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BYU opens camp Saturday. Let us take a look at three burning questions:

1. Can the Cougars be a national player? BYU ended the season on a hot streak and brings back nearly everybody on offense. There has been a shift in philosophy with new offensive coordinator Brandon Doman. Everybody expects Jake Heaps to be infinitely better this season than he was last. Now BYU has the perfect opportunity to prove all that on a national stage in Year 1 as an independent. The season starts with games at Ole Miss and Texas, then home games against Utah and UCF. Plenty of opportunity to grab some headlines early.

2. Who gets the ball? I mentioned Heaps above -- now who does he get the ball to? BYU has a wealth of riches at the skill positions. JJ DiLuigi, Bryan Kariya and Josh Quezada all return in the backfield; Cody Hoffman and McKay Jacobson return at receiver. Add in highly touted receiver Ross Apo and tight end Devin Mahina, and you have got plenty of options to get this offense back to what is expected with the Cougars.

3. Leaders on defense. BYU loses six starters from its defense, but there are plenty of talented players ready to fill in. Linebacker Jordan Pendleton is back and healthy after sitting out a chunk of last season with a knee injury and has stepped into a leadership role. Tackle Romey Fuga returns from an injury as well, and safety Travis Uale is back. There are big losses, though. The top three tacklers from last season are gone. Coach Bronco Mendenhall hopes to replace Andrew Rich with Daniel Sorensen and Shane Hunter with Uona Kaveinga. Both had impressive springs and could make this unit even better.

We saw a different BYU offense in the second half of the season, one that actually scored points, moved the ball and had one quarterback. The way the Cougars struggled early in 2010 was painful to watch at times, but here are three reasons they will be better from the start of 2011.

1. Jake Heaps is the starter. No question waffling between Heaps and Riley Nelson severely hampered the way BYU played. The Cougars started 1-4 for the first time since 1973 and ranked No. 96 in the nation in total offense. They turned it around in the second half of the season and ended on a tear. Now, Heaps is firmly entrenched as the starter and has one year under his belt. He will be more comfortable in the offense, and BYU will have one true leader.

"The volume he received in spring ball was helpful for him with his reads," new BYU offensive coordinator Brandon Doman said. "Quarterbacks are the last line of defense, and we gave him the ability to audible and change plays. By the time we're done with 29 practices in fall camp, he will be a wise and veteran guy."

2. Doman is in. BYU fans became increasingly disenchanted with offensive coordinator Robert Anae last season because of his questionable play calling and predictability on offense. Coach Bronco Mendenhall felt it was time for a fresh start for his offense, so he promoted Doman from quarterbacks coach. You can expect a return to a more BYU-traditional offense this season.

"As we launch forward, teams will consider us to be a West Coast offense," Doman said. "We will be under center more often, run play-action stuff that we’ll build into our passing game. That’s a skeleton of who we are. I think people will look at it and say this looks like BYU of the early '90s and '80s."

Heaps is your prototypical dropback passer, so expect to see three-, five- and seven-step drops in a progression-type offense. But BYU also has the ability to do no-huddle from the shotgun. Variability is the key, and so is being less predictable. With Doman in charge, you can expect something old-but-new from this offense.

3. Depth. The Cougars are loaded everywhere. At receiver, they have McKay Jacobson and Cody Hoffman back, and have high hopes for Ross Apo, whom Doman calls "as talented a receiver our school has ever had." The 6-foot-3, 202-pound Apo redshirted last season after injuring his finger and is expected to be a big-time contributor. At running back, JJ Di Luigi, Josh Quezada and Bryan Kariya all return. Di Luigi was the most consistent player on offense last season. Quezada really turned heads this spring with his ability to run and catch out of the backfield. "He showed he's going to be a bona fide running back in this program." The offensive line returns four starters, including All-America candidate Matt Reynolds at tackle. There also are potential young contributors in Houston Reynolds, Matt's younger brother, and highly touted freshman Ryker Matthews.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall generally shies away from using the word “best” to describe anything. But he couldn’t help himself when asked about how his team fared this spring.

“If we’re looking for adjectives to describe who they are, this team loves to compete, they love to have fun they’re very talented and we have more depth in the six years that I’ve been the coach here,” Mendenhall said in a phone interview Thursday.

“I would say it’s been the best spring not only from the standpoint of what we got accomplished but possibly where our team is coming out of spring. I’m very optimistic.”

There is plenty of reason for optimism as BYU begins its first season as an independent. The Cougars return 19 starters and have a much more solid foundation today than at this time last season. They also have an identity, something that was missing going into 2010. Part of the reason is because Mendenhall was undecided on his starting quarterback, and played both Jake Heaps and Riley Nelson.

The team struggled to a 2-5 start before closing on a big-time tear and dominating UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl. Mendenhall revamped his coaching staff in the offseason, promoting Brandon Doman to offensive coordinator while deciding to stay on as defensive coordinator after assuming that role midway through last season.

Just as important, Heaps is the definitive starter at quarterback. He and his young teammates are simply more mature.

“We were all disappointed the season was over after our bowl game because we were making progress,” Mendenhall said. “I was hopeful to see that same thing happen in spring practice and that happened. We didn’t lose ground. We picked up where we left off. I was really happy they were so anxious to compete with each other and the fun they were having -- sometimes spring isn’t a time to bring out a heightened sense of competition but that’s the way it went.”

Indeed, the spring game last week went into overtime. After Nelson ran for a score and hit Bryan Sampson for the 2-point conversion, the winning White team carried its coach for the game, Paul Tidwell, off the field.

