COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — John Beck reinvented himself Saturday in BYU's 41-24 win over the Air Force Academy.
The makeover came just in time.
In the first half, he overthrew receivers, threw an interception and even got the sun to get in the way of a long pass play to Todd Watkins.
But Beck led the Cougars to a blitzkrieg after being down 10-3 at intermission. BYU exploded for 21 points in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth — both season-highs — and a rare 38-point two-quarter display of firepower. Not too shabby for an offense criticized for its inconsistency the past two seasons.
"I got antsy and just had to settle myself down," Beck said of his two opposite halves after the victory that lifted the Cougars to 3-1 in MWC play and 4-4 overall.
"Sometimes you come out and everything you've worked on in practice is there, you get jumpy and antsy and need to settle things down."
Beck completed 4 of 10 passes in the first quarter and at the half was 8 of 16 for 83 yards, including a 26-yard sideline pass to Austin Collie to set up a field goal.
After intermission, Beck latched on to his receivers like sonar. He completed 12 of his next 15 passes for four touchdowns with hookups of 70 and 45 yards to Todd Watkins and a 38-yarder to Fahu Tahi. He launched a bomb to Watkins for a quick touchdown out of the chute. He tossed a fade for a score to Collie and hit tight end Dennis Pitta on a scoring screen and added another TD to Pitta on a sprint-out-and-fire play in the fourth quarter.
KA-POW.
The Falcons never knew what hit them.
Beck finished 20 of 30 for 319 yards. It marked his third 300-plus passing game in his last four outings. The four touchdown passes to Watkins, Collie and Pitta were career-highs for Beck in a game. BYU had 161 first-half yards but added 366 in the second, ending the game with a whopping 527 yards. Beck had a passing efficiency of 187.08.
"John is not lacking confidence," BYU coach Gary Crowton said. "And in the wind, he's got the arm to really put some heat on the ball — that wasn't the problem."
Crowton settled Beck down at the half — telling the sophomore to trust his instincts and make the play.
"He gets cautious and waits to make sure the play is there, to see where the safety is. He makes great reads; that is not the problem.
"But when he waits, it gets him out of the rhythm. I told him at half to just go ahead and fire it in there when he makes the read and he did that."
Watkins, who caught six passes for 153 yards and a 70-yard bomb to start BYU's scoring on the second play of the third quarter, said BYU's explosion the second half was a matter of execution.
"We were nervous and jittery out there," he said. "We came out the second half and the plays we were missing on we just made. We all came out shaky the first half before settling down, and then John Beck really came out the second half."
Crowton said the Cougars barely misfired on a post bomb over the Falcons to end the first half. In the locker room, Beck, Watkins, Crowton and the offense discussed what adjustments they'd make on that play — including getting Watkins the ball against AFA's corner Jordan Wilkie.
Crowton noticed AFA's safety vacated the post when Cougar inside receiver Jason Kukahiko occupied the middle. "He did it again and that left Todd open because he'd beaten his man," Crowton said.
It worked, as Beck fired a perfect strike to Watkins, who caught the ball in stride, juggled it for a second before racing into the end zone for a 70-yard completion to tie the game 10-10.
That play triggered a 21-0 Cougar run and sealed the victory.
"That big one there started us off and then we got rolling," Beck said.
That Beck found the tight end in the end zone for the first time this year (Pitta twice), was a matter of setting up AFAs defense, Beck said.
"We just take what the defense gives us." Beck said. "When they stack up the middle to stop the run, we go to the outside. If they play outside, we go inside or use the run. Our running game is going so well and the offensive line is opening up holes so big, Curtis Brown and Fahu Tahi are making big plays for us."
One thing is for certain. After 41 points and more scoring than the Cougars have done in a game all season, Beck said celebrating big plays with his offensive linemen was something he enjoys as they all look down field.
"I could get used to that," Beck said.
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com