2011 BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL
12.30.11 Dallas, Texas (Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Att. 30,258)
| Linescore | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
 BYU | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
 Tulsa | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
BYU won its fifth bowl game in six years with a 24-21 comeback victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. The Cougars struggled for much of the game on offense but gritted out the last-second victory. Quarterback Riley Nelson led BYU with 4:18 on the clock, trailing 21-17 to a game-winning drive. Facing a 4th-and-9 situation, Nelson scampered for 14 yards to give the Cougars a new set of downs at the Tulsa 33-yard line. After getting BYU to the 2-yard line, Nelson faked a clock-stopping ball spike and instead threw to an open Cody Hoffman standing past the goalline for the winning score with :11 seconds left on the clock. The play became known as "Red Alert." The Cougars fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter but received a big special teams play to get themselves back in the game. Deep snapper Reed Hornung was the first player down the field on a punt with :25 seconds left until halftime and helped cause Tulsa's returner to fumble and BYU recovered at the Tulsa 17-yard line. Offensive lineman Matt Reynolds became the next hero, springing Nelson with a huge block, all with no helmet on. Nelson was able to scramble just long enough with Reynolds' block to find Hoffman for a 17-yard score to cut Tulsa's lead to 14-10 just before the half. The Cougars took the lead at 17-14 with under two minutes left in the third quarter but surrendered it back in the fourth quarter. Punt returner JD Falslev returned a punt 22-yards to set up BYU's game-winning drive at the Tulsa 48-yard line. Special teams played a huge part in the victory with Falslev's returns, Hornung's strip and forced fumble and punter Riley Stephenson had a career day. The junior had eight punts for 335 yards, including seven inside the 20 and two of 50 or more yards. Stephenson was named to ESPN's All-Bowl team with the performance.
| Team Stat Comparison | ||
| BYU | TLS | |
| 1st Downs | 18 | 15 |
| Passing 1st Downs | 11 | 10 |
| Rushing 1st Downs | 7 | 2 |
| 1st Downs from Penalties | 0 | 3 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 8-21 | 6-16 |
| 4th Down Efficiency | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| Total Yards | 344 | 272 |
| Passing | 250 | 235 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 17-40-2 | 18-32-0 |
| Average per attempt | 6.3 | 7.3 |
| Average per completion | 14.7 | 13.1 |
| Rushing | 94 | 37 |
| Rush Attempts | 40 | 27 |
| Yards per attempt | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 3-3 | 2-3 |
| Penalties | 5-60 | 1-5 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 2 |
| Interceptions Thrown | 2 | 0 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Posession | 35:24 | 24:36 |
| Sacks | 3-20 | 3-18 |
| PAT Kicks | 3-3 | 3-3 |
| Field Goals | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| Scoring Summary | |||||
| First Quarter | BYU | TLS | |||
| TD | 09:51 | JOHNSON,R. 8 Yd Pass From KINNE,G.J. (FITZPATRICK,K. Kick) | 0 | 7 |
| FG | 00:17 | Justin Sorensen 35 Yd | 3 | 7 |
| Second Quarter | BYU | TLS | |||
| TD | 08:45 | SEARS,Clay 14 Yd Pass From KINNE,G.J. (FITZPATRICK,K. Kick) | 3 | 14 |
| TD | 00:12 | Cody Hoffman 17 Yd Pass From Riley Nelson (Justin Sorensen Kick) | 10 | 14 |
| Third Quarter | BYU | TLS | |||
| TD | 01:41 | Cody Hoffman 30 Yd Pass From Riley Nelson (Justin Sorensen Kick) | 17 | 14 |
| Fourth Quarter | BYU | TLS | |||
| TD | 10:42 | BURNHAM,B. 30 Yd Pass From KINNE,G.J. (FITZPATRICK,K. Kick) | 17 | 21 |
| TD | 00:11 | Cody Hoffman 2 Yd Pass From Riley Nelson (Justin Sorensen Kick) | 24 | 21 |