BYU will close out the 2011 season against Tulsa in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, Dec. 30, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live from Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on ESPN, WatchESPN.com and KSL Radio 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and ksl.com.
BYU (9-3) vs. Tulsa (8-4, C-USA)
Dec. 30, 2011
11 a.m. CT
Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Dallas, Texas
For the complete Armed Forces Bowl game notes, see the attached PDF file below.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- With a 9-3 record heading into the Armed Forces Bowl, BYU is looking for its fifth 10-win season under Bronco Mendenhall’s seven-year head coaching tenure. If accomplished, Mendenhall would join Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Georgia’s Mark Richt as the only three active FBS coaches with five 10-win seasons in their first seven FBS head coaching seasons.
- Under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, BYU has a 4-2 record in bowl games. Mendenhall is one of four active coaches who have advanced to a bowl in each of his first seven seasons (Bob Stoops, Oklahoma; Mark Richt, Georgia; Kyle Whittingham, Utah).
- BYU has averaged 49.0 ppg in its last five contests against Tulsa. In the last five games of 2011, the Cougars have averaged 43.8 ppg.
- BYU is playing an Oklahoma-based school in a bowl game for the fourth time. The Cougars played Oklahoma State in its first two bowl games in program history, losing both games in 1974 and 1976, respectively. In the 1994 Copper Bowl, BYU defeated Oklahoma, 31-6.
- Members of the Cougars have been honored by postseason publications this month. Highlights include receiver Ross Apo being named Sporting News Freshman All-America honorable mention and Independent Freshman of the Year by Yahoo! Sports as well as Phil Steele All-Independent Second Team. Bronco Mendenhall was named Independent Coach of the Year by Yahoo! while QB Riley Nelson, WR Cody Hoffman, OL Matt Reynolds, OL Braden Hansen and LB Kyle Van Noy earned spots on all three All-Independent postseason teams.
BYU vs. TULSA BOWL FACTS
- The Cougars have played a bowl game on Dec. 30 three times before, going 0-2-1. BYU lost to UCLA in the 1986 Freedom Bowl and Ohio State in the 1993 Holiday Bowl while tieing Iowa in the 1991 Holiday Bowl.
- Tulsa is the third team from Oklahoma that BYU has played in a bowl game. BYU lost to Oklahoma State in its first two bowl appearances in the 1974 Fiesta Bowl and 1976 Tangerine Bowl in addition to defeating Oklahoma in the 1994 Copper Bowl.
- BYU is 2-1 against current C-USA membership, including a win over SMU when the Mustangs were a member of the Southwest Conference in 1980, winning 46-45 in the now-classic “Miracle Bowl.” Tulsa is the fourth Conference USA opponent the Cougars have played in a bowl game. BYU is 1-2 all-time against C-USA bowl opponents, losing 41-27 to Tulane in the 1998 Liberty Bowl and 28-10 in the 2001 Liberty Bowl to Louisville (now in the Big East) before defeating UTEP, 52-24, in last year’s New Mexico Bowl. Meeting for the 7th time, BYU and Tulsa have never faced each other on a neutral field. BYU is 4-0 at home and 2-1 on the road against the Golden Hurricane.
- The Armed Forces Bowl is BYU’s 30th bowl appearance and 7th-straight bowl game. Tulsa is playing in its 18th bowl game and second consecutive and its first since last season’s Hawaii Bowl. The Golden Hurricane have been to a bowl six of the last seven seasons.
- BYU’s seven-year bowl streak is currently tied for the 15th-longest active streak among all FBS teams.
THE BYU vs. TULSA SERIES
This is the eighth meeting between BYU and Tulsa. The Cougars are 6-1 vs. the Golden Hurricane. Despite dominating the series, BYU suffered a defeat in the last matchup, falling to Tulsa 55-47 in an offensive shootout in Tulsa, Okla. In just his third-career start, sophomore Max Hall threw for 537 yards and four touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to match the Golden Hurricane’s 595 total yards. BYU took the lead into halftime at 34-31 but Tulsa came out in the second half and scored back-to-back touchdowns to take the lead and not look back. The Cougars cut it to five points near the end of the third quarter but couldn’t get any closer. BYU outgained the Golden Hurricane 694 to 595 but four turnovers doomed the Cougars.
AND IT CAME TO PASS
The BYU offense has had at least three touchdown passes in six of its last seven games and has had at least one TD pass in 11 of 12 games this season. Last season, the Cougars had just two games with three or more TD throws and had a TD throw in only 8 of 13 games.
Games with 3 or More Touchdown Passes
2011 - 6
2010 - 2
2009 - 6
2008 - 7
2007 - 4
2006 - 7
2005 - 6
BYU POSTSEASON HONORS
Several BYU players were named to two different All-Independent Teams following the Cougars’ 9-3 regular season campaign. Freshman wide receiver Ross Apo who was named a 2011 College Football News Freshman All-America honorable mention and won both the FBS and Yahoo! Sports Independent Freshman of the Year awards. Also among individual honorees, head coach Bronco Mendenhall also received Coach of the Year honors from Yahoo! Sports. The Cougars had eight players named to the Yahoo! Sports All-Independent Team and 16 players with 17 total selections on the Phil Steele All-Independent First and Second Teams. BYU had nine selections on the first team and eight on the second team. On the FBS All-Independent Team, BYU earned seven honors along with eight honorable mentions.