While BYU was getting upset in Oregon a couple of Saturdays ago, a former Cougar quarterback was making headlines elsewhere. Two weeks ago at Stanford, Ralph Martini completed 23 of 32 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns as his Spartans upset the Cardinal 29-23.
You don't remember Ralph Martini? Think tight end. Martini is the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder who was recruited by BYU as a quarterback in 1986 but got his position switched that year when tight ends suddenly became a scarce commodity in Provo. He caught a couple of touchdown passes that year, but the next season he returned to quarterback, as a redshirt.Also redshirting that season, however, was this recruit out of Texas named Detmer, and Martini suddenly saw a return to tight end in his future. He didn't want to catch passes, he wanted to throw them, so he transferred to San Jose State.
"No knock at BYU," Martini told the San Francisco Examiner. "It's a great school. I loved it. But I thought I'd be better off somewhere else."
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SHOTGUN STORY: Some Cougar fans have wondered why BYU doesn't line up in shotgun formation in obvious passing downs, to give Detmer a little more time to throw. It hasn't been used yet this season, but according to BYU center Bob Stephens, the team knows how. "We do work on it in practice," Stephens said. "I like it, but I don't think Ty (Detmer) feels comfortable with it."
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY: BYU Coach LaVell Edwards turns 60 today, but he's still not thinking retirement. "Five years ago I thought if I ever got to be 60 there's no way I'd want to be coaching," he told a luncheon audience Tuesday. "But I'm not ready to hang them up yet."
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RECORD-HOLDER: In case you missed it, Matt Bellini became BYU's career reception leader during the Oregon game. He now has 185 catches and needs just three more to become the WAC's second-leading career receiver. He also needs just 53 receiving yards to pass Lakei Heimuli and Phil Odle on the BYU career receiving-yardage list, and five TDs to hold the school career touchdown mark.
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STAT STUFF: Linebacker Alema Fitisemanu is still the Cougars' defensive points leader, with 96. Next is tackle Rich Kaufusi, with 80 . . . Fullback Peter Tuipulotu has the most yards of any Cougar ballcarrier, with 248, but Mike Salido has the best average, at 7.0. Tuipulotu's averaging 6.4; Stacey Corley 3.4; and Bellini 1.8 . . . Bellini, Andy Boyce and Chris Smith all have dropped below the 100 yards a game in receptions they were averaging before the Oregon game. Bellini is now at 92.4; Boyce at 95.2; and Smith at 92.8 . . . The Cougar leader in average yards per reception is Micah Matsuzaki, at 22.7.