Even as BYU was taking the field Saturday for its big showdown with the Air Force Academy, Coach LaVell Edwards was still trying to make up his mind. The previous night he lay awake in bed, trying to decide whether to take the opening kickoff - should the Cougars win the opening coin toss - or defer to the third quarter, as usual. Finally, as team captain Bob Davis started to go onto the field for the coin toss, Edwards told him to accept the opening kickoff - something he hadn't done for six years.
That was the coach's first inspiration of the day. The second came just five minutes before the opening kick off, when he informed a stunned Stacey Corley, a seldom-used halfback who had returned one kickoff during his entire collegiate career, that he would return kickoffs.As fate would have it, the Cougars won the coin toss and, faster than you can say Brent Musburger, Corley returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. "Rocket Man!" the fans yelled from the stands, but hold it, there's more. In the second quarter, Corley, who was returning kicks only because of a teammate's injury, raced 85 yards for another touchdown, not to mention an NCAA record.
Is Edwards clairvoyant, or what? "Just a hunch," he said. "I wanted to try to get seven quick points. Of course, I didn't know it would take 13 seconds."
Thanks in large part to Corley's unexpected heroics, the Cougars defeated Air Force 44-35 Saturday afternoon in full view of 66,089 fans - the largest sports audience in Utah history - and a regional TV audience. It was probably their biggest victory in four years. The win put the Cougars - 8-2 overall, 5-1 in league play - in position to reclaim the Western Athletic Conference championship they surrendered three years ago. All that remains is to defeat Utah and San Diego State.
"We're in great shape," said Edwards. "It's still in our hands."
Pity the poor Falcons, who are 6-3/4-1 and once again relegated to a runner-up position behind BYU, a team they have lost to in 11 of their last 12 meetings. They lost last year's game with BYU, as well, in part because of a kickoff return for a touchdown by Tony Crutchfield.
"This is the most disappointing loss I've had at the Academy," said AFA Coach Fisher DeBerry. "We had a chance to win the championship and didn't."
"This was a sweet one to win against a very good team," said linebacker Chad Robinson.
Billed as a showdown between the Best of the West and two of the nation's top quarterbacks, the game was as advertised. BYU quarterback Ty Detmer, the leading passer in the nation, completed 16 of 27 passes for 334 yards, one interception and four touchdowns. That gives Detmer 3,875 yards this season - 696 yards shy of Jim McMahon's NCAA record - and a pass-efficiency rating of 169.2 - which, if continued, would rank as the third best single-season mark in history.
In the meantime, Dee Dowis, the most prolific running quarterback in NCAA history, had a rougher day, going against the BYU defense. He did manage to rush for 86 yards on 22 carries and complete 8 of 20 passes for 170 yards and one interception. For much of the afternoon, Dowis appeared ready to deliver an upset.
Early in the game, the Falcons, who finished with 471 yards, were running up and down the field and hogging ball possession. They scored twice in the first quarter to take a 14-7 lead, on a 6-yard run by Ron Gray and a 6-yard run by Dowis. And still they weren't finished. Safety Mike Jurries intercepted a tipped pass to set up a 25-yard Ron Wood field goal. With 12:50 to go in the half, Air Force led 17-7.
The Cougars were unable to stop Dowis. In the first half alone he converted 7-of-11 third-down plays, three times finding tight end Trent Van Hulzen on third-and-8 for gains of 12, 22 and 36 yards on separate drives. What's more, the Falcons' time-consuming offense was keeping BYU's offense off the field.
Enter Corley.
The star of last spring's game, Corley had been the odd man out this fall, both as a kick returner and a running back. He saw spot duty as halfback Matt Bellini's backup for a while, but in the previous three games he was ignored while Eric Mortensen played in his place. Against Oregon the previous week, Corley played one down, but he never touched the ball.
Early in the season Corley returned kickoffs, but he fielded just one kick, for 29 yards. After bruising a knee in the second game of the year, his return days were finished - until Saturday, when Corley was asked to replace Crutchfield, who had sore ankles.
Fielding the kick at the one, Corley charged up the center of the field, but at the 15 he veered toward the sideline, cutting inside a crushing block by Mortensen. Ron Worthington had the last shot at him but missed, and Corley, a sprinter on the BYU track team, outran Carlton McDonald to the end zone.
The Falcons kicked away from Corley a couple of times, using a high, floating "sky kick" designed to give the coverage time to get downfield. But early in the second quarter, one kick floated to Corley. "I was tired, the return call was to Eric, but it just happened to come my way," he said. Corley caught the ball near the sideline at the 15, raced straight upfield, then sliced inside to elude the pursuit.
"I got great blocking," said Corley, and he wasn't just being polite. Corley was never touched on either return.
"I am disgusted with our kick coverage team," said DeBerry.
Corley thus tied an NCAA record - held by four others - for kickoff returns for touchdowns in a single game and set a WAC record. More importantly, his second TD pulled BYU to within three points, 17-14.
"Thanks to `Rocket' Corley - that's what we're calling him now - the special teams kept us in the game," said Edwards.
Corley's return marked the turning point for BYU. A short time later the Falcons were threatening again, but on fourth-and-one at the BYU 17, Dowis was stopped for no gain by Craig Patterson, Bob Davis, Rocky Biegel and Bud Orr.
"They tried to run a quarterback sneak with a silent count, but we knew it was coming," said assistant coach Claude Bassett. "We practiced against it all week. That was a big play."
It seemed to awaken BYU's offense, which had barely had a chance to warm up. They had played just 13 plays thus far and Detmer had completed just 2 of 5 passes for 25 yards and an interception. But with 7:37 remaining in the half, he went to work. He completed 5 of 7 passes, as BYU moved 86 yards for a touchdown - a 20-yard pass to wideout Jeff Frandsen - to give BYU a 21-17 halftime lead.
Following another Air Force field goal - a 47-yarder by Wood - the Cougars resumed their offense. Working the draw trap to Fred Whittingham (nine carries, 60 yards for the day) and the passing game, they moved 70 yards in five plays. Spying the blitz, Detmer unloaded a quick pass to wideout Andy Boyce, who slipped a leg tackle and raced 25 yards for a touchdown and a 28-20 lead.
Detmer struck again minutes later. With the two Falcon safeties stationed in the middle of the field, the Cougars sent two inside receivers on corner routs right under their noses. That left the middle wide open for Whittingham, who gathered in Detmer's pass at the 30 and sprinted untouched to the end zone and a 35-20 lead. A subsequent 36-yard Jason Chaffetz field goal gave BYU a 38-20 lead with 12:15 remaining in the game.
The Falcons, who had been held to just three points in both the second and third quarters, began to rally, scoring twice in the final five minutes. Fullback Greg Johnson scored on a 4-yard run with 5:02 left - after referee Jack Baker repeatedly penalized BYU fans for making too much noise (see Benson column) - and, after the Falcons recovered an onside kick, Dowis scored on a 3-yard run with 2:10 left. But it was too late.
With one minute remaining, Detmer connected with tight end Chris Smith, who broke a tackle and to turn a 5-yard into a 45-yard touchdown.
"This win was everything," said Davis.