BYU IN THE STANDINGS
With a 55-14 victory at UNLV, BYU improved to 5-4 on the season and 4-2 in the Mountain West Conference action. With the win, the Cougars move into a tie with Colorado State for second place in the league standings (as a result of CSU's loss to TCU on Saturday.)
CLEARING THE .500 MARK
With Saturday's victory, the Cougars improve to 5-4 on the season and move one game over the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 6, 2004 (364 days).
FLAG BEARER
Senior safety Spencer White was elected by his teammates to run the "Y" flag onto the field prior to this afternoon's game.
BOWL STATUS
With five wins on the season, the Cougars must reach the six-win mark in order to become bowl eligible. BYU must win one of its final two games in order to be eligible for bowl consideration. BYU will next travel to Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 12. (The Cowboys have lost four straight.) The Cougars will wrap up the season in Provo against in-state rival Utah.
RUSHING DEFENSE
BYU held UNLV to just two yards rushing on the day. That total is a season-best and marks the fourth time this season the Cougars have held an opponent to 70 yards (or less) rushing. The Cougars held Notre Dame to just 44 yards rushing, gave up just 30 yards against Colorado State and 70 against Eastern Illinois.
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SCORING
For the first time this season, BYU outscored its opponent in all four quarters. The Cougars posted a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, a 20-7 advantage in the second quarter, a 14-0 spread in the third quarter and posted a 14-7 margin in the final quarter against UNLV.
PUNT RETURN FUTILITY
Today's game marks the 101st game that the Cougars have not scored a touchdown on a punt return. The streak dates back to Oct. 18, 1997 when Jaron Dabney returned a punt 83 yards in the Cougars' 17-3 win at Hawaii. BYU has a streak of 279 punt returns without a return for touchdown.
KICK RETURN FUTILITY
Today's game marks the 89th game that the Cougars have not returned a kickoff for a touchdown, marking a string of 285 kick returns without a touchdown. Mike Rigell was the last BYU player to return a kickoff (96 yards), leading the Cougars to a 31-9 win against Hawaii on Oct. 17, 1998 in Provo.
SCORING FIRST
BYU jumped out to a 7-0 lead over UNLV when Fahu Tahi scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter. It was the fifth consecutive game the Cougars scored first and the seventh time in nine games this season. BYU is 5-2 in those seven games.
SCORELESS QUARTERS
Against UNLV, BYU led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. It was the fifth time this season the Cougars have shut out their opponent in the opening frame and the fifth time they have led after the first quarter. BYU is 3-2 when leading after the first quarter. The Cougars also shut out the Rebels in the third quarter, giving BYU 10 quarter shutouts on the season.
LONG RUN
Fahu Tahi broke free for a 31-yard run in the second quarter against UNLV to put the Cougars in scoring position. It was his longest run of the season and the second-longest run by a BYU player this season.
THREE PICKS
Justin Luettgerodt picked off UNLV quarterback Jarrod Jackson in the second quarter and returned it 28 yards to the Rebel 24-yard line. It was the second-consecutive game he recorded an interception. Against Air Force, he had an interception that set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Nathan Meikle. Kayle Buchanan recorded his first-career interception in the second quarter. He picked off a Jackson pass intended for Donell Wheaton. Spencer White added one of his own on UNLV's first drive of the second half when he snagged the ball out of the air after a Rebel receiver tipped it. Saturday's game marked the Cougars' second-consecutive game with three interceptions. BYU has recovered 17 turnovers this season, and given up 17 for a 0 turnover margin.
TURNOVER SCORING
BYU scored 21 of its 55 points off UNLV turnovers.
TOUCHDOWN LEADER
Following a personal foul by UNLV in the second quarter, Todd Watkins caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from John Beck, marking his seventh TD of the season. Watkins scored six touchdowns in 2004.
DOUBLE DUTY IN THE ENDZONE
Curtis Brown and Fahu Tahi both scored two touchdowns against UNLV. Tahi's TD's came on the ground, while Brown scored one rushing and one receiving. Tahi now has six touchdowns on the year, while Brown has 11. Brown scored four against Air Force to give him six in two games.
PAPER OR PLASTIC
In the third quarter against UNLV, Justin Maddux recorded back-to-back sacks for a combined loss of 12 yards on first and second down to put the Rebels in a 3-and-21 situation. He finished the day with a game-high 3.0 sacks for 22 yards. Maddux now has 5.0 sacks for a combined loss of 29 yards on the season. All totaled the Cougars sacked UNLV quarterback Jarrod Jackson five times for a combined loss of 40 yards, while the Rebels sacked BYU quarterback John Beck twice for eight yards.
HALFTIME LEAD
The Cougars led 27-7 at the half against UNLV. It was the fifth time this season BYU led at the half. The Cougars are 3-1 in games when leading at halftime. In those five games, BYU's average lead at the half is 18.8 points.
FOUR-GAME STREAK
With Saturday's win over UNLV, the Cougars have now won four-consecutive Mountain West Conference games. BYU has defeated New Mexico, Colorado State and Air Force during the streak. It is the Cougars' first four-game conference win streak since 2001, when BYU went undefeated in the MWC.
THE 50-POINT PLATEAU
By scoring 55 points against UNLV, the Cougars scored 50-or-more points in consecutive games for the first time since 2001. BYU scored 62 against Air Force, for a total of 117 points in two games. The last time the Cougars scored at least 50 in back-to-back games was in 2001 when they had 59 at San Diego State and 56 versus Colorado State for a total of 115 points. The last time BYU had at least 117 points in two games was in 2001, when the Cougars had 63 against Air Force and 59 at San Diego State for a total of 122 points.
COMING OUT PARTY
Freshman Wayne Latu led the Cougars with 15 carries for 93 yards and scored the Cougars' final touchdown. Latu had one carry for five yards prior to today's game.
SECOND-MOST POINTS, LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY AGAINST UNLV
BYU's 55 points in Saturday's game against UNLV was the second most scored by the Cougars against the Rebels. In 1996, BYU scored 63 at home against UNLV and in 1980, the Cougars put 54 on the board in Vegas. The 41-point margin of victory was the largest by BYU against the Rebels. The Cougars won the 1980 game by 40, 54-14. BYU is now 6-0 in Las Vegas.