Chris Webber will be forever remembered for an ill-advised timeout call costing Michigan an NCAA basketball title.
In contrast, Kaipo McGwire will go down in BYU football lore for his heads-up timeout call with just one second remaining in the inaugural WAC Championship football game.McGwire made sure kicker Ethan Pochman was able to become a hero with a pair of pressure-packed field goals and no time on the clock. Pochman, who had never even attempted to kick a football through uprights in a real game until a few months ago, gave BYU a dramatic 28-25 overtime victory over Wyoming in a nationally televised battle for league supremacy in front of 41,238 fans in Sam Boyd Stadium.
If it wasn't for McGwire, however, Pochman wouldn't even have had the chance to be the game's star. BYU would have lost 25-22 in regulation, as time would have expired with the Cougars threatening on the 3-yard line.
Instead, BYU is the undisputed WAC champion and remains a candidate for an alliance or Cotton bowl berth. The win is also likely to vault the 13-1 Cougs into the top 5 in the national polls,which will be released later today.
"It can't get any more exciting than that," said Cougar coach LaVell Edwards.
Edwards lost his baseball cap in the melee of fans and players celebrating on the field after the game. But somehow, some way Edwards found a way to earn his 18th league crown in 25 years.
The Cougars were trailing by five with under two minutes to play when Wyoming's Joe Tiller made decision that will, no doubt, be second-guessed by arm-chair coaches in Wyoming.
The Cowboys were in a punting situation deep in their own territory. But instead of booting the ball out of their own end zone, they took an intentional safety, which gave BYU two-points to cut the gap to 25-22.
Following the ensuing free kick, the Cougars had outstanding field position, at their own 40. The Cougs marched down the field - with a 12-yard scramble by quarterback Steve Sarkisian being one of the big plays - until they had the ball at the Wyoming 7-yard-line with just 12 seconds remaining.
With time running out, Sarkisian scrambled before finally throwing to Mark Atuaia, who made a diving grab - inbounds - at the 3. The clock was still running, however, and it appeared time would expire before the Cougs could get another play off. The Wyoming bench was already celebrating.
But McGwire, who started asking for a timeout with four seconds left, was finally able to get an official to acknowledge him with just one tick left on the clock.
"Yelling is an understatement. I was screaming at the official and doing the timeout sign in front of his face, but he didn't see or hear me for a couple of seconds," said McGwire. "Thank goodness he finally did."
Tiller, for one, felt the timeout came too late. "The game was over," he said, "and they put a second back on the clock for some reason."
In any event, Pochman used the final play of regulation to kick a dead, solid, perfect 20-yard field goal, knotting the game at 25-25.
"It was a PAT basically," said Pochman. "I prayed really hard and kicked it through. I wasn't nervous really. I was more calm than any other time this season."
The Cougars won the coin toss to start the overtime and elected to play defense first. The Cowboys started with first-and-10 at the 25. A sack by Henry Bloomfield and a pair of incomplete passes set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by Wyoming's Cory Wedel. The kick was wide left and short.
BYU's turn was next. After three straight Brian McKenzie runs, Pochman - a soccer player who is new this year to football - was in prime position for a 32-yard game-winner.
Again he nailed it.
"It's every kicker's dream to kick a last-second field goal to win a game," said Pochman, "and tonight I got to kick two."
Last minute heroics didn't look like they'd be necessary for the Cougars after the first half. With the exception of All-WAC tight end Itula Mili going down with a serious knee injury, the opening two quarters went the Cougars' way. BYU had a 13-0 lead at the half and appeared to be cruising to a lopsided win in a low-scoring game.
The second half was more WAC-like, however, as a combined 40 points were scored and passing yardage came in bunches.
A huge defensive play early in the third quarter changed the entire complexion of the game. Wyoming defensive lineman Jim Talich nailed Sarkisian, forcing a fumble. Linebacker Jay Jenkins scooped up the ball and rumbled 25 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly BYU's lead was just 13-7 with more than a quarter-and-a-half remaining.
The Cowboys cut the gap some more with a short Wedel field goal with 6:27 remaining in the third quarter and they took the lead, 17-13, when quarterback Josh Wallwork hooked up with David Saraf for a 7-yard TD pass early in the fourth.
A few minutes later the Cougars took advantage of an Omarr Morgan interception when Sarkisian hit tight end Chad Lewis with 13-yard touchdown pass to give them a 20-17 lead with 11:28 to play.
Wyoming went back on top, though, on a four-play, 80-yard drive capped by another Wallwork-to-Sharaf TD pass - this one 14 yards. A muffed snap on the extra point attempt was turned into a two-point conversion, as Wedel completed a pass to Todd Grosskopf to give the 'Pokes a 25-20 lead with 9:24 to play.
BYU then drove to the Wyoming 2, but third- and fourth-down passes fell incomplete and the Cowboys took over the ball with 2:57 remaining. They were unable to get a first down, however, setting up the decision to take a safety rather than risk a punt.
"It was one of those calls that if it works, everybody thinks is a great call and if it doesn't it gets second-guessed," said Tiller. "I thought it was a no-brainer."
Some Wyoming fans may be wondering if Tiller, himself, is a no brainer. In any event, the strategy didn't work.
Sarkisian, who was named the offensive player of the game, completed 26 of 37 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. Wallwork had 282 yards passing, but was picked off three times with all three leading to Cougar scores. Wyoming All-American receiver Marcus Harris caught six passes for 118 yards.
Now BYU must wait to see which bowl game it will be invited to. The Cougs are hoping for an alliance bowl berth, but a more likely scenario will have them playing New Year's Day in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Regardless of which bowl BYU is invited to play in, tickets to the game will go on sale beginning Monday at 7 a.m. in the Marriott Center ticket office. Fans may order tickets in person or by calling 378-BYU1 in Utah County or 1-800-322-BYU1 outside of Utah County.
If BYU is invited to an alliance bowl, Monday's sales are for Cougar Club members only, with general public sales starting Tuesday. For all other bowl games, sales for club members and the public start Monday.