If it isn't one thing, it's another for the Cougars.
"If this team could ever play offense and defense on the same day we could blow someone out," middle linebacker Rob Morris said after BYU's 46-43 victory over San Jose State Saturday. "But I don't know if it's in our nature."While their nationally ranked defense was surrendering the most points to a BYU opponent in more than four years, the Cougars were rolling offensively - topping 500 yards of total offense for the first time this season. Ronney Jenkins led the way with a career-high 250 yards rushing on 31 carries against the NCAA's fourth-worst defense against the run.
"We went into the game with the idea that we should have been able to run the football," BYU coach LaVell Edwards said. "I knew Ronney was going to have a good week. It was the first time he was healthy all year. He ran the ball well in practice, and you saw what he can do when he's healthy."
Quarterback Kevin Feterik complimented the ground game by completing 13 of 20 passes for 245 yards. And for the first time in 10 games, he wasn't sacked.
The Cougars, however, were plagued by turnovers - losing two fumbles and an interception. San Jose State didn't mind. The miscues helped keep the Spartans in contention - despite having 207 fewer yards of total offense than BYU.
"That's the beauty of college football, WAC football, I guess," Edwards said. "Who would have ever predicted a score like that? It was unbelievable the number of points they got for the yardage they had."
San Jose State quarterback Chris Kasteler's line of 22 completions for 319 yards and four touchdowns highlighted an offense took the Cougars by surprise.
BYU's defense, which entered the game ranked ninth in the nation, flexed its muscle early. The Cougars forced the Spartans to punt after three plays on their first three possessions. A running into the kicker penalty on the latter, however, gave San Jose State its initial first down late in the first quarter. And though the Spartans punted again three plays later, the Cougars were never the same defensively.
San Jose State scored touchdowns three of the next four times it had the ball - setting the scene for what developed into an old-fashioned, back-before-there-were-16-teams WAC shootout.
Trailing 6-0 after Owen Poch-man connected on field goals from 31 and 44 yards out for BYU, the Spartans pulled ahead when Deonce Whitaker ran 16 yards for the game's first touchdown. The second-quarter drive, which began on the SJSU 3, was powered by a 49-yard bomb from Kasteler to wide receiver Oliver Newell and a defensive holding call on BYU later in the series.
The score ushered in an offensive barrage that continued throughout the remainder of the game. In a six-minute span, the lead changed hands four different times on touchdowns.
BYU answered Whitaker's score with a 14-yard touchdown run by Jenkins before SJSU fired back with a 32-yard TD pass from Kasteler to Newell. The Cougars responded with a 2-yard touchdown run by Junior Mahe to take the lead for good, at 18-14, with 4:33 remaining in the first half.
The outcome, however, was far from sealed. Just ask the score-keeper.
Better yet, ask BYU's defense.
Morris, who finished with a team-high 17 defensive points, blamed it on mental errors - bad reads, missed tackles, poor special teams play and disappointing third-down coverage.
"It's just one of those things about football," Edwards said. "It wasn't for a lack of trying."
After increasing its lead to 25-14 on a 10-yard pass from Feterik to Jenkins, BYU's comfort zone quickly disappeared. San Jose State marched 56 yards in four plays, capped by a 25-yard scoring strike from Kasteler to Shawn Green, before adding the two-point conversion to make it 25-22 at the intermission.
More momentums shifts followed, but none brought the Spartans any close than three points - a buffer SJSU approached twice in the second half.
"We just shot ourselves in the foot at the end," San Jose State coach Dave Baldwin said. "I thought we played outstanding in an atmosphere that is unique. We never flinched. We were down, and we kept coming back."
Not even a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by Jenkins in the third quarter were enough to silence the Spartans. It took San Jose State just 45 seconds to match the scores early in the fourth quarter. A fumbled kickoff return by BYU centered an 8-yard scoring pass from Kasteler to Sean Brewer and a 3-yard touchdown run by Carlos Meeks.
With its lead once again reduced to three, the Cougars took offense. BYU took almost four minutes off the clock in an eight-play drive that culminated in Jenkins' fifth touchdown of the day. The 9-yard TD run capped BYU's scoring.
It almost wasn't enough.
San Jose State fired back with a sustained drive covering 85 yards on nine plays. The Spartans closed the gap to 46-43 when Kasteler hit Meeks on a 5-yard TD pass with 7:07 remaining.
BYU's Mahe fumbled away the ensuing kickoff - giving the Spartans possession on the Cougar 19. On first down, Whitaker reached the end zone on a draw play but the go-ahead touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty.
Two plays later, Brian Gray intercepted Kasteler as the Cougar Stadium crowd of 62,423 let out a collective sigh.
A bit premature, as it turned out.
BYU was eventually forced to punt and SJSU responded by driving into scoring range in the final minutes. The Spartans reached the Cougar 20 before consecutive penalties and an incomplete pass led to a 47-yard field goal attempt with 1:22 remaining. David Silberstein's kick, however, fell short as did San Jose State's comeback bid.
"(There were) a lot of ifs, but in the final analysis we made the plays we had to hold them off," Edwards said. "We were pleased just to win it."
BYU (5-3 overall, 3-1 in WAC play) returns to action Thursday night at Cougar Stadium against San Diego State. The game will be televised by ESPN.
EXTRA POINTS: The Cougars extended their NCAA-record streak of consecutive games without being shutout to 294 . . . BYU kicker Owen Pochman has now made 56 straight PATs. He is closing in on older brother Ethan's school record of 61 . . . Edwards is now in sole possession of seventh place on the all-time Division I victory list with 239 wins.