Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

	AP Photo/George Frey
	Max Hall has racked up 1,845 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns this season.

Ty Detmer. Jim McMahon. Steve Young.

Max Hall.

Why not?

It's not inconceivable that BYU's junior quarterback could someday be mentioned among the greatest quarterbacks to ever play at the school.

He's already making his mark by leading his team to the nation's longest winning streak -- 16 games. He's being mentioned for the Heisman Trophy and if the Cougars keep winning, Hall might lead them to a BCS and maybe a national championship.

But first thing's first. Hall will face his toughest test Thursday when the Cougars head to TCU on a short week of practice. Because BYU doesn't do anything football-related on Sundays -- per the LDS faith -- Hall will have just a few days to prepare for the nation's best total defense, one that has stymied every opponent except Oklahoma.

But according to BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, dissecting TCU's defense is just another challenge in a long season of challenges for Hall. He said that while people like to equate Hall's success with his 1,845 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns (just four interceptions), Hall has been most successful because of the way he manages each game.

"I think Max has had six very unique and different opportunities and I think he's been able to handle them all quite well," Mendenhall said. "I think he's improved again with two main points: poise and composure, and application of our offense, those things are really where he's making most of his strides."

Hall doesn't know what it's like to lose a conference game. He's 10-0 in Mountain West play and some of that is because of his late-game heroics.

Against Utah last season, Hall was facing a fourth-and-18 from his own 12 with less than a minute remaining. Nursing a sprained shoulder, he found Austin Collie for a 49-yard gain. The Cougars went on to score the winning touchdown with 38 seconds remaining.

It's sounds like a storybook ending, but late-game perseverance has been what Hall thrives upon and he in turn passes it to the rest of his team.

"It was really just another demonstration of poise and maturity and will," Mendenhall said as he reflected on that game over the summer. "The team didn't panic. It was very poised. The year before we had to score on the last play of the game in a hard-fought contest against Utah.

"When [the Cougars] get into those situations, they are -- I'm not going to say routine -- but they just believe that they're going to be able to accomplish what they need to do at that given play to win the football game."

Few things have caused the Cougars to panic this year. Hall mans the nation's eighth-best passing offense, the team is 16th in total offense and the Cougars are scoring 37.83 points per game.

But while the first half of the season has been successful and the accolades and praise have been rolling in, Mendenhall knows that the schedule gets more difficult from here on out. Four of the Cougars final six games are on the road and every road game is against one of the top teams in the conference.

Mendenhall said the next six games should show exactly what type of quarterback Hall has become.

"I think [Hall] is just really understanding how much his play and his preparation affects the entirety of our team and I think that's his motivation," Mendenhall said. "I think the next six games will be more difficult and more testing than our first six were as they're conference games with more on the line. So I think, the biggest test of his maturity and development will come through the next six."