Sometimes, a football team needs to have a short memory. Other times, a team needs to not look too far ahead.

Focus.

It's a word college football coaches use a lot. It means concentrating on your opponent that week and not on what has happened or what is going to happen. When BYU and Tulsa meet tonight (7 p.m. MT, CSTV), the team that's more focused on the job at hand will probably win.

"I've said it many times that our next opponent is the most difficult opponent," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "It is our the most important game we play, and I don't think this game is any different."

BYU is trying to avoid the hangover that could follow from missing out on a golden opportunity to knock off a ranked team. The Cougars closed to 20-17 in the fourth quarter at No. 11 UCLA but fell, 27-17.

"It stung for a couple of days," admitted BYU junior linebacker David Nixon. "We came back to work on Monday and realized we had to put it behind us, because if you don't, another game will come and bite you."

Tulsa, which beat Louisiana-Monroe 35-17 two weeks ago, has a huge in-state battle with Oklahoma coming up on Sept. 22.

"I think they (BYU) are one of the most under-ranked teams in the country," new Tulsa head coach Todd Graham said. "They're a team that's been 11-2 and won 11 of the last 12. I see them as a top 25 team in the country. This is a deal where our kids know exactly what they're going into. This is to find out where you are. This is to measure where we're at as a program, to play a team like this. This is a great measuring stick."

BYU has never lost to Tulsa (6-0) and won last year in Provo, 49-24. Curtis Brown and Fui Vakapuna combined for 221 rushing yards as the Cougars dominated the line of scrimmage.

Nixon remembers something else.

"At one point they were beating us," Nixon said. "They're a good team that went to a bowl last year. They're a great program and we have great respect for them. They have the capability to come out and beat us."

Tulsa led 10-7 before BYU's offense got rolling in last year's game. The quarterback who led the Golden Hurricane to that lead, Paul Smith, is back for his senior year and he's a very different player than the two quarterbacks BYU has seen so far this season.

"He a great quarterback," Nixon said. "He's very mobile, the most mobile we might face all season. We're used to Willie Tuitama (Arizona) and Ben Olson (UCLA) and they pretty much just stay in the pocket. Smith likes to get out of the pocket and make plays."

In Week 1, Smith was 22-of-31 for 307 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Tulsa's win over Louisiana-Monroe. Fullback Charles Clay caught eight passes for 92 yards and Tarrion Adams rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown.

"They have a good offense and a great playmaker at quarterback," BYU senior cornerback Ben Criddle said. "We don't need to game plan as much as we just need to do our assignments and we'll make our adjustments during the game."

On the other side of the ball, the BYU offense will likely try to do what it did last year and establish a running game. Tulsa allowed 212 yards on the ground to Louisiana-Monroe, including 150 to Calvin Dawson.

Graham expects the BYU-Tulsa game to be a pretty big deal in town.

"I don't think people (fans) are waiting for the Oklahoma game," he said. "I think we're going to have great attendance for BYU. There's a lot of excitement of what we're doing. It's going to be an exciting game to watch. Both offenses are very exciting to watch and both defenses are similar in their approach. They're attacking defenses. I'd be very surprised if we didn't have a great crowd for this game."

After 20,000 BYU fans made their presence known at the 100,000-seat Rose Bowl last week, BYU is likely to have a lot less support in Chapman Stadium, which seats only 35,432.

"It doesn't matter; we could have 100 fans or whatever, we're still going to play our hearts out," said BYU sophomore wide receiver Austin Collie. "We'll still play like we're in the national championship."

Getting a kick out of Brian: Freshman walk-on Brian Smith handled kickoffs against UCLA in the second half and may see an increased role today.

"The performance on Saturday by Brian lent some confidence and credibility that he is confident and capable and that he can place the ball deep enough and accurately enough," Mendenhall said. "The kickoff portion of his game is a little bit ahead of the field goal portion in terms of accuracy and consistency."

Freshman Mitch Payne has sat out much of practice this week, but Mendenhall said he expected him to be ready for field goals and extra points today.

Only the best: The first two weeks of the season, Collie has faced two prospective All-Americans in cornerbacks Antoine Cason (Arizona) and Trey Brown (UCLA).

"I eat that stuff up, I love it," Collie said. "It gives me an extra edge and makes it more fun when you have a defensive back that highly talented. It's a battle and you're out there on island with a guy. You have to come out victorious and just go play by play."

In two games, Collie has 11 catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

Do you remember? In the fourth quarter of last year's BYU-Tulsa game, there was a 53-minute weather delay in Provo as heavy rains and lightning flashes pounded LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Ode to the familiar: Tommy Hudspeth, Tulsa's assistant director of athletics development, was BYU's head coach from 1964-71 and hired LaVell Edwards as an assistant in 1965.

What? No CSTV? The grand reopening of the newly acquired University Mall Theater (now Festival Cinemas) in Orem includes a live free showing of the BYU-Tulsa game on one of the theater's screens.

Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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