SALT LAKE -- In the final game of legendary coach LaVell Edwards' career the Cougars pulled of another come-from-behind miracle, defeating Utah, 34-27, with a last-minute touchdown in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Friday evening.
The Utes honored Edwards before the game when Utah head coach Ron McBride and his wife presented Edwards and his wife, Patti, with gifts from the University, including a trip to the 2001 U.S. Golf Open.
After Utah came back from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to go ahead 27-26 with just over two minutes left in the game, the BYU offense had one last chance for the come-from-behind victory. After an incomplete pass, a sack and a short gain, the Cougars faced fourth down and 13 from their own 17-yard line. But, in what seemed like a fairy-tale ending, fitting for Edwards' final game, the Cougars found a way to defeat rival Utah one last time.
On fourth down, Doman scrambled and hit Jonathan Pittman on a 34-yard bomb for the first down. On the very next play Doman hit Pittman once again down the sideline for a 36-yard gain to bring the Cougars to the Utah 13-yard line. After a nine-yard run by sophomore Luke Staley, Doman added a four-yard touchdown rush to put BYU up by five. A pass to Soren Halladay for the two-point conversion extended the lead to seven, forcing Utah to drive the field on their next drive.
"It was a great ball game on both sides," said Edwards. "I couldn't ask for a better way out. I've been blessed and I'm proud of what we have been able to get done over the years."
The BYU offense got off to a rough start when Cougar quarterback Brandon Doman threw his first pass of the game for an interception, which was returned for a touchdown by Andre Dyson, to put the Utes up 7-0. But Doman came back and led the BYU offense to 13 first-quarter points, the most first-quarter points scored by the Cougar offense this year, to jump out to a 13-7 lead.
"Doman is a good leader," said Edwards, "He still has some time left. He has not been picture perfect, but somehow he has managed to get the job done. He can always make the plays when we need them. He's been amazing."
BYU extended the lead to 19-10 at the half, due in part to a BYU record four field goals in the first half by Owen Pochman. The Cougars extended the lead to 26-10 in the second half when Doman hit Mike Rigell on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 4:36 left in the third quarter. But, in the fourth quarter, Utah came back by scoring 17 unanswered points to take the lead at 27-26, with 2:11 left to play in the game before the heroics of Doman and Pittman helped BYU to the win.
"They should have never have had that opportunity to win," said McBride. "BYU deserves the credit. LaVell is a great guy. After the game, I told him I loved him, wished him the best and that it was a fumble. I guess if you're going to get beat by someone, it may as well be a guy like that."
Doman ended the game with 284 yards passing on 16-of-29 completions. He also rushed 18 times for a team-leading 39 yards while Staley added 30 yards on the ground. Doman's 284 yards gives him 782 on the season, marking the first time in BYU history three different quarterbacks have thrown for more than 500 yards in the same season.
With the win in Edwards' career finale, the Cougars improve to 6-6 and keep the legendary coach from retiring with a losing season. During the 29-year LaVell Edwards' career, BYU has had only one losing campaign (1973).
Box Score (Final)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Brigham Young....... 13 6 7 8 - 34 Record: (6-6,4-3)
Utah................ 7 3 0 17 - 27 Record: (4-7,3-4)
Scoring Summary:
1st 14:08 UU - DYSON, Andre 24 yd interception return (KANESHIRO, Ryan kick),
BYU 0 - UU 7
07:50 BYU - POCHMAN, Owen 45 yd field goal,
8 plays, 43 yards, TOP 3:01, BYU 3 - UU 7
04:42 BYU - MCDONALD, Brian 3 yd run (POCHMAN, Owen kick),
5 plays, 31 yards, TOP 1:39, BYU 10 - UU 7
00:11 BYU - POCHMAN, Owen 38 yd field goal,
6 plays, 44 yards, TOP 2:17, BYU 13 - UU 7
2nd 14:07 BYU - POCHMAN, Owen 35 yd field goal,
4 plays, 3 yards, TOP 0:53, BYU 16 - UU 7
04:42 BYU - POCHMAN, Owen 22 yd field goal,
14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 7:16, BYU 19 - UU 7
01:36 UU - KANESHIRO, Ryan 40 yd field goal,
7 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:06, BYU 19 - UU 10
3rd 04:36 BYU - RIGELL, Mike 36 yd pass from DOMAN, Brandon (POCHMAN, Owen kick),
5 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:16, BYU 26 - UU 10
4th 13:53 UU - KANESHIRO, Ryan 33 yd field goal,
7 plays, 54 yards, TOP 2:22, BYU 26 - UU 13
07:51 UU - FORTUNE, Thomas 2 yd run (KANESHIRO, Ryan kick),
10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:06, BYU 26 - UU 20
02:16 UU - NICKEL, Matt 20 yd pass from ARCENEAUX, Darn (KANESHIRO, Ryan kick),
5 plays, 29 yards, TOP 2:44, BYU 26 - UU 27
00:23 BYU - DOMAN, Brandon 4 yd run (HALLADAY, Soren pass),
7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:53, BYU 34 - UU 27
BYU UU
FIRST DOWNS................... 21 14
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 42-100 30-70
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 284 252
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 29-16-1 34-16-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 71-384 64-322
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-2 4-47
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 2-40 3-56
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-0 1-24
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 5-43.4 6-38.5
Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards............... 7-69 7-84
Possession Time............... 31:37 28:21
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 4-14 4-24
RUSHING: Brigham Young-DOMAN, Brandon 18-39; STALEY, Luke 17-30; SITAKE,
Kalani 4-16; MCDONALD, Brian 3-15. Utah-HUNTER, Dameon 13-37; ARCENEAUX,
Darn 4-23; TATE, Adam 5-15; FORTUNE, Thomas 3-9; RICE, Lance 5-minus 14.
PASSING: Brigham Young-DOMAN, Brandon 16-29-1-284. Utah-RICE, Lance
9-20-1-137; ARCENEAUX, Darn 7-14-0-115.
RECEIVING: Brigham Young-PITTMAN, Jonath 4-117; SITAKE, Kalani 4-54; HOOKS,
Margin 3-25; OFAHENGAUE, Tev 2-38; STALEY, Luke 2-14; RIGELL, Mike 1-36.
Utah-CHRISTENSEN, Ch 7-147; SMITH, Steve 3-28; RUSSELL, Cliff 2-50; NICKEL,
Matt 2-20; LYMAN, Josh 1-11; HUNTER, Dameon 1-minus 4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Brigham Young-LEE, Jared 1-0. Utah-DYSON, Andre 1-24.
Stadium: Rice-Eccles Attendance: 45064
Kickoff time: 4:07 End of Game: 7:40 Total elapsed time: 3:33
Officials: Referee: ROBINSON, Tom; Umpire: CRUM, Gary; Linesman: PODRAZA, Tim;
Line judge: MCNANNA, Gary; Back judge: COLLINS, Bob; Field judge: LINDSAY, Steve;
Side judge: PAYNE, Kent;
Temperature: 36 Wind: NE @ 4 Weather: Partly Cloudy
SACKS (UA-A): Brigham Young-KELLEY, Isaac 1-0; OLSEN, Hans 1-0; EDWARDS,
Elan 1-0; DENNEY, Ryan 1-0. Utah-KEMOEATU, Maake 0-1; DECKART, Sheldo 0-1;
BOWERS, Andy 1-0; PARKER, Arnold 1-0; OLEVAO, Kautai 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Brigham Young-WALKENHORST, Pa 4-6; ENA, Justin 3-6; KELLEY,
Isaac 4-3; OLSEN, Hans 2-5; LEE, Jared 2-4; LAFITTE, Michae 3-2; SMITH,
Tyson 0-5; HOKE, Chris 1-3; DENNEY, Ryan 1-3; STALEY, Dustin 2-0; WRIGHT,
Bill 1-1; EDWARDS, Elan 1-1; FALES, Andrew 1-1; WARD, Anthony 0-2; KEISEL,
Brett 0-2; CARLSON, Brent 0-2; BOCKWOLDT, Colb 1-0; ORD, Andy 0-1; GALI,
Setema 0-1. Utah-TUFAGA, Wes 5-5; DART, Brandon 4-3; RAY, Jeff 4-3; DECKART,
Sheldo 3-4; CHRISTIANSON, K 2-5; BOWERS, Andy 2-4; OLEVAO, Kautai 1-5;
DYSON, Andre 4-1; SMITH, Garrett 4-1; KEMOEATU, Maake 2-2; PARKER, Arnold
3-0; KAUFUSI, Jason 0-3; FORTUNE, Thomas 0-2; BAHR, Brooks 1-0; JOHNSON, Al
1-0; POTTER, Jason 0-1; WHITE, Anthony 0-1; JONES, Marcus 0-1; DWINELL, CR