This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • A lot of BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy's friends and family members will make the trip over from Reno, Nev., this weekend to watch the Cougars play Nevada on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Some even play for the Wolf Pack.
"It's going to be pretty cool to go against those guys," said Van Noy, a freshman from Robert McQueen High in Reno. "That's my hometown team, so it's pretty special."
Van Noy said he played against Nevada safety Duke Williams in high school, and with kicker Anthony Martinez.
After the Wolf Pack whipped Cal 52-31 last Friday, Williams started texting Van Noy, who was in Florida, telling his friend that the Cougars were next.
"It's been low-key, but they've been doing some talking," Van Noy said.
The linebacker actually signed with BYU in February 2009, but had received a driving under the influence citation just weeks before that and was told by coach Bronco Mendenhall at the time that he would have to delay his enrollment at BYU.
Van Noy did that, attending a nearby community college last fall before joining the team last January. He has already worked his way to second-string weakside linebacker on the depth chart, behind junior Jameson Frazier.
Against Florida State last week, Van Noy got in for 20 or so plays, but was not in on a tackle.
"I think [the game] holds more meaning for the whole team, to be honest, just because I believe this is a turnaround game for us," Van Noy said. "They are on a high, they have won all three games. They are looking to beat a Mountain West team. They just knocked off a Pac-10 team. They want to be in that BCS top two. So I think this is a game where we can turn it around."
Van Noy said Nevada stopped recruiting him when it became apparent he was talking to Pac-10 schools and other college football powers.
West Virginia on schedule
BYU will meet West Virginia in a neutral-site game in 2016 at FedExField in Landover, Md., home of the NFL's Washington Redskins, both schools announced Thursday. The Cougars and Mountaineers have never met on the football field.
The Sept. 24, 2016 game will be a "unique opportunity for our fans on the East Coast to see our football team play in person," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe.
West Virginia has posted a 40-12 record during the past four seasons, while BYU has gone 43-9.
"BYU has been one of the consistently powerful programs over the last 35-40 years," said WVU athletic director Oliver Luck. "… Anybody that has played quarterback in the NCAA has enormous respect for the quarterback tradition at BYU."
Chambers update
BYU junior O'Neill Chambers, who was suspended Wednesday for two weeks by coach Bronco Mendenhall for "disciplinary reasons," wrote on his Facebook account Thursday that he is considering a transfer to another school. BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said Thursday that Chambers is not being reviewed by the school's honor code office, to her knowledge.
Nevada (3-0) at BYU (1-2)
P Saturday, 4 p.m.
TV • The Mtn.