BYU football is back in the national spotlight.

The Cougars -- coming off back-to-back 11-2 seasons, including a 16-0 record in the Mountain West Conference -- are the logical choice to become the latest BCS-busting program.

And head coach Bronco Mendenhall didn't exactly shy away from the great expectations when he invited BYU's student body and alumni to join the football program in "the quest for perfection" during an offseason rally.

Despite being ranked 16th in the preseason Associated Press poll, history suggests BYU will have to finish 12-0 to guarantee a BCS bid. Utah (2004 Fiesta Bowl), Boise State (2006 Fiesta Bowl) and Hawaii (2007 Sugar Bowl) all went undefeated en route to the lucrative postseason party.

Mendenhall's message to the Cougars entering the season is to ignore all of the hype and focus on going 1-0 every week.

"I'm not saying we're perfect, and I'm not saying they're individuals who don't look ahead. But collectively, our consistency the past couple of years has been focusing on the day and doing the very best we can that day, and that's really helped," Mendenhall told the Las Vegas Sun during the MWC media days last month. "I don't read the papers, I don't watch TV, I don't do any of that. And I tell them frequently that I don't, because I don't really care what other people think.

"All we're trying to do is run the very best program we can for BYU, and they have enough influences trying to pull them away, so I keep trying to bring them back, and that's usually through work ethic and what we ask."

BYU would have already played in a BCS game had the team been able to take care of its early nonconference business on the road. The Cougars' only losses over the past two seasons were at UCLA and Tulsa last year and at Arizona and Boston College in 2006.

This year's potential road block is at Washington on Sept. 6. BYU also hosts Rick Neuheisel's UCLA Bruins on Sept. 13.

And in MWC play, the Cougars must travel to play TCU and rival Utah, two very strong programs also capable of making some national headlines this fall.

"We talked about it only in the context of that's what the outside is focused on," Mendenhall said of the BCS or bust theme. "... Our eventual goal at Brigham Young is to win the national championship."

The Cougars are the only non-BCS program to accomplish that feat, winning the national title in 1984. Six years later quarterback Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy while at BYU.

"We have a great team this year. I think our focus is on staying humble, working hard and making sure we do all the right things to have a successful season," said current BYU quarterback Max Hall, who will be a viable Heisman candidate should the team realize its BCS dreams. "Sure, (the BCS) is something we think about. It's a goal we want to reach."

There are several other programs in the MWC that would also qualify for a BCS bowl with a perfect season.

Utah opens the season at Michigan and also hosts Oregon State. TCU plays Oklahoma in Norman and Stanford in Fort Worth. New Mexico gets both Texas A&M and Arizona at home.