Sound, but not dominant.

 Well said, coach.

 In his typical clinical fashion, Bronco Mendenhall was succinct and accurate in his description of BYU’s 41-17 win over Northern Iowa before 64,108 on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

 At times, particularly early in the game, the Cougars looked sharp. And there were blown defensive assignments and sloppiness with the ball, which resulted in four turnovers.

 “I do know that we have a very good football team,” Mendenhall said. “I saw signs of that.”

 Those signs were evident on BYU’s first possession, during which Max Hall completed 5 of 6 passes for 68 yards and ended with a 27-yard scoring streak to Michael Reed. They also included Hall’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Harvey Unga.

 But the ugliness also was displayed in the form of losing possession on two fumbles by Hall and one each by Wayne Latu and J.J. DiLuigi. The defense also pitched in  by allowing a trick play on a 76-yard pass and then a 69-yard run by quarterback Patrick Grace.

 The special teams also was a mixed bag, allowing a blocked extra point and a O’Neill Chambers poor decision to field a punt inside BYU’s 10-yard line. The good stuff was a great Chambers return on a kick-off and Justin Sorensen’s booming kickoffs.

 “Some mistakes, but still good enough to win,” Mendenhall said.

 Aside from the trick touchdown pass, which defensive coordinator Jaime Hill called seconds before it happened, and Grace’s long run, Mendenhall was pleased with BYU’s defense. He was pleased with several new players, singling out linebacker Coleby Clawson.

  Really, the only real concern was the four turnovers. Anything close to that number will lead to disaster next week at Washington.

 For the talk that Hall has learned from his mistakes of last year, he still fumbled the ball in BYU’s end zone. And just like last season, it cost the Cougars big-time when Mark Huygens smothered the ball for a Northern Iowa touchdown.

 In defense of Hall, who had to cut short postgame interviews when he became ill, he never saw the blindside hit that caused the fumble. His other fumble came on a bad exchange with center Dallas Reynolds.

 As he did last season, Hall showed his toughness. The junior didn’t even miss one play despite taking a hit that caused his helmet to pop off and left him flat on his back.

 With Northern Iowa’s defense determined to focus on Unga and the wide receivers, the middle of the field was open for the tight ends. Dennis Pitta took advantage with 11 receptions for 213 yards.

 “The offense took what the scheme made available,” Mendenhall said.

 The fumbles, along with the blown defensive assignments, will serve to give the coaches more credibility. Mendenhall said that all the media attention the team has been receiving may have led to a casual approach in some areas.

 “Trust is built as you prepare your team,” Mendenhall said.

 In other words, maybe now the players will listen better.

 “Our coaches know what they’re doing,” Unga said.

 All in all, BYU was good enough. In a game like this against an obvious inferior opponent, there’s no sense in getting nervous over the mistakes.

 No matter how much the coaches praised Northern Iowa, the Cougars still knew the facts. But at the same time, the facts are Saturday’s performance won’t cut next week in Seattle.

 “Maybe this was a good wake-up call,” said defensive end Jan Jorgensen.

 Click on the following names to hear the post game interviews:

Bronco Mendenhall

Jan Jorgensen

Harvey Unga