That speaks to the competitiveness, and BYU is going to need that as it faces a tough opening stretch with games against Ole Miss, Texas and Utah. The biggest holes to fill are on defense, where safety Andrew Rich is gone. Rich led the team in tackles, interceptions, pass breakups and forced fumbles last season and was named AllMWC first team.

But the Cougars feel they have somebody to step right in and make an impact. Daniel Sorensen has returned from his mission and had a nice spring. USC transfer Uona Kaveinga is penciled in to start at middle linebacker and also flashed during the spring.

The front seven is the unquestioned strength of the defense, with talent and depth. Defensive tackle Romney Fuga missed the spring as he rehabbed from a knee injury but is expected to return along with Eathyn Manumaleuna, Matt Putnam and Jordan Richardson.

Offensively, BYU got a boost when tackle Matt Reynolds decided to return to school instead of leaving for the NFL. The running back group is deep with Bryan Kariya, JJ DiLuigi and Josh Quezada, and so are the receivers with Cody Hoffman, McKay Jacobson and Ross Apo.

“As we finished last year’s season, that identity has formed the basis for what they see going forward,” Mendenhall said. “It took a lot of seasoning to get to that point. That’s why we’ll play with a clearer sense of resolve and identity than we had.”

Now that bowl season is over, what did we learn about the non-AQs?

1. The Mountain West still rules. The conference finished 4-1 in bowl play and won the Bowl Challenge Cup for the second straight season and fourth time in the past seven. The only loss: Utah to Boise State. Two of the four wins came against teams from automatic qualifying conferences: Air Force over Georgia Tech and TCU over Wisconsin. TCU finished No. 2 after going 13-0, its best finish since winning the national championship in 1938. Boise State joins the conference for 2011 before TCU leaves in 2012. Despite the great record, there still appears to be a long road ahead for the league to become an automatic qualifying conference.

2. BYU looking good. The Cougars’ struggles this season were well documented, but after an impressive 52-24 win over UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, there are definite signs that 2011 could be another 10-win season. Jake Heaps threw for 264 yards and four touchdowns, Cody Hoffman had 137 yards receiving and three touchdowns, and Josh Quezada added 101 yards and a score on the ground. All three return, along with all important left tackle Matt Reynolds. BYU got a much-needed boost with the promotion of Brandon Doman as offensive coordinator. The defense also has some young talent returning, and coach Bronco Mendenhall got the unit to play much better after he became coordinator. So everything appears to be in place as BYU heads into its first season as an independent.

3. Nevada for real. The Wolf Pack turned in the best season in school history, and the most unexpected season of the non-AQs. They had won one game over a team from an automatic qualifying conference before this season. But in 2010, they won two, capping it with a 20-13 win over Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. It’s just too bad more voters were not aware of their accomplishments this season. There is no reason this team should be ranked outside the Top 10.

4. Tough showing for C-USA. Tulsa scored more points than anybody during the bowl season in its 62-35 win over Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, and UCF posted its first bowl win with a victory over Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. But otherwise, there was not much to praise about the C-USA bowl performance. UTEP and East Carolina looked as if they did not belong in a bowl game. Southern Miss blew a 21-7 lead to a 6-6 Louisville team in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, and SMU looked totally lackluster in its loss to Army in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. The bright side, of course, is that UCF and Tulsa ended the season ranked.

5. Sun Belt did well. This was the first season the Sun Belt had three bowl tie-ins, and the league did well for itself, going 2-1. All three games were against MAC competition -- FIU and Troy won their games, while Middle Tennessee lost to Miami (Ohio). FIU showed off the potential future of the league with its thrilling win over Toledo with no time left in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Panthers won a share of their first league title, and this could be the season that vaults them to the top of the league for years to come.

You saw the preview and prediction, now here are three keys for BYU and UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday:

BYU (6-6)

1. Establish the run. JJ Di Luigi, Josh Quezada and Bryan Kariya have done a good job all season. The trio has combined for 16 of the team’s 20 rushing touchdowns. Now they have an opportunity to go out with a big game against a team ranked No. 90 against the run. Getting the running game going will help open up the play-action pass and get Jake Heaps into more manageable situations.

2. Heaps record watch. It has been an up-and-down year for the true freshman, who came in as one of the most highly touted quarterback prospects in the country. But he is the first freshman ever to start a bowl game for the Cougars in program history and is three touchdown passes away from breaking Ty Detmer’s school freshman record of 13. He has thrown for two or more touchdowns just three times this season.

3. Keep up the defensive pressure. BYU is a totally different unit with Bronco Mendenhall in charge of the defense. All of a sudden, teams are having a hard time scoring on the Cougars. They are playing more aggressive and more disciplined, and that is going to have to continue against the Miners.

UTEP (6-6)

1. Establish Kris Adams. He is the go-to guy for Trevor Vittatoe, and like a lot of players on the team, he has fought through injury. If UTEP can establish him as a deep threat, the Miners will be able to stretch the field and come up with the big plays they really need. Of course, much of this is predicated on how healthy Vittatoe is in this game.

2. Don’t make silly mistakes. UTEP has a negative turnover margin, and cannot afford to make many mistakes against a team that rarely makes them. If the Miners are going to have any chance at pulling the upset, they are going to have to play a near perfect game.

3. Get after Heaps. Easier said than done. The Miners are one of the worst teams in FBS when it comes to sacks, with only 14 this season. But they are going to have to get pressure on Heaps to get him off his rhythm and potentially force him into mistakes. Heaps has been much better at protecting the football in the second half of the season, but he still has some problems adjusting when teams blitz. If UTEP can disguise its fronts and coverages with a healthy mix of blitzes, the Miners have a chance.