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No. 9 BYU in Big Easy to take on Tulane

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New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Coming off the biggest upset in Week One of the 2009 college football season, the ninth-ranked BYU Cougars now turn their attention to the Tulane Green Wave at the Louisiana Superdome on Saturday afternoon. Backed by a stout defensive effort, the Cougars took on third-ranked Oklahoma in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium last Saturday and came away with a thrilling 14-13 win. The triumph for the Cougars was their first against a non- conference opponent ranked in the Top-10 since 1990. BYU had dropped 12 straight meetings against ranked non-conference foes, so many believe this has opened the door for the Cougars to be the team to crash the BCS party this year, even though that it still several months away. Tulane, which won the first meeting between these two squads by a 41-27 score in the 1998 Liberty Bowl but then lost by a lopsided 70-35 score in August of 2001, began a three-game homestand to kick off the 2009 campaign by falling hard to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Conference USA action last Friday night by a score of 37-13. Following this game, Tulane also hosts McNeese State in two weeks and doesn't hit the road until October 3rd when it challenges Army at West Point.

LA Times: Could BYU be Mountain West's ticket into BCS?

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Brigham Young is . . . in it to win it? Bolstered by its 14-13 victory against previously third-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday, Brigham Young jumped 11 spots in the Associated Press poll and 12 spots in the USA Today coaches' index. BYU is No. 9 in the AP and No. 12 in USA Today, putting the Mountain West Conference team in position to potentially challenge for a spot in this year's Bowl Championship Series title game. - Chris Dufresne, LA Times

ESPN: Top non-AQ recruiting closers

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1. Turner Gill, Buffalo: The first thing Gill did when he took the job at Buffalo was secure the commitment of receiver Naaman Roosevelt. Since then, Roosevelt and several other high-level recruits have turned the Bulls from a non-name group into the reigning MAC champion. 2. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU: BYU is consistently among the nation’s best schools and the recent upset of No. 3 Oklahoma proves the type of talent in place. The Cougars are currently on pace for another stellar class led by quarterback Jake Heaps and defensive end Bronson Kaufusi. 3. Chris Petersen, Boise State: There’s no denying Petersen’s recruiting has maintained the level of success for the Broncos. Since taking over the team in 2006, Boise State has had two undefeated regular seasons, two WAC titles, and last year freshman quarterback Kellen Moore was a freshman All-American. 4. Kyle Whittingham, Utah: You don’t have an undefeated season in the Mountain West without a slew of talent. Whittingham has been crucial in recruiting players from both of the Utes undefeated seasons and the talent just continues to come, especially in the quarterbacking ranks and defense. - Graham Watson, ESPN

Though there has been more of a spotlight on MWC teams, would the coaches, computers and Harris...

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Though there has been more of a spotlight on MWC teams, would the coaches, computers and Harris poll voters rank undefeated BYU over, say, a one-loss Texas team that wins the Big 12 title game? Or a one-loss USC team that drops a close one in Week 2 to Ohio State? Or even a one-loss Gators team that wins the SEC? My gut feeling is no, even though there is going to be a whole lot of pressure to do it. The potential rationalizations? BYU only beat Oklahoma because Sam Bradford got hurt. FSU—a BYU opponent—is not that good. Utah is rebuilding. BYU is already better than TCU. If BYU goes undefeated, it would only be fair to give the Cougars a spot in the BCS title game. But since when has college football been fair?"

Andrea Adelson, Honolulu Advertiser

ESPN: BYU linebacker sorry Bradford got hurt

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Clawson said he's received Facebook messages from Oklahoma fans that were critical of his hit, the newspaper reported. "I think it was mostly sarcasm, but there was a few OU fans who kind of told me where to go," he said. "But I think there was sarcasm in there, though. Overall, everybody has been really good and really classy about it."

The image many will take from BYU's win over OU is that of the defending Heisman winner crumpled on...

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The image many will take from BYU's win over OU is that of the defending Heisman winner crumpled on the Cowboys Stadium turf. But Sam Bradford's shoulder injury won't take away from what was one of the most important victories in BYU's history."

ESPN - College Football Power Rankings: BYU No. 8

CC Machine: How Mistakes And Penalties Killed OU Against BYU

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"Oklahoma committed 12 penalties (10 of them offensive) on the night for 93 yards. While much has been said (including from me) about the coaching staff shouldering the blame for not having the team prepared to play I think that it should also be said that with exception to the delay of game call the coaches weren't responsible for committing a single penalty or turnover. Ultimately the team has to take responsibility for their performance and hopefully use it as motivation. The last thing that they need, or we want to see, is another performance like this." - Crimson and Cream Machine

BYU is a legitimate national title contender...Florida State is going out west to BYU and is going...

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BYU is a legitimate national title contender...Florida State is going out west to BYU and is going to get whacked."

ESPN's Colin Cowherd

Call me reactionary for putting the Cougars here [No. 6], but it sure looked like they were...

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Call me reactionary for putting the Cougars here [No. 6], but it sure looked like they were destined for a victory even before Sam Bradford got hurt. If the BCS cronies don't want a major debate, they'll have to hope Florida State, TCU or Utah knocks off BYU." - CNNSI Power Rankings

Andy Staples, Sports Illustrated

CBS Sports: Non-BCS Top 10

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1. BYU (1-0) Result: Beat No. 3 Oklahoma 14-13. As Dennis Dodd wrote, this game had far-reaching affects throughout the college football landscape. Of course, nothing was bigger than the Sooners' psyche getting driven into the turf as they face the rest of their schedule knowing they can't lose again, while not knowing how long their Heisman-winning QB will be out. Who you should know about: LB Coleby Clawson. Sure, QB Max Hall was the Walter Camp National Player of the Week, but Clawson had the hit that tilted the landscape of the season, knocking out Sam Bradford. Next: at Tulane, Sept. 12. Prognosis: No sweat. There will be a letdown, make no mistake. But if that defense keeps its ears pinned back and Max Hall keeps making good decisions, it's game over, quickly. - Eric Sorenson, Special to CBS Sports.com