Provo, UT -- The 2001 BCA Classic started at 2:30 p.m., but it probably should have started at high noon. In a shootout normally reserved only for the Wild West, BYU defeated Tulane 70-35.
"It was an exciting day and an exciting win for myself and the players," BYU head coach Gary Crowton said.
The record-setting game started off with a bang, before some of the 49,008 fans had the chance to sit down. Tulane jumped on top just over a minute into the game with a 75-yard touchdown run from Mewelde Moore. The teams proceeded to trade touchdowns for the rest of the quarter, ending the first quarter tied at 21.
BYU opened up the second quarter scoring just four seconds into the period with an eight-yard pass to tight end Spencer Nead. The Cougars, armed with a 28-21 lead, never looked back.
BYU scored 21 more points in the quarter, taking a 49-28 lead into the half. The 49 points tied a LaVell Edwards Stadium record for the most points in a half, set in the first half of the 1989 Utah game.
"I didn't realize we were all invited to a track meet today, but obviously we were exposed in some areas," Tulane head coach Chris Scelfo said. "I really thought coming in both offenses would take a little time to get going, but both of them really ignited everything."
The offensive output slowed down in the second half, but with 14 more points in the third quarter, BYU took a 63-35 lead into the final quarter.
Brandon Doman left the game after three quarters, finishing 25-31 for 286 yards, with three touchdowns. He also ran for 115 yards and one touchdown, earning him BCA Classic MVP honors.
Ena and Marquardt combine on a tackle of Tulane's Mewelde Moore
"Doman is a very athletic player, but more importantly, the biggest thing coming into the game we felt with him was he's a winner," Scelfo said.
The 70 points is the most for the Cougars since the 70-31 victory against Utah in 1989. But Crowton knows this is only one game.
"Seventy points was great for this week, but next week is a totally different day and a totally different game," he said.
Both Luke Staley and Brian McDonald scored three rushing touchdowns for the Cougars. Spencer Nead, a transfer from Ricks College, caught two touchdown passes in the second quarter.
Tulane's Moore set a career high in rushing with 176 yards. The sophomore gained more than 100 yards in the first six minutes of the game alone.
Reno Mahe made his return to BYU with 12 receptions for 96 yards. He also had a 55-yard run near the end of the first quarter to set up Nead's touchdown.
"I felt the offense was balanced both on the rushing and on the passing," Crowton said.
Ten different receivers caught passes for a total of 297 yards, and eight different Cougars combined for 437 yards, short of BYU's all-time record of 465 yards. The 734 total yards fell only 43 yards short of the BYU record.
Aaron Edmonds, BYU's preseason All-MWC punter, was not forced to punt until near the end of the third quarter. BYU didn't face a fourth down until 10:05 left in the third quarter, when Matt Payne missed a 50-yard field goal.
That would be the only thing Payne missed on the day, as he tied a BYU record for most PATs with 10.
Crowton promised a high-octane offense and that's exactly what the fans got.
"The players were prepared and they knew what they were doing and they made few errors," Crowton said.
