COUGARS REMAIN UNDEFEATED
With Friday's 54-34 victory over in-state rival Utah State, the Cougars improve to 5-0 on the season, marking the best start to a season since the 1984 National Championship campaign. Dating back to last season, BYU has won seven straight games, ranking as the longest consecutive win streak since the 1998 when the Cougars laced together seven straight wins from Oct. 10 to Nov. 21.
THE STREAK CONTINUES
Luke Staley's one-yard touchdown run with 7:29 left in the first quarter continued BYU's NCAA record streak of consecutive games without a shutout. BYU holds the record at 329 games, dating back to the 1975 season. Incidentally, junior running back Luke Staley has posted the Cougars' first points in each game this season, continuing the Cougars NCAA-record streak.
ATTENDANCE
Friday's game vs. Utah State marked the first sellout at LaVell Edwards Stadium (65,000) since the Cougars' final game of the 1999 season -- vs. Utah. Friday's attendance figure of 65,396 ranks tied for 42nd all-time at Edwards Stadium. The record is 66,247 (vs. Notre Dame) on Oct. 16, 1993. BYU has had 54 sell-out crowds at Edwards Stadium since 1982 -- the year the stadium was expanded to 65,000.
THE BYU-UTAH STATE RIVALRY
Friday's game marked the 75th meeting between the two schools, ranking as the second longest rivalry in BYU football history. Utah and BYU have the longest standing rivalry with 76 games played. With the 54-34 victory over the Aggies, the Cougars hold a 39-33-3 advantage in the series that dates back to Oct. 7, 1922. The Cougars have a 24-15-1 mark in Provo against the Aggies, including a stretch of 13 straight wins. The Cougars have not lost to Utah State in Provo since Oct. 7, 1978. BYU has won six straight in the series, including 16 of the past 17 meetings. Dating back to 1997, the Aggies are now 0-10 against teams from the Mountain West. The Aggies last victory over a MWC opponent was the season-opener against Utah in 1997.
COOL HAND LUKE
Junior running back Luke Staley recorded his first 200-yard rushing game and his fourth career 100-yard game against Utah State on Friday. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound running back totaled a career-high 207 yards rushing on 23 carries, averaging 9.0 yards per touch. Staley also picked up 44 yards receiving on four receptions, a team, season-high 49-yard kick return and threw one pass for 11 yards. On the night, Staley totaled an astounding 311 all-purpose yards. His 200-yard rushing performance marked the first time a BYU back has rushed for more than 200 yards since Ronney Jenkins posted 250 yards against San Jose State in 1998. He tied the BYU individual single-game record with five touchdowns on the night, including four rushing TDs. Staley also tied the BYU individual single-game record with 30 points. Staley has produced 32 career touchdowns, tieing him with Lakei Heimuli and Waymon Hamilton for second on the all-time BYU touchdown list. With eight games remaining, Staley has already posted a career-high 12 touchdowns on the season. With his first-quarter touchdown against the Aggies, Staley has produced at least one touchdown in 17 of the 24 games he has played over his career, including multiple-scoring games in nine different outings. After posting 207 yards against a stingy USU defense, Staley is now averaging 119.4 yards per game and averages a hefty 8.9 yards per carry.
BLOCKED FIELD GOAL
With 11:05 left in the first quarter of Friday's game, Brett Keisel was credited with BYU's first blocked kick of the season. Ryan Denney picked up the block of the 48-yard attempt and ran it to the Utah State 49. It was the first blocked field goal for the Cougars since Denney blocked a field goal in the 2000 San Diego State game.
FIRST STRIKE
BYU scored first on Friday, marking the first time this season since the Nevada game. In both the Cal and UNLV games, the Cougars played from behind early in the game. The Cougars first score of the game came with 7:29 remaining in the first quarter. Staley scored on a one-yard run to cap a nine-play, 49-yard drive.
LONG LAYOFF
Friday's game marked the first game at Edwards Stadium since Sept. 1, 2001, capping a 34-day stretch between games in Provo. The 34-day layoff between home games is the longest such streak during the season in BYU football history.
SECOND FASTEST DRIVE OF THE SEASON
The Cougars' :17 scoring drive in the first quarter was the second fastest scoring drive of the season. In the Cal game, BYU drove 59 yards in just :14 to score a touchdown to end the first half.
TIGHT END TALK
After the Cougars' 35-31 victory at UNLV, in which a BYU tight end did not catch a single pass, the Cougars went back to the tight ends this week. Spencer Nead recorded three receptions for 18 yards and one touchdown, while senior Doug Jolley made a good-hands grab for a 19-yard touchdown. Jolley's first-quarter touchdown marks his first of the season and his first since scoring at Virginia last season.
FLAG FOOTBALL
In the first half, BYU and Utah State piled up 10 penalties for 105 yards. With 131 penalty yards, it marked the first time BYU had more than 100 penalty yards since the San Diego State game last year. In that game, BYU had 159 yards in penalties. Utah State had 141 penalty yards on 13 penalties.
THE DOMANATOR
Brandon Doman threw four touchdowns in the game, giving him 13 TD passes on the season. He was 24-of-34 for 293 yards. With 2:59 left in the first half, Brandon Doman threw his second interception of the season and his second in as many games. It was also the Aggies' first interception of the season. With the win, Doman improved to 7-0 as a starter.
TRAILING AT THE HALF
Utah State took a 27-21 lead into halftime, marking the first time this season the Cougars have trailed at the half.
LOW-SCORING SECOND QUARTER
Having scored a combined 95 points in the second quarter of the four previous games, averaging 23.75 points in the second quarter, the Cougars managed a season-low seven points in the second quarter of Friday's game.
BIGGEST DEFICIT
When Utah State scored with 12:41 left in the game to take a 34-21 lead, it marked the first time BYU had been down by 13 points in a game.
GILFORD ON THE DEFENSIVE
Jernaro Gilford's 69-yard interception return against Utah State was his second interception of the season, including his second is as many games. It also marked the longest interception return for BYU this season.
NEXT WEEK
BYU (5-0, 1-0) will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. next Saturday, taking on New Mexico in the Cougars' second MWC game of the season. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. (MT) start and will be televised by ESPN+Plus. The game will be broadcast in Salt Lake City on KJZZ, Ch. 14.