MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There were no Elvis Presley sightings at the 40th annual Liberty Bowl. However, the King who did make an appearance put on a quite a show. One worthy of a gold record or two.
Tulane quarterback Shaun King, who threw for 276 yards and ran for 109 more, earned most valuable players honors as the 10th-ranked Green Wave blasted BYU 41-27. The senior spearheaded an attack that produced 528 yards of total offense against the nation's fifth-ranked defense.
"It's salt in the wounds for us," middle linebacker Rob Morris said. "You can't sugarcoat this. We lost momentum, we lost confidence and we lost the football game."
It was enough to make LaVell Edwards sick. The BYU coach spent the end of the third quarter in the locker room because of flu-like symptoms. Edwards eventually returned to the field and told reporters after the game that he'd be all right.
"I'll live," he said.
His team, however, could use a jumpstart. The Cougars ended a trying season with a 9-5 record and a two-game losing streak. Edwards speculated that BYU's 20-13 WAC championship loss to Air Force on Dec. 5 may have taken its toll. And it didn't help the Cougars to face unbeaten Tulane without starters Ronney Jenkins and Heshimu Robertson, who were suspended for violating the school's honor code.
"We needed both players here. They could have helped us," said senior Chris Ellison. " . . . Things would have been different."
Perhaps, though Tulane begs to differ. The Green Wave wanted to finish the season 12-0 and send a message to the pollsters.
"We had something to prove today. Hopefully, we answered some of our doubters," said King, who believes Tulane could hold its own against the nation's only other unbeaten — top-ranked Tennessee. "We've always been confident in our ability and our character. We've got a great group of guys who work hard and know what it takes to be successful."
The Cougars know it. Morris said the Green Wave took advantage of BYU's strengths and weaknesses. And Tulane's offense, continued the junior, was unlike anything the Cougs had seen before — various formations and a no-huddle approach.
"I haven't seen anyone like Shaun King," said Morris. "He's a great quarterback."
And a resilient one, too.
King, who completed just 10 of 21 passes in the first half, came out firing in the second. His first four passes were caught as Tulane marched downfield to extend its 14-point halftime lead. The string of completions was capped by a 60-yard touchdown bomb from King to Kerwin Cook, who reached the end zone untouched after BYU defensive back Tyler Nelson misplayed the ball.
BYU's troubles were compounded five minutes later when the Green Wave's lead swelled to 34-6. Tulane concluded a sustained drive with a 13-yard scoring strike from King to Jamaican Dartez. The Cougars were cited for having too many players on the field — however, even with the extra help no one touched Dartez as he strolled into the end zone.
Trailing by 28 points, the Cougars closed the gap in the fourth quarter. But the late charge only had a cosmetic effect on the outcome.
Blame it on King. While BYU was putting 21 points on the board, he led Tulane downfield for an insurance score. Toney Converse's 5-yard touchdown run concluded the Green Wave's final roll into the end zone. It made the score 41-13 with 9:24 remaining — sandwiched by a pair of touchdowns by BYU reserve Aaron Cupp. A 3-yard run preceded Tulane's TD, and an 18-yard pass reception from Feterik followed it.
More than six minutes passed before the scoreboard would change again. A 3-yard touchdown run by Junior Mahe with 1:30 to go provided the final margin. An onsides kick attempt failed, and the Green Wave ran out the clock.
"Tulane is a very good football team. They are one of only two undefeated teams in the country and that's no small task," Edwards said. "Shaun King is everything he's cracked up to be. He made some nice choices and executed well."
The same cannot be said of BYU. Feterik was under constant pressure from Tulane's four-man defensive front, which sacked him three times and limited the Cougar quarterback to minus-22 yards rushing.
Aside from Mike Rigell, who wound up setting a Liberty Bowl record with six kickoff returns for 220 yards, and Ben Horton's six receptions, the Cougars had few other noteworthy performances.
"It just wasn't right for us today," offensive lineman John Tait said, ". . . for whatever reason."
Leading 6-3 late in the first quarter, BYU threw its advantage away when Michael Jordan returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown to put Tulane on top. It was the first pick ever returned for a score against Feterik, who made his 21st career start at quarterback for the Cougars.
"The interception changed the momentum of the game," said King, who had better success reaching his targets. On Tulane's second series, the two-time Conference USA offensive player of the year connected with Cook on a 47-yard pass to move the Green Wave inside the BYU 5. Three plays later, King increased Tulane's lead to 17-6 with a 3-yard run on a draw play.
Excluding a punt, the teams combined for 11 straight pass plays from to open the game. BYU went to the ground first with Mahe picking up 24 yards on two carries to set up the Cougars' initial score. An 11-yard touchdown strike from Feterik to Horton capped a seven-play, 65-yard drive with 8:49 remaining to make it 6-0. Pochman missed the extra point after an excessive celebration penalty on the touchdown moved the kick back 15 yards.
Tulane, which turned the ball over on a loss of downs in its first possession, opted to kick a field goal the next time it reached scoring range. Brad Palazzo's 31-yarder cut the deficit in half with 4:23 left in the quarter. He later added a 23-yard kick to give the Green Wave a 20-6 halftime advantage.
"It started out pretty good, but after a while we started missing blocks and dropping passes," said Mahe, who finished with a career-high 70 yards rushing in place of WAC leader Jenkins. "The little things started hurting us."
BYU wound up being penalized 10 times, tying a school record for bowl games.