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Miami • In a pro baseball park in San Francisco last December, BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall declared his team's season a success after a loss to Washington in a bowl game.

No way can he make that statement Monday, if the Cougars lose to Memphis in the Miami Beach Bowl at Marlins Park.

That's not to say BYU should dominate this game against a decent opponent in another fancy baseball venue, built on property once occupied by the historic Orange Bowl. As the season evolved in the American Athletic Conference, the league paired with BYU in Miami, it became clear that the conference's top-heavy nature would assure the Cougars of facing a good team.

Memphis fits that description. The Tigers have improved to 9-3 this season in a nice rebuilding job by coach Justin Fuente, who once tormented BYU as TCU's co-offensive coordinator. They're a solid, well-balanced team, comparable to any of BYU's opponents, other than Boise State.

That works in BYU's favor, actually. If the Cougars can produce a two-game package of victories against California and Memphis, they can consider this season acceptable. Successful? That would be subject to debate, again. But that label would not even be part of the discussion if the Cougars finish 8-5 with the schedule they've played in 2014 - regardless of injuries and any other factors.

BYU won four games, lost four and won four, leading into Miami. If the Cougars revert to their losing pattern in the bowl game, that would undo whatever amount of good they did in November.

The players know that, and they're motivated. Of course, this subject is becoming a story in itself. As only Mendenhall could do, he's created a unnecessary problem by coming home from a bowl news conference in mid-December and, in a meeting with his players, apparently characterizing Memphis' attitude as too confident. Mendenhall is not owning up to any such remarks, but that's the version told the very same day by senior receiver Mitch Mathews in a group interview, and why would he make up something like that?

The fallout is that Mendenhall's attempt to prod his team could end up working against him if the Cougars lose to Memphis, and he would have to live with it.

But if BYU wins, the players will deserve some credit for salvaging their season. Beating the likes of Middle Tennessee State, UNLV and Savannah State was of limited value, but the Cougars' 42-35 win over a California team that was fighting for bowl eligibility was definitely worth something. If they can follow that performance with a bowl victory, they can take satisfaction in the way they responded to their disastrous October.

That would give senior Christian Stewart a 5-3 record as a starting quarterback, and BYU would have only one loss that's really unforgivable, looking back. The Cougars lost a 28-13 lead at home against Nevada, giving up 29 straight points amid turnovers and defensive breakdowns.

Otherwise, there's not much shame in losing to Utah State, Central Florida (in overtime) or Boise State, following quarterback Taysom Hill's season-ending injury.

Stewart has done his part to make BYU's season more respectable. He needs one more solid showing and some help from an inconsistent defense to produce an acceptable ending.

Twitter: @tribkurt