TWENTY-five years of football success notwithstanding, BYU has never been noted for certain areas of its game. For example, defense. Though the Cougars have had a number of fine defensive players, when you're playing a word game and someone says "BYU!", the next thing you say probably isn't going to be "Defense!"
BYU has been famous for Jim McMahon throwing a touchdown with no time left on the clock; Steve Young smashing passing records as he went; Robbie Bosco leading the Cougars to a national championship on a bad leg; Ty Detmer winning a Heisman. The rest was all window dressing.If other parts of BYU's attackhave been feeling left out since the arrival of LaVell Edwards at BYU, that's understandable. While the quarterbacks and receivers got famous, the rest of the team went home feeling like Whitney Houston's backup singers. It isn't that they weren't needed, they just weren't noticed.
There was never any conspiracy involved, it's just the way things happened. Barbra Streisand didn't get famous for her acting. Gene Kelley didn't get famous for his singing. Idaho didn't get famous for its fruit trees. They all got famous for special reasons.
So once BYU started throwing the ball, Gary Shiede became a fine quarterback and soon to follow was Gifford Nielsen. Then came Marc Wilson, McMahon, Young, Bosco, Ty Detmer and the current quarterback, Steve Sarkisian. Throwing touchdowns is what they did.
But this year, on their way to Saturday's 28-25 overtime WAC championship victory over Wyoming, the Cougars did something strange. They added a room. Maybe even a garage. They kept their passing game, which is coming along fine, but they finished the picture with their running game, special teams and defense. All of a sudden they were a full service department store.
Rice found the Cougars could run the ball when they came on like the stampede scene from "The Lion King." Against Utah, BYU threw so few times you wanted to sue them for violating truth in advertising laws.
Naturally, Saturday's nationally televised game was centered largely around the offensive production again - with good reason. For most of this year, BYU and Wyoming have been among the best in the nation at gobbling up real estate. Wyoming finished the season the No. 2 team in the country in total offense and BYU was No. 5. In scoring offense, the Cougars ranked fifth nationally and Wyoming sixth. Consequently, the expectation was that Saturday's final score would end up looking like a calling card number.
Instead, much of the game was decided on defensive plays. After two quarters, the Cougars only led 13-0. Halfway through the game the Cougars had all of 154 yards total offense and Wyoming had 126. An interception by Chris Ellison in the early game set up BYU's first points on a field goal. Their second field goal came after Lane Hale stepped in front of a Josh Wallwork pass.
Noting that whatever BYU was doing was working, the Cowboys tried some serious defense of their own. They opened the second half by sacking Sarkisian and taking the ball 25 yards for a touchdown. It wasn't offense, but the Cowboys weren't about to complain.
Although both teams settled into their normal offensive patterns in the second half, it was another defensive play that helped BYU win the game. Wyoming had gone ahead 17-13 and was driving again, when BYU cornerback Omar Morgan intercepted a Wallwork pass with 12:46 remaining in regulation. Soon the Cougars were back in the lead.
Though the lead continued to change, the attitude didn't. Wyoming stopped BYU at the 2-yard line with about two minutes remaining in regulation, which was good for the Cowboys. But the problem was, the Cougars had the same idea. They pinned the Cowboys so far back in their own territory that Wyoming took a deliberate safety, rather than risk the chance of a punt.
After BYU kicker Ethan Pochman sent the game into overtime with his third field goal, the defense showed up again. Wallwork was sacked by Henry Bloomfield on the first play and the Cougars pushed Wyoming back far enough back that it missed a 47-yard attempt. The Cougars finally prevailed, with Pochman nailing the winning kick from 32 yards out.
"Our offense puts points on the board, our defense keeps points off the board and our special teams do their job," said linebacker Shay Muirbrook. "In my opinion, yeah, we're a complete football team."
Maybe the Cougars won't be going to the Fiesta Bowl, or even the Cotton Bowl. Perhaps they'll even end up in the old, familiar Holiday Bowl. Whatever. But whoever does draw the Cougars this bowl season should understand that this year it won't be business as usual. This time they'll have lot more problems than just stopping the quarterback.