It was a big concession for BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall to give up on his 3-3-5 defense, which was based on blitzes, in favor of the 3-4 and its zone defense principles.

How's this for irony: BYU forced six turnovers in Saturday's 52-7 victory over UNLV, four of them leading to 24 Cougar points. BYU's takeaways came on four interceptions and two fumbles. This year, the Cougar defense has a whopping 18 takeaways and the team is +10 on turnover margin.

Yes, BYU's offense is explosive and has more options than a brand-new Cadillac Escalade. But the Cougars' defense is definitely showing off its extras in 2006, too.

"I think it's how hard we play," said freshman defensive end Jan Jorgensen, who rumbled 48 yards with a fumble recovery. "We don't give up on any play and we go hard to where the ball is to create turnovers. We've been doing that all season. Also, our speed, with guys like Bryan Kehl and David Nixon at linebacker, is key to causing turnovers."

Besides Jorgensen's fumble recovery, BYU got a fumble recovery from Cameron Jensen (caused by freshman Ian Dulan) and interceptions from Justin Robinson, Ben Criddle, Cole Miyahira and Andrew Stacey. In addition, Jensen nearly had another interception and the Cougars had one forced turnover reversed by replay.

All of those freebies kept UNLV out of scoring range and set up the BYU offense to do its thing. The Cougars scored on their opening possession when quarterback John Beck connected on a 48-yard touchdown pass with tight end Jonny Harline.

"They (UNLV) blitzed right where I was running my pattern," Harline said. "I just had to make one guy miss and Matt Allen gave me a great block."

Harline straight-armed the safety and sprinted to the end zone for a 7-0 BYU lead. Short scoring runs by Beck and Curtis Brown made it 21-0 after one quarter.

UNLV (1-6 overall, 0-3 MWC) managed its only touchdown of the game on a 3-yard pass from Rocky Hinds to Casey Flair midway through the second quarter. Up 21-7, BYU scored with 2:48 to play in the half on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Beck to freshman McKay Jacobson. It was the Jacobson's first career score and led to a 28-7 halftime lead for BYU.

The second half was more of the same. Harline and Jacobson each caught their second touchdown passes to make the score 42-7 after three quarters. Brown was done after three quarters, finishing with 148 yards on 20 carries and moving into second place on the all-time BYU rushing yards list. With mainly subs in the game, BYU tacked on 10 more points in the fourth quarter, including an 87-yard touchdown run by freshman Mike Hague.

The BYU defensive performance may have overshadowed the incredibly efficient work by the offense, which scored on eight of its 11 possessions. UNLV forced one punt and had an interception in the end zone and BYU knelt on the ball the last time it had possession.

"John (Beck) continues to run one of the most high-powered offenses in the country like it's second nature," Mendenhall said. "He's poised every week and it's fun to watch."

Beck, who was 18-of-23 for 250 yards and four touchdowns, credited the defense with making his life easy against UNLV.

"A lot of times we got a short field because of the turnovers, but it also creates a lot of momentum," Beck said. "We're on the bench talking and we hear the crowd go crazy because of a turnover. Jake (Kuresa) and I were talking on the sideline about how much difference the defense is making this year playing so well. Especially close to the goal line. They're lights-out out there."

Criddle's interception, which included a nifty move near the goal line to keep his feet in bounds, was one of two times BYU turned aside UNLV inside the 20-yard line.

"I didn't predict this many turnovers, or that our defense would be playing as well as it is now," Mendenhall said. "But I'm very pleased with the turnovers and excited about the yards and points UNLV put up."

Not so pleased was UNLV coach Mike Sanford, who ripped off his headphones a dozen times to protest calls and to try and inspire his team.

Didn't work. UNLV played poorly but was also overpowered by a BYU team that did pretty much whatever it wanted in LaVell Edwards Stadium, where the Cougars are 4-0 in 2006.

Next up for BYU (5-2, 3-0) is a showdown with Air Force in Colorado Springs. The Falcons (3-3, 3-1) lost their first MWC game Saturday night, falling to previously winless San Diego State, 19-12.

Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com

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This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.