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Provo • Having grown up in the Dallas area playing high school football for Southlake Carroll, receiver McKay Jacobson is more familiar with University of Texas football than any other player on BYU's team, with the possible exception of linebacker Brandon Ogletree, who played at McKinney, a bit north of there.
Jacobson is telling his teammates what to expect on Saturday, when the Cougars travel to Royal-Memorial Stadium to take on the 1-0 Longhorns (5 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) in front of more than 101,000 people.
"A lot of the big-time recruits will go to Texas, or OU, or things like that," Jacobson said Tuesday. "There is just a lot of tradition, a lot of history. They've been very successful over the last many, many years. It is just a great program."
Jacobson said he grew up a BYU fan but had plenty of respect for Texas and the Big 12. He was recruited some by Texas, attending Junior Day and even a few passing camps in Austin.
"I have some good memories from going down there," he said. "And I am just excited to head down there again."
Jacobson had two catches for 25 yards Saturday against Ole Miss, and he would like to surpass those numbers against the Longhorns.
"I love watching the Big 12, and I would always watch those local [Texas] games on TV," he said. "It has been something I have always wanted to do. I have always grown up, and in high school, looking at the college level and wanting to be out there and doing those things. So I am definitely excited."
Mendenhall's moments
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said he has visited Austin only once, and it is a memory he would like to forget. He was a defensive back on an Oregon State team that was crushed 61-16 by Texas in 1987, just two weeks after BYU had gone to Austin and defeated Texas 22-17.
Still, the coach said it will be a "great experience" for his team to play in front of what is expected to be the largest crowd to ever watch a BYU football game.
"When you consider who are the 'haves' in college football, in terms of the glitter and the budget, etc., you probably think of Texas and Oregon, in terms of the number of resources they have," he said.
Nothing bigger than Texas
In addition to Mendenhall and Jacobson, linebacker Jordan Pendleton and center Terence Brown attended Tuesday's news conference. All four BYU representatives said that on film, Texas looks faster, deeper and more talented than Ole Miss.
Mendenhall said Texas "has more diverse schemes, offensively and defensively [than BYU's first opponent]. We will see a little bit better player, and we will also see the next tier just in terms of variety of things to either block or defend. It will be a more difficult test than our first one."
Briefly
Brown, BYU's senior center, said he and quarterback Jake Heaps got their issues worked out with some poor snaps that fluttered back to Heaps, and said he doesn't believe it will be a problem the rest of the season. … Mendenhall said the Cougars came out of the Ole Miss game relatively healthy. Ogletree is day-to-day with a mild concussion, but running back Joshua Quezada is back after experiencing severe headaches in the opener.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at Texas
P Saturday, 5 p.m. MDT
TV • ESPN2