Box Score (FINAL)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Tulane.............. 21 7 7 0 - 35 Record: (0-1)
Brigham Young....... 21 28 14 7 - 70 Record: (1-0)
Scoring Summary:
1st 13:56 TU - MOORE, Mewelde 75 yd run (MARLER, Seth kick),
TU 7 - BYU 0
11:46 BYU - STALEY, Luke 2 yd run (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 7 - BYU 7
08:27 TU - COLEMAN, Kris 3 yd run (MARLER, Seth kick),
TU 14 - BYU 7
04:41 BYU - STALEY, Luke 29 yd run (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 14 - BYU 14
02:54 BYU - STALEY, Luke 65 yd run (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 14 - BYU 21
00:54 TU - WILLIAMS, Royde 5 yd pass from RAMSEY, Patrick (MARLER, Seth kick),
TU 21 - BYU 21
2nd 14:56 BYU - NEAD, Spencer 8 yd pass from DOMAN, Brandon (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 21 - BYU 28
10:09 BYU - REID, Gabriel 13 yd pass from DOMAN, Brandon (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 21 - BYU 35
05:52 BYU - NEAD, Spencer 27 yd pass from DOMAN, Brandon (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 21 - BYU 42
01:26 TU - MOORE, Mewelde 10 yd pass from RAMSEY, Patrick (MARLER, Seth kick),
TU 28 - BYU 42
00:42 BYU - McDONALD, Brian 26 yd run (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 28 - BYU 49
3rd 13:04 BYU - DOMAN, Brandon 14 yd run (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 28 - BYU 56
08:01 TU - MOORE, Mewelde 15 yd pass from RAMSEY, Patrick (MARLER, Seth kick),
TU 35 - BYU 56
05:43 BYU - McDONALD, Brian 1 yd run (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 35 - BYU 63
4th 09:25 BYU - McDONALD, Brian 5 yd run (PAYNE, Matt kick),
TU 35 - BYU 70
TU BYU
FIRST DOWNS................... 27 30
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 43-219 49-437
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 289 297
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 49-23-1 33-27-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 92-508 82-734
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 0-0 7-134
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 6-133 3-93
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 1-17
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 7-47.0 2-38.5
Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-0 4-1
Penalties-Yards............... 5-35 7-68
Possession Time............... 29:45 30:15
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 3-27
RUSHING: Tulane-MOORE, Mewelde 22-176; RESHARD, Gee 5-21; LOSMAN, J.P. 3-12;
COLEMAN, Kris 3-9; NARCISSE, Nick 1-9; HOCKE, Brant 4-3; RAMSEY, Patrick
5-minus 11. Brigham Young-STALEY, Luke 10-142; DOMAN, Brandon 11-115;
McDONALD, Brian 18-103; MAHE, Reno 1-55; PETERSON, Charl 1-10; NIELSEN, Mike
3-10; STEARNS, Ned 2-3; MORTENSEN, Todd 3-minus 1.
PASSING: Tulane-RAMSEY, Patrick 20-43-1-263; LOSMAN, J.P. 3-6-0-26. Brigham
Young-DOMAN, Brandon 25-31-0-286; PETERSON, Charl 2-2-0-11.
RECEIVING: Tulane-HARRIS, Terrell 9-133; MOORE, Mewelde 5-66; WILLIAMS,
Royde 5-50; ROBINSON, Zande 1-15; DUNN, James 1-9; HOOVER, Bobby 1-8;
JOSEPH, Derrick 1-8. Brigham Young-MAHE, Reno 12-96; STALEY, Luke 4-52;
NEAD, Spencer 2-35; CHRISTENSEN, To 2-33; RIGELL, Mike 2-15; McDONALD, Brian
1-23; JOLLEY, Doug 1-14; REID, Gabriel 1-13; HALLADAY, Soren 1-9; ORD,
Andrew 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS: Tulane-None. Brigham Young-WALKENHORST, Pa 1-17.
FUMBLES: Tulane-HOCKE, Brant 1-0; MOORE, Mewelde 1-0. Brigham Young-DOMAN,
Brandon 2-1; McDONALD, Brian 1-0; RIGELL, Mike 1-0.
