LAS -- With BYU's 17-16 win over UCLA in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, the Cougars extended their win streak to 10 straight games, which marks the nation's second longest, active winning streak. The Cougars have won 22 of their last 24 games and have posted a 22-4 record over the past two seasons.
ANOTHER 11-WIN SEASON
With a 17-16 victory over UCLA, the Cougars improved to 11-2 on the season. The Cougars' 11-win season marks the ninth time in BYU football history the Cougars have recorded 11 or more wins in a single season. It is also the first time since 1983-84 that BYU has posted 11 or more wins in back-to-back seasons.
FRESHMAN LINEMAN CREATES MIRACLE BOWL II
True freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna extended his right hand at the right time to block UCLA's potential game-winning, 28-yard field goal as time expired to create what will be known as one of the most memorable bowl finishes in BYU Football history. Manumaleuna, who was born in Los Angeles, raised in Alaska and graduated from Provo's Timpview High School last season, will enter the Missionary Training Center on January 30 to prepare for his two-year mission to Oklahoma City.
SECOND STRAIGHT BOWL VICTORY
Included a 38-8 victory over Oregon in the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl, BYU's victory over UCLA in the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl marked the first back-to-back bowl victories (in consecutive years) since picking up Holiday Bowl victories in 1983 and 1984. It was also the first time since 1994 and 1996 that BYU had picked up consecutive victories in back-to-back bowl appearances. (BYU did not participate in a bowl game during the 1995 season.)
BOWL RECORD
The 2007 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl marked the Cougars' 26th overall bowl appearance. With the win over the Bruins, BYU now has a post-season bowl record of 9-16-1.
NATIONALLY RANKED
BYU entered the 2007 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl ranked No. 19 in both the USA Today/Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top-25. Win the victory over UCLA the Cougars improved to 138-41 when playing as a nationally ranked team.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Sophomore receiver Austin Collie was named the 2007 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl Most Valuable Player after racking up a game-high 107 yards on six receptions. Collie's 14-yard touchdown reception from Max Hall with 10:32 left in the second quarter gave the Cougars a 10-3 advantage. He was also credited with a game-high 195 all-purpose yards, including three kick returns for a total of 88 yards. Collies' biggest reception came with 3:46 remaining in the game. On first-and-10 from the BYU 26-yard line, Collie made football's equivalent of Willie Mays' 1954 World Series amazing catch. The play was good for a 37-yard gain that gave the Cougars a first-and-10 at the UCLA 37-yard line.
WIN AVENGES LOSS TO BRUINS
Beating the Bruins has been something the Cougars have struggled with over the years. Entering the 2007 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, the Bruins enjoyed a 7-1 advantage over BYU, dating back to 1983. In fact, it had been 24 years since the Cougars had defeated UCLA. BYU's 17-16 victory ended the Bruins' seven-game win streak over the Cougars and marked the first BYU victory since the 1983 season. The victory also avenged an early-season loss to the Bruins -- one of only two losses the Cougars suffered this season. The two teams will meet again on September 13, 2008 in Provo and will mark the third meeting between the two teams in a 12-month period.
FEELS LIKE HOME
Including the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl, the Cougars have played a total of 12 times at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, including five times in the past three years. The Cougars are 10-2 when played at Sam Boyd Stadium, including a record of 7-0 against UNLV, 2-1 in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl and 1-1 in the WAC Championship. An estimated 30,000-35,000 of the 40,712 in attendance were BYU supporters. The game was sold out for the third straight year.
MIRROR IMAGE
For the second straight season the Cougars finished the year with an 11-2 record, a 10-game win streak, an undefeated Mountain West Conference record, an undefeated record on the road against league opponents, an undefeated home record, a Mountain West Conference Championship, a victory over a Pac-10 opponent in the Las Vegas Bowl and most assuredly a top-25 national ranking.
VERSUS THE PAC-10
BYU's victory over UCLA marked the third win (in five tries) over teams from the Pac-10 over the past two seasons. Including the 2006 season, the Cougars are 1-1 against Arizona, 1-1 against UCLA and 1-0 against Oregon. Interestingly, BYU has outscored Pac-10 opponents 120-93 over the past five match-ups.
MENDENHALL RECORD
With the victory over UCLA, third-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall improved his career record to 28-10, including a record of 22-4 over the past two seasons. Mendenhall is the first coach in BYU history to take a team to three straight bowl games in his first three years. He is also the only coach in BYU history to record 25 win in his first 35 games.
ROAD WARRIORS
While BYU has posted an impressive 12-game home win streak, the Cougars have been equally impressive away from Edwards Stadium in Provo. BYU has won 10 of its last 12 road games, including five straight road games this season.
SECOND-HALF SHUTOUT
After taking a 17-13 halftime lead, the UCLA defense held BYU scoreless through the second half. The second-half shutout marked the first time since September 11, 2004 at Stanford that the Cougars were unable to score during the second half.
PROTECTING A HALFTIME LEAD
During the 2007 season, the Cougars posted a record of 11-1 when leading at halftime. During the Bronco Mendenhall era, BYU has posted a record of 27-4 when protecting a halftime lead.
FIRST BLOOD
A UCLA 22-yard field goal with 8:12 left in the first quarter marked the first time since the UNLV game on October 13 that the Cougars did not score first in the game. The play marks only the third time all season BYU did not score first. (All three scores were field goals.) Despite the UCLA field goal, the Cougars have still scored first in 22 of their last 25 games and own a record of 20-2 when scoring first.
AND THEN SOME ...
Max Hall's 13-yard pass to Michael Reed gave the Cougars a 17-6 lead with 1:03 left in the first half. The touchdown equaled BYU's scoring total from the two team's earlier match-up on September 8.
RECORD SETTER
Despite being held to just 16 yards rushing, freshman running back Harvey Unga became the Mountain West Conference's all-time freshman running back leader on Saturday. Unga has racked up 1,227 yards rushing on the season. During the season he produced a BYU freshman record seven, 100-yard games
FIRST-QUARTER TIE
Tonight's game marks only the second time this season the Cougars have been tied with their opponent after the first quarter of play. BYU ended the first quarter against Utah with a 0-0 tie. The Cougars went on to win, 17-10.
FIRST-QUARTER IMPROVEMENT
When BYU and UCLA met on September 8 in Pasadena, the Bruins held a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter during tonight's game, the Cougars and Bruins were tied, 3-3.
FIRST-QUARTER PASSING DEFENSE
During the first quarter of play, the BYU defense held the Bruins to 0 yards passing. In fact the Bruins attempted only one pass during the first quarter.
59 EACH
After the first quarter of play, both teams had 59 yards of total offense. The Cougars had 64 yards passing an minus 5 yards rushing, while the Bruins had 0 yards passing and 59 yards rushing.
LONGEST FIELD GOAL ALLOWED
UCLA's Kai Forbath's 52-yard field goal that cut the BYU lead to 10-6 marked the longest field goal the Cougars have allowed this season. The play also marked the longest field goal in Las Vegas Bowl history. The previous long was a 45-yarder against Tulsa.
INTERCEPTION NOTES
Safety Korby Hodgkiss intercepted McLeod Bethel-Thompson with 3:14 left in the third quarter to mark his third interception of the season. The pick marks the 12th straight game the Cougars have had at least one interception. The streak started with a Kayle Buchanan interception against UCLA on September 8.
RUSHING DEFENSE STREAKS ENDS
Entering the Las Vegas Bowl, the Cougars had not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. UCLA running back Chris Markey carried the bal 27 times for 117 yards to end the Cougars' streak at 12 games.
COIN TOSS
UCLA won the coin toss and elected to defer and defend the north goal. Interestingly BYU finished the season with a 5-0 record when losing the coin toss.
FLAG BEARER
Senior fullback Manase Tonga was elected by teammates to carry the team flag on to the field prior to the start of the Las Vegas Bowl. The white flag with a blue "Y" logo has been signed by each member of the team. Their signature reflects their commitment to uphold the tradition, spirit and honor of the BYU football program and to be a flag bearer of the University.