PROVO — In a series spanning 80 years, BYU and Wyoming have provided a bevy of memorable football games. Add the Cougars' 35-31 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium to the list of compelling contests.
No, it wasn't for a conference championship — far from it. BYU is fighting to become bowl eligible, and Wyoming's coach is fighting for his job.
But the game did feature a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by the Cowboys; a combined 900 yards of total offense and 66 points; and a fourth-quarter comeback by BYU — as quarterback Matt Berry threw a game-winning TD pass to Gabriel Reid with 3:28 remaining.
Would you expect anything less from these teams?
"Wyoming always plays us tough," said BYU tight end Spencer Nead. "Wyoming-BYU is always going to be a close game."
"It was a dogfight all night," said safety Michael Madsen, who helped save the win for the Cougars with a key pass deflection in the waning moments.
And the Cougars, who won back-to-back games for the first time since starting the season 2-0, will take a victory no matter how it comes. The way things have gone in 2002, they aren't going to be picky.
"We're 5-5," said coach Gary Crowton, whose team is now one victory away from becoming bowl eligible. "That's pretty good, considering where we were."
Wyoming, meanwhile, continued its run of tough luck, losing its fourth conference game by a total of 17 points.
"This is getting kind of old now," said embattled Cowboy coach Vic Koenning, who saw his team fall to 2-8 overall. "There is really a lot of sorrow in my heart for our players. They certainly deserve to have some success. We were sitting in a great position tonight to pull this one out, but it didn't happen."
Yes, the Pokes had their chance.
The tide of the game turned against BYU at the conclusion of the third quarter. The Cougars were holding a 28-17 advantage, and driving deep into Wyoming territory, when Cowboy defensive back Jacque Finn picked off a Berry pass in the end zone and weaved his way the length of the field for a touchdown as the third period ended. It tied the longest interception return by an opponent in BYU history.
"We were right in there ready to score," Crowton said. "All the sudden, it's 28-23. That was huge."
Part of the problem in defending the return was that BYU had three tight ends in the formation, so when Finn picked off the pass, no one could chase him down. "I didn't have any fast guys in there," Crowton said. "When (Matt) threw the interception there wasn't anybody fast enough to make the tackle because they were all tight ends and linemen."
On its next possession, quarterback Casey Bramlet marched Wyoming 80 yards in 10 plays and the Cowboys took a 31-28 lead on a three-yard run by Derek Armah with 9:10 remaining.
But the Cougars weren't too concerned, or so they said.
"I really didn't get nervous because we moved the ball on them all night," said Nead, who caught his first touchdown of the season in the second quarter. "The only thing that worried me was I didn't want us as an offense to make another mistake. And I didn't want to leave enough time on the clock when we did score for them to come back because they have a potent offense. But in a close game, you always get a little bit jittery."
"I don't think there was a guy on both sides of the ball who thought we were going to lose, even after that (interception return)," said Berry, who completed 31 of 45 passes for 360 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. "I just think everybody knew we had to step up. We all pulled together and made some plays."
Berry responded with a 64-yard drive capped by a four-yard TD pass to Reid and the Cougars jumped ahead for good, 35-31.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wyoming was penalized for holding, pushing it back to its own 14-yard line. Three plays later, on third-and-seven, Madsen knocked a pass away from Cowboy receiver Ryan McGuffey, who was going over the middle. "Luckily, I was able to get a pretty good read," Madsen said. Then, on fourth down, Bramlet's long pass attempt to Brock Ralph fell incomplete, sealing the win for BYU.
NOTES: Announced attendance was 61,689 . . . BYU, which improved to 2-3 in conference play, hosts New Mexico next Saturday (4 p.m.) in the final home game of the season . . . The last time Wyoming beat BYU in Provo was 1987 . . . For the seventh time this season, the Cougars failed to score in the first quarter . . . BYU converted 11-of-16 third-down attempts . . . Linebacker Mike Tanner sprained his ankle at the end of the first half, but returned to the game in the second half. He finished with a team-high 10 tackles . . . Prior to Saturday, the most recent 100-yard interception return against BYU occurred during the 1996 season by UTEP's Michael Hicks.