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Provo • What a difference an embarrassing 21-point loss makes.

Having said last week that BYU's system of rotating quarterbacks, designed to give junior Riley Nelson and freshman Jake Heaps equal playing time, could go on the entire season, coach Bronco Mendenhall said Monday the rotation for the rest of the season will be based more on specific situations and the strengths and weaknesses of opponents.

"It will probably move away from the every-other-series mode and the reps might become more situational," Mendenhall said, noting he had a rare meeting with his offensive coaches Monday morning to discuss the offense's ineptitude in Saturday's 35-14 loss at Air Force.

The coach said it is "too early" to give a definitive answer on how the playing time will be distributed on Saturday when the Cougars take on Florida State (1:30 p.m. MDT, ESPNU) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, but appeared to be leaning toward giving Heaps, a better passer, more plays against the 1-1 Seminoles.

Heaps was benched the entire second half against Air Force after throwing a late first-half interception, but Nelson was unable to move the offense in the final 30 minutes as Air Force put eight defenders in the box and dared the run-oriented lefty to beat it with the pass. The Cougars had just 88 passing yards against the Falcons, their lowest passing total since 2003.

"We need to throw the ball more effectively than we currently are," Mendenhall acknowledged when asked if Oklahoma's success throwing the ball against FSU in a 47-17 win in Norman could impact his own quarterbacking decision. "The Washington game [a 23-17 BYU win] was more representative of the balance that I think we're hoping to get. In order to beat Florida State, it will have to be more toward the first [game] plan than the second [game] plan. Again, it is still in formative stages."

Mendenhall repeated he has given the "power" to determine which quarterback plays to offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman. However, he said he gave the assistant coaches "a bigger-picture perspective" in Monday's meeting and talked with them about the challenges of having quarterbacks with drastically different styles.

"I am closer in having an opinion this week than I was the week before," Mendenhall said when asked if he would ever step in and tell the assistants what to do. "I think it will be that way as the season goes on, as I get to see our team play and get to see the identity of this team come out. … After not thinking that it would be that way, it certainly could."

And what might that opinion be?

The coach wasn't specific, but referred back to his earlier statement about potentially ditching the every-other-series formula for a more situational approach.

"If I were to [compare] the two quarterbacks right now, [Nelson] would be a little bit more mature in terms of grit and leadership and command of the team, and [Heaps] has the potential of really throwing the football and being more of a kind of traditional BYU quarterback, which is no surprise to anybody. I think [that] more situationally now, against which teams we're playing, might start to determine how the quarterbacks are used and emphasized."

While explaining why Heaps wasn't used in the second half against Air Force, Mendenhall mentioned Heaps' youthfulness and said "it just seemed wise to protect him a little bit in that game."

drew@sltrib.com Twitter: @drewjay —

Saturday's game

P BYU (1-1) at Florida State (1-1), 1:30 p.m., TV • ESPNU