It was rough. I dislocated my (shoulder) and my rib in the first quarter. There were dudes playing on hurt ankles and torn shoulders. You leave it all out there. We played hard. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute very well. – BYU senior defensive back Skye PoVey
MIAMI — BYU senior defensive back Skye PoVey was one of the last players to leave the locker room at Marlins Park Monday night after a 55-48 double-overtime loss to Memphis in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl.
An emotional PoVey expressed his disappointment with the outcome in his final game in a Cougar uniform. It was a painful loss, both emotionally and physically.
“It was rough,” he said. “I dislocated my (shoulder) and my rib in the first quarter. There were dudes playing on hurt ankles and torn shoulders. You leave it all out there. We played hard. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute very well.”
The game was marred by an ugly, postgame brawl between the two teams afterward on the field.
“We expect better of our athletes, even in the face of a difficult loss,” BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe tweeted after the game. “We intend to fully review this matter. I apologize to Cougar Nation.”
BYU safety Kai Nacua left the locker room holding an ice pack over his swollen cheek as a result of the fight.
Both teams came into the game with something to prove. In the end, Memphis (10-3) won its seventh consecutive contest, and BYU (8-5) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
“It was definitely a battle and both teams came out wanting it. In the first quarter both teams scored really fast,” said wide receiver Mitchell Juergens. “It showed that each team wanted to win. It was a dogfight and it came down to the very end. At the very end, we may have run out of gas.”
The Cougars' loss to the Tigers was a microcosm of the season, filled with both impressive performances and squandered opportunities.
“It’s a tough season. A good season, but tough,” said coach Bronco Mendenhall when asked to assess the season. “A lot of opportunities, and a lot of growing and a lot of maturing. Ups, downs, and a swing of one or two plays and it changes the outcome.”
It marked BYU’s third consecutive 8-5 season.
The Cougar seniors played big roles in the bowl game, from Christian Stewart’s 348 passing yards, three touchdowns and three picks; to linebacker Alani Fua’s interception that set up a touchdown; to linebacker Zac Stout’s pick-six; to punter Scott Arellano’s crucial kicks; to wide receiver Jordan Leslie’s touchdown in the first half and near-touchdown in overtime.
“It’s fun to see the seniors step up,” Stewart said. “We had some big-time performances by seniors. I’m sad we weren’t able to go out with a win.”
It certainly wasn’t the way Leslie wanted to go out.
“It’s your last game and you never want to go out with a loss, especially one like that,” he said.
During a season that saw BYU start out with a 4-0 record, then lose four consecutive games, the seniors experienced a difficult challenge.
“I was appreciative and proud of how hard they tried all the way to the very end of a unique season,” Mendenhall said of the seniors. “That’s all I can ask.”
Of course, the last game will stick with them.
“When it came down to it, we were called upon to make plays, me in particular I gave up a big play at the end. They made plays and we didn’t,” PoVey said. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way. Sometimes they make a play and you don’t. That’s usually the difference in games. It comes down to a couple of plays.”
As for the underclassmen that are returning next year — the 2015 season is scheduled to kick off Sept. 5 at Nebraska — Monday’s painful defeat will serve as a motivator.
“This loss gives us more momentum to go into the winter and just train as hard as we can to come out on top and have another great season,” Juergens said.