PROVO — The bottom line for BYU football in 2004 was a third-straight losing season. But it was a campaign that waged on with a few highlights, big plays, emerging stars and a great start in LaVell Edwards Stadium with a win over Notre Dame.
BYU football will be in transition in 2005 but mainly at the top with a new coach. The roster returns the most experience in four seasons. This is especially true on offense where nine of 11 starters return from the NCAA's 12th-ranking pass offense. For the first time since Kevin Feterik six years ago, a quarterback who started and finished a BYU season will return as a projected starter in all-MWC second team junior John Beck.
In that opener against the Irish, BYU's defense smothered Notre Dame, limiting the Irish to 201 yards total offense. Punter Matt Payne's punting pinned the Irish inside their own 20 on six occasions. Matt Berry came off the bench for an injured Beck and tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to freshman Austin Collie to help the Cougars defeat the Fighting Irish. In this game, BYU fans got their first look at transfer receiver Todd Watkins, who had 115 yards, including a 50-yard bomb from Beck.
From there, the Cougars struggled against Stanford and USC of the Pac-10 and Boise State and were 1-3. The trouble started at Stanford.
With Beck out with a separated shoulder (sustained against Notre Dame), Berry went down on the third play of the game with a hand injury.
Suddenly, the Cougars, who began the game with a 10-0 lead, turned to transfer Jason Beck, and the Cougars were on their third quarterback in seven days and on the way to a loss.
The heartbreak game of the year, the close-but-no-prize battle came the next week at ranked Boise State. The Broncos would go on to a perfect season, the third such undefeated foe on the Cougar schedule with USC and Utah. But that night in the Idaho capital, the Cougars had Payne lined up for a 38-yard field goal in the closing seconds for an upset victory. His kick sailed right of the upright for a 28-27 heartbreaking loss.
Highlights of the season were the development of the Beck to Watkins and Austin Collie long ball — among the best in the country.
On the basis of that, and a solid run game the final two-thirds of the season with Curtis Brown, the Cougars had moments of great plays.
The best may have come in the second half at Air Force when the Cougars exploded for 38 points. The emergence of Collie, the MWC freshman of the year, was easily the bright spot on the field.
BYU's low point of the year had to be the first MWC loss to UNLV after a promising road win over Colorado State. In that game in LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU had five turnovers, including three fumbles by receivers, the last a run and drop inside UNLV's 10 by Watkins.
A second huge setback was the final home game of the season, a 21-14 loss to New Mexico that set up a door-closer at Utah — a 52-21 shellacking. The loss to BCS buster Utah led to the resignation of head coach Gary Crowton after BYU's third losing season for the first time in 40 years.
Football seasons in review
Tuesday — Utah State
Wednesday — Weber State
Thursday — Southern Utah
Today — BYU
Jan. 2005 — Utah
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com