BYU football fans may have wanted a bigger point spread, but the Cougars' 21-3 victory over New Mexico on Saturday was exactly the kind of game Bronco Mendenhall loves.

Defensive-minded coaches often find beauty where others see ugliness.

"Many will look at the score and wish it had been more," Mendenhall said, "but I wouldn't have changed a thing. It was a physical, hard-fought game, and we won it inch by inch, foot by foot."

There were some tense moments for the 64,105 in LaVell Edwards Stadium -- the 10th consecutive sellout in Provo -- especially when it appeared underdog New Mexico (3-4 overall, 1-2 MWC) had scored a touchdown with seven minutes left in the game to pull within 14-9. But a block-in-the-back penalty (replays showed the call was marginal at best) took the score away and BYU eventually forced a turnover on downs.

Ninth-ranked BYU (6-0, 2-0) earned the deciding score with an 11-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in an 8-yard scoring pass from Max Hall to Austin Collie, who set a career high with 162 receiving yards.

"I got the guys together on the sideline and said, 'We've got to score on this drive to put the game away,' " said Hall, who was 22-of-34 for 273 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

That BYU needed a final drive was an indication of the effectiveness of New Mexico's game plan. The Lobos controlled the clock with their running game and frustrated BYU's offense by playing a lot more zone coverage than anticipated. Ultimately, New Mexico went deep into the fourth quarter with a shot at knocking off a Top 10 team.

New Mexico coach Rocky Long, who was furious about the penalty call that took away the touchdown, showed how much the game meant to him when he chose to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Lobos own 15 in the first quarter, and his team converted.

"I'm not here to talk about BYU, enough people talk about BYU," Long said in the post-game news conference. "We came here to win, not to keep it close."

The Lobos took an early 3-0 lead, capping a 65-yard drive that took 5:35 off the clock. BYU responded with a 10-play, 95-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard scoring pass from Hall to tight end Andrew George. The Cougars failed to capitalize on Jan Jorgensen's fumble recovery at the end of the half when freshman Justin Sorensen missed a 50-yard field goal.

BYU made it 14-3 in the third quarter on George's second scoring catch of the day, an 11-yarder. But the Lobos had one last fourth-quarter surge, taking 14 plays to reach the BYU 11 before the fateful penalty call nullified the touchdown.

BYU managed to extend all of its streaks -- 18 straight Mountain West Conference victories, 16 consecutive wins overall and 16 straight victories in LaVell Edwards Stadium. Fans may have had to sit in the cold much longer than expected before they could relax and drive home, and Top 25 voters may wonder what's up in Cougar Town, but BYU coaches and players were unified in the "we got a win" mantra.

"I think the UCLA game spoiled us a little," Hall said. "We're not going to win every game 59-0. If it's 21-3, I'll take that every time."

Harvey Unga rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries for the Cougars, and four players -- David Nixon (11), Jan Jorgensen (11), Kellen Fowler (10) and Scott Johnson (10) -- had double digit tackles. BYU also won the turnover battle, 2-0.

The Cougars have little time to celebrate with a Thursday night game at TCU up next. The Horned Frogs edged Colorado State 13-6 in Fort Collins on Saturday.

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