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✦ TOP STORYLINES: NOTRE DAME VS. BYU Oregon State Oct. 13 before making the trip to Notre Dame. Which team will better sustain a con- sistent mental framework and physical strength over those three weeks? DEFENSIVE MENTALITY On paper, this has the makings of an- other defensive tussle in Notre Dame Stadium like the ones earlier this year at home against Michigan (13-6) and Stan- ford (13-13 in regulation before the Irish won in overtime). Notre Dame's defense has not permitted a touchdown in 16 straight quarters — the most since the school record 23 in 1980 — and remains second nationally in scoring defense at 8.67 points allowed per game, behind only Alabama's 7.50. Until last weekend, BYU was right behind Notre Dame in scoring defense with an 8.83 average, but a 42-24 loss to No. 8 Oregon State dropped it to seventh (13.57). Still, the 4-3 Cougars identity remains on defense. • No. 3 in rushing defense (67.86 yards allowed per game) after allowing 118 yards against the Beavers last weekend. • No. 5 in total defense (260.86 yards surrendered per game) after allowing 450 versus Oregon State. • No. 26 in pass efficiency defense, though Oregon State backup quarterback Cody Vaz completed 20 of 32 throws for 332 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions versus the Cougars. Nevertheless, BYU did not permit a touchdown in four of its first six games. The lone score by Boise State in its 7-6 victory over BYU Sept. 20 came on nose guard Mike Atkinson's 36-yard intercep- tion return for a touchdown. Brigham Young became renowned as a national power under College Football Hall of Fame head coach LaVell Edwards (1972-2000) with a prolific aerial attack (see sidebar), highlighted by the 1984 na- tional title. However, longtime defensive coordina- tor Bronco Mendenhall, who has fash- ioned a 70-27 record (.722 winning per- centage) since taking over as the Cougars' head coach in 2005, has redefined the pro- gram's identity. legeFootballNews.com ranked BYU second to only Miami for that title (Notre Dame was seventh), but that was based mainly on the Cougars' amazing run from 1976-96: • Gifford Nielson was a first-team All-American who finished sixth in the 1976 Heisman QUARTERBACK U.? Many schools can claim a "Cradle of Quarterbacks" moniker. As recently as 2004, Col- Trophy balloting. • Marc Wilson was third in the 1979 Heisman vote while setting 10 NCAA records. • Jim McMahon set 70 NCAA records while twice placing in the top five of the Heisman balloting in 1980-81. • Steve Young, in 1983, joined Wilson and McMahon as winners of the Sammy Baugh Trophy, awarded to the nation's top passer, and he was second in the Heisman. • Robbie Bosco was third in the Heisman in both 1984 and 1985, and steered the drive to the 1984 national title. • Ty Detmer set 62 NCAA records and edged out Notre Dame's Rocket Ismail for the 1990 Heisman Trophy. • Current Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian also won the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1996. "They are not as big and long as Stan- ford's players, but play just as hard and just as physical," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said. "A little quicker, maybe a little bit better in space than the Stanford play- ers, but play a very similar scheme." The last time Notre Dame hosted BYU, in 2005, quarterback Brady Quinn tossed a school-record six touchdown passes — four to wideout Maurice Stovall, who set another single-game Irish record — in a 49-23 Irish victory. Such an offensive output is less likely to occur this time. LIFE OF RILEY Fifth-year senior quarterback Riley Nel- Junior linebacker Keith Van Noy was named to Phil Steele's second-team mid-season All-America squad after leading BYU in tackles for loss (11.5), sacks (7.5) and forced fumbles (three) in the first six games. PHOTO COURTESY BYU The veteran defense returned eight starters from last year's unit that finished 13th in the country in total defense. It is spearheaded by an aggressive corps of linebackers that starts with Kyle Van Noy, Uona Kaveinga, Spencer Hadley and Brandon Ogletree. Playmaking outside linebacker Van Noy was named to Phil Steele's second-team mid-season All-America team. He leads the Cougars in tackles for loss (11.5), sacks (7.5) and forced fumbles (three) — while also breaking up five passes and hurrying eight others. Hadley is right behind in tackles for loss — Lou Somogyi (7.5) and sacks (3.5). Kaveinga is a trans- fer from USC, while Ogletree, a candidate for the Lott IMPACT Award (top senior defender on and off the field) with Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, was the top tackler with 57, including six for lost yardage to go with four passes broken up. ✦ PAGE 9 son has had a Tommy Rees-like career at Brigham Young. Like Rees supplanting five-star quarter- back Dayne Crist at Notre Dame, the less heralded Nelson leapfrogged five-star re- cruit Jake Heaps at BYU while providing a spark to the offense. Interestingly, both Crist and Heaps are now at the University of Kansas, playing for former Irish head coach Charlie Weis. Like Rees, the 6-0, 199-pound Nelson doesn't strike an imposing figure but has been admired by teammates for his moxie and game management. A back injury to Riley against Weber State Sept. 8 sidelined him for two games and led to the insertion of Taysom Hill, the team's leading rusher (55 carries for 336 yards and four touchdowns) through six games. But a season-ending knee injury to Hill in the closing seconds of a miscom- municated "victory formation" against Utah State Oct. 5 has put Nelson back into the spotlight. In an inverse situation of Rees, Riley has not been as effective this year as last, in- cluding eight interceptions in 160 attempts (one per 20 tosses). ✦