Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
How much has Steve Sarkisian changed since the Brigham Young quarterback helped pound UNLV into submission in mid-October?
Plenty.
With the Cougars establishing a sound running game to go with Sarkisian's arm, BYU has achieved the ultimate goal of every coach -- a balanced attack.
"I'm a more patient quarterback," Sarkisian said Wednesday as the Cougars continued to prepare for Saturday's Western Athletic Conference championship game against Wyoming at Sam Boyd Stadium. "Our running game has made us a better football team overall. It's giving our defense a chance to rest and allowing us to control the clock and the tempo.
"I understand defensive fronts better and my clock management is better. It's taken a lot of pressure off of me. I don't have to make something big happen."
Because opposing defenses have to respect the job Ronney Jenkins and Brian McKenzie do running the ball, teams can't simply try to take away BYU's receivers and pressure Sarkisian. Now, it's a guessing game for the defense when Sarkisian will try to hit the big play.
"It's made our play-action game a lot more effective," he said. "Defenses can't pin their ears back."
The senior from Torrance, Calif., has had a phenomenal campaign, regardless of the Cougars' new-found running attack. He leads the nation in pass efficiency with a rating of 177.4 and is ninth in total offense, averaging 286.6 yards a game.
In two seasons at BYU, Sarkisian has an NCAA-record 6,996 yards in total offense. His numbers for 1996 rate with anyone's. He has passed for 3,777 yards, thrown for 32 touchdowns, completed 69 percent of his passes (252 of 367) and has been intercepted only 12 times.
"Steve's really developed," said BYU coach LaVell Edwards. "He actually had a good year last year with the exception of the Air Force and Utah games. This year, having one more year in the system and having two healthy tight ends (Chad Lewis and Itula Mili) has really been a plus."
So impressive has been his development, people are starting to talk about Sarkisian playing on Sundays next fall.
"Having the opportunity to play in the NFL would be a dream come true," he said. "But it's something you can't count on. Strange things do happen. Hopefully, I'll get a shot. And if I do, I'll do my best to take advantage of it."
But like his teammates, Sarkisian refuses to look that far down the road. He won't even look at the possibility of playing in the Fiesta Bowl should the Cougars win Saturday.
"We have our work cut out for us," he said. "Wyoming has a very good defense. It's pretty underrated.
"We learned a valuable lesson when we played Washington (in a 29-17 loss). We looked way too far ahead at that game. Guys were talking national championship and we got our butts kicked.
"Everyone's been pretty businesslike this week. There hasn't been any screwing around. We just get our work done and try to get out of the cold as quickly as we can."
The Cougars escape the cold today as they arrive in Las Vegas for final preparations. Sarkisian, who won a few hundred bucks the last time he was here during the summer, is hoping to hit an $8 million jackpot Saturday afternoon. That's what a Fiesta Bowl bid is worth to BYU and the WAC should the Cougars win.
"I don't think we'll need a tightrope," he said of his teammates dealing with the bright lights of the Strip. "Guys have been there before, so I don't think it'll be a problem.
"Vegas is Vegas. It'll be there next week."
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