Stadium: Edwards Stadium Attendance: 40008
Kickoff time: 2:36 pm End of Game: 6:18 Total elapsed time: 3:42
Officials: Referee: David Neal; Umpire: Jim Thomas; Linesman: Norman Eubank;
Line judge: Harold Deines; Back judge: Thomas Workman; Field judge: William Simons;
Side judge: David Chesney;
Temperature: 91 Wind: 2-5,NW Weather: Sunny
SACKS (UA-A): Tulane-None. Brigham Young-DENNEY, Ryan 2-0; AH YOU, C.J. 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Tulane-MITCHELL, Adria 8-2; ELPHEAGE, Lynar 5-2; SPINCER,
Brando 6-0; SANCHEZ, Jeff 5-1; FONTENOT, Terry 4-2; BROWN, Quentin 4-1;
DORSEY, David 3-1; BARNES, Meldon 3-1; HEATH, Wesley 2-2; GODFREY, Trey 2-2;
SHELVIN, Roxie 2-2; BOGER, Tra 2-1; ALGERE, Edgar 2-0; HOCKE, Brant 1-1;
DORSEY, Floyd 1-1; BRAcy, Darlvon 1-0; ROTTMAYER, Bran 1-0; TICKLES, Marlon
1-0; ASHTON, Jay 1-0; RAMSEY, Patrick 1-0; SAPP, Darren 1-0; DAVIS, CARL
0-1; BRANON, Percy 0-1; BLACKMON, Kenan 0-1. Brigham Young-ENA, Justin 6-3;
DENNEY, Ryan 7-0; FRANCISCO, Aaro 4-2; ELLIOTT, Kurt 4-1; STALEY, Dustin
4-1; GILFORD, Jernar 4-0; KELLEY, Isaac 3-1; FARRIS, Alex 2-2; MARQUARDT,
Mich 3-0; KEISEL, Brett 2-1; WALKENHORST, Pa 2-1; AH YOU, C.J. 1-2; WRIGHT,
Bill 1-2; BOCKWOLDT, Colb 1-2; LAFITTE, Michae 2-0; MAUGA, Ammon 1-1;
STEPHENS, Brand 1-1; SLATER, Ryan 1-0; CARLSON, Brent 1-0; POPPINGA, Brady
1-0; NIELSEN, Mike 1-0; WILSON, Derrus 0-1; PILI, Ifo 0-1; PAYNE, Matt 0-1;
WARD, Anthony 0-1.
Player participation:
Tulane: 4-BROWN, Quentin, 5-SPINCER, Brando, 6-BRAcy, Darlvon, 11-JOSEPH, Derrick,
17-LOSMAN, J.P., 21-RESHARD, Gee, 23-BOGER, Tra, 25-DUNN, James, 27-HOCKE, Brant,
30-SAPP, Darren, 31-GODFREY, Trey, 33-BARNES, Meldon, 36-ROUSSEL, Casey,
38-COLEMAN, Kris, 47-MARLER, Seth, 50-BRANON, Percy, 54-TICKLES, Marlon,
57-ALGERE, Edgar, 83-DAVIS, CARL, 88-HOOVER, Bobby, 91-BLACKMON, Kenan,
97-ASHTON, Jay, 98-ROTTMAYER, Bran.
Brigham Young: 3-STEARNS, Ned, 5-WILSON, Derrus, 8-RIGELL, Mike, 12-CUSICK, Brian,
14-MORTENSEN, Todd, 15-KUKAHIKO, Jason, 17-PETERSON, Charl, 18-LAFITTE, Michae,
22-NIELSEN, Mike, 23-PHILLIPS, Danny, 25-SUMKO, Mike, 26-WILKERSON, Rod,
27-FARRIS, Alex, 28-BARKER, Todd, 29-EDMONDS, Aaron, 30-MEIBOS, Jared,
31-ELLIOTT, Kurt, 34-HEANEY, Brandon, 35-MAUGA, Ammon, 37-BURBIDGE, Jon,
38-PAYNE, Matt, 42-REID, Gabriel, 44-TANNER, Mike, 46-BOCKWOLDT, Colb,
49-POPPINGA, Brady, 52-CARLSON, Brent, 53-WRIGHT, Bill, 57-VINCENT, Hanale,
59-KEELE, Ryan, 61-MAILE, Naki, 64-JACKSON, Scott, 66-MARQUARDT, Mich,
73-HERRING, Isaac, 75-JOHNSON, David, 76-XANTHOS, Vincen, 80-CHRISTENSEN, To,
82-HALLADAY, Soren, 84-HOLDER, Curtis, 85-ANDERSON, Justi, 86-JOLLEY, Doug,
87-STEPHENS, Brand, 88-SLATER, Ryan, 90-AIONO, Aissac, 91-AH YOU, C.J.,
94-COWART, Jeff, 97-WARD, Anthony, 98-ROBERTS, Jim.
BCA Classic
BCA Classic Most Valuable Player: Brandon Doman