Like Stonehenge, UFO sightings and the popularity of "Married . . . With Children," the BYU football team's recent play at home has no explanation.
"I don't know why we've struggled (at home)," said wide receiver Tim Nowatzke after No. 20 BYU was embarrassed, 36-15, Saturday in Cougar Stadium by perhaps the worst Arizona State team of the past two decades."We seem to play better on the road, for whatever reasons," quarterback John Walsh said. "I don't know why."
"I can't explain it," said tight end Chad Lewis, shaking his head.
The Cougars have been unbeatable, going 5-0, on the road this year, including victories in traditionally tough places to win like Notre Dame and Fresno State.
But in the friendly confines of Cougar Stadium - in front of 60,000-plus adoring fans - BYU is, well, an average collegiate football team. The Cougars are 2-2 at home this season and that includes a two-point win over 2-6 New Mexico.
BYU's home problems predate this season, too. In games Walsh has started on the road, dating back to his injury-shortened 1992 season, the Cougars are 9-2. In games Walsh has started at Cougar Stadium, BYU is 5-6.
As a point of reference, during the four-year Ty Detmer era from 1988 to 1991 the Cougars were 23-1 at home.
"For so many years we were very good at home," BYU coach LaVell Edwards said. "It has only been the couple of years that we've had problems. It's something we need to sort out and address."
Under normal circumstances, losing to Arizona State would be no embarrassment. The Sun Devils, after all, have a long history of winning football games. But, for only the third time since 1954, ASU appears headed for a losing season.
The Sun Devils entered the game with a 2-5 record and 14 injured players. They were forced to play nine freshmen. Yet somehow they dominated the nationally ranked, previously 7-1 Cougars from start to finish.
"I continue to be impressed with the fact this team has no quit," ASU coach Bruce Snyder said. "We are kind of a wounded group in terms of the players who are not playing or are not playing at full speed. . . . And yet we were able to do what we did today. I love this team."
The BYU defense couldn't control Jake Plummer, ASU's 19-year-old sophomore quarterback. Plummer completed 15 of 25 passes for a career-best 327 yards, three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also scrambled five times for 26 yards and caught one of his own passes after it was batted in the air.
"(Plummer) is an outstanding quarterback," BYU defensive lineman Mike Ulafale said. "He is a shifty guy and, man, he can scramble. He can throw on the run, too. He was tough."
A pair of BYU fumbles and an interception led to the bulk of ASU's first-half points, as the Sun Devils held a 23-0 advantage at intermission.
On a third-and-three midway through the opening quarter, Walsh completed a short pass to tight end Itula Mili for a first down, but Mili fumbled and Arizona State recovered at the BYU 35. Plummer connected with fullback Darnell Charles for a touchdown on the next play to break the scoreless tie.
The Sun Devils added a 20-yard Jon Baker field goal late in the first quarter to go up 10-0. On BYU's next possession, Arizona State freshman Thomas Simmons picked off a Walsh pass and returned it 35 yards for a score. The Sun Devils led 17-0, and the rout was on.
Arizona State scored on two more field goals in the second quarter - one set up by a second Mili fumble - to take a 23-0 lead.
The Cougar offense didn't cross midfield until its final possession of the first half, but BYU turned the ball over on downs at the ASU 23 to come away empty.
"It seemed like we had Murphy's Law out there," Edwards said. "Every time we got something going it was stopped by a fumble or an interception. We got out of sync."
BYU's one real highlight came early in the third quarter. Walsh hit Lewis on a 10-yard pass over the middle. As three Sun Devils were attempting to gang-tackle Lewis, he pitched the ball to Jamal Willis, who streaked down the sideline the remaining 60 yards for the score. After David Lauder's extra point the Cougars trailed 23-7 with less than a minute gone in the second half.
BYU's hopes for a comeback were short-lived, however. The Sun Devils marched 80 yards on eight plays, with the final 44 coming on a TD pass from Plummer to Terry Battle, to put ASU up 29-7.
A few minutes later Plummer hit Keith Poole in stride on a bomb that went for an 83-yard score, and ASU led 36-7 with 4:22 to play in the third quarter.
Two BYU drives deep in Sun Devil territory in the fourth quarter were fruitless, but with under 30 seconds remaining - and several hundred diehard fans remaining from the original 65,208 in attendance - Walsh hit Mark Atuaia for a 10-yard touchdown. The Cougars added a two-point conversion pass and were successful on an onside kick, but it was far too late for any of it to matter.
"(Arizona State) is no better than the guys we've played against before. We just didn't make the plays today," Nowatzke said.
"This hurts our pride, but we've just got to bag it and get on to more important things," Edwards said.
Walsh completed 32 of 54 passes for 386 yards, but 165 of those yards came in the fourth quarter after ASU had taken a 36-7 lead and was coasting. Jamal Willis, who left the game in the third quarter because of a hernia, finished with 44 yards on 13 carries. The hernia is not expected to keep Willis out of next week's game, however.
Next up for BYU is Northeast Louisiana. Unfortunately for BYU, at least the way things have been going, next Saturday's game will be at Cougar Stadium.
GAME NOTES: BYU loss to ASU dropped the WAC to 6-3 against Pac-10 competition this year. Arizona State is now 16-1 against present WAC foes since leaving the conference in 1978 . . . BYU extended it's streak of not being shut out to 144 games, just three shy of the NCAA record. The last time the Cougs failed to score was in 1975 against Arizona State.