BYU IN THE STANDINGS
With the victory, the Cougars--picked fourth in the Mountain West preseason media poll--clinched at least a share of second place in the league standings. With Colorado State's loss to San Diego State on Saturday, the Cougars are currently in sole possession of second place.
CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN
Saturday's 35-21 win at Wyoming improved BYU's record to 6-4, marking the first time since Sept. 6, 2002 that the Cougars have had a record two games over the .500 mark. (BYU beat Hawaii, 35-32, to improve to 2-0 on the season.)
WIN STREAK
With Saturday's win at Wyoming, the Cougars have won five straight Mountain West Conference, marking the longest league winning streak for the Cougars since the 2001 season. Overall, BYU has won five of its last six games, including a streak of three straight. The Cougars' three-game win streak is the longest since beating Wyoