BC's O'Brien hoping for school record against BYU

BOSTON - Ask Jolonn Dunbar about blocking an extra point in overtime to help Boston College move into the national rankings and a sly smile comes to his face.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m sorry. We&#39;re not supposed to talk about last week,&#39;&#39; he says, ever-so-politely. ``It&#39;s a thing of the past for us. T.O&#39;B.&#39;s orders.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> T.O&#39;B. is BC coach Tom O&#39;Brien, who is going into full information lockdown mode this week as the No. 23 Eagles (2-0) prepare for Brigham Young (1-1). In addition to telling his players not to talk about the Clemson victory, he&#39;s got quarterback Matt Ryan and linebacker Brian Toal keeping quiet on their injuries.<br> <br> Some of his players didn&#39;t get the memo Toal showed up from media interviews with a hospital wristband left over from his shoulder MRI but Dunbar was clear on O&#39;Brien&#39;s message.<br> <br> ``This week is BYU on the schedule,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Ryan&#39;s left leg was taped when he met with reporters on Wednesday, and for a second straight week O&#39;Brien dodged questions about whether he&#39;d have to use backup Chris Crane. Ryan did a little work in practice this week.<br> <br> ``He did nothing in practice last Tuesday, so it was better,&#39;&#39; O&#39;Brien said.<br> <br> A victory over the Cougars at Alumni Stadium would make O&#39;Brien the winningest coach in BC history. He comes into the game with a 68-42 record, tied for most wins with Joe Yukica, who went 68-37 from 1968-77.<br> <br> But for O&#39;Brien, that&#39;s just one more topic that&#39;s off-limits.<br> <br> ``I try not to think of those things,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Maybe some day I&#39;ll win another game around here.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> O&#39;Brien has won plenty since arriving in Chestnut Hill in 1997 after a gambling scandal led to the suspensions of 13 football players and the departures of the athletic director and football coach Dan Henning. Under O&#39;Brien, BC has played in seven consecutive bowl games and won six the longest such streak in the nation.<br> <br> ``I have a lot of respect for their program,&#39;&#39; BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. ``It&#39;s a very mature program. I think they know how to win. I think they know how to win close wins.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Eagles beat Central Michigan 31-24 in their opener, then moved into The Associated Press Top 25 with a 34-33, double overtime victory over then-No. 18 Clemson last week. Dunbar blocked an extra point in the second overtime to set up the win.<br> <br> ``We didn&#39;t play well and we came out with a win. I guess you look at that as a good thing,&#39;&#39; safety Jamie Silva said. ``We&#39;re 2-0, but we&#39;re eight points away from being 0-2. So we know there&#39;s a lot of work to be done.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> BYU has never come to Chestnut Hill, but BC visited Provo last year for Mendenhall&#39;s debut. The Cougars committed 10 penalties and failed to convert good drives into points while losing 20-3 to then-No. 22 Boston College.<br> <br> ``We&#39;ve come a long way since then,&#39;&#39; running back Curtis Brown said.<br> <br> After running for just 24 yards in a 16-13 loss to Arizona in their opener, the Cougars beat Tulsa 49-24 with 227 rushing yards. But BYU has not beaten a ranked team in exactly seven years, defeating No. 23 Colorado State on Sept. 16, 1999, but losing 11 straight against ranked teams since then.<br> <br> ``I think we&#39;re close enough to see it, to taste it and touch it,&#39;&#39; Mendenhall said. ``But until we do it, we still have some maturing to do that way.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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