three weeks to go, it'll be interesting to see if we can keep that intact. We're stretched pretty thin right now ... It's hard to make it an entire year (injury-free)."
Asked to assess the play of the offensive line this season, Mendenhall said that "especially in the run game (it) has been very effective. The protection, other than probably against Florida State (BYU gave up eight sacks), has been good enough ... Right now, we're kind of riding them in terms of the running game to help us. I think they're one of the strongest parts of the team."
LOOKING FOR A TIGHT END: Now that BYU's most productive tight end, Marcus Mathews, has been sidelined for the season with a lacerated spleen, the Cougars are hoping another tight end, such as Mike Muehlmann, Devin Mahina or Richard Wilson, emerges.
"It's still a work in progress. These tight ends have to step up," said quarterback Jake Heaps. "We've got an opportunity for them to get into passing situations. Marcus has done a great job in passing situations. He's really helped us out in that aspect.
"These guys are really going to have to step up and become overall good tight ends. I know these guys can do it. They've been showing flashes of it and I'm really excited to get them going a little bit."
TWO YEARS AGO: What does Mendenhall remember about BYU's nail-biting 45-42 victory over Colorado State in Fort Collins in 2008? He remembers one play — and it was a bad one, as far as he and his team were concerned.
BYU took a 38-35 lead with 5:49 remaining in the game on a 40-yard run by Harvey Unga. With 1:44 left, CSU scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass. That's the play Mendenhall remembers.
"We had pulled ahead a little bit and we gave up a post for a touchdown," he said. "We were down to switching (safety) Steven Thomas to corner in the game (due to injuries). I didn't remember the score or the entire game, but I remember that play just because of the time that it hit. It was impactful."
The Cougars rallied to score with 22 seconds remaining on a 17-yard game-winning touchdown pass from Max Hall to Dennis Pitta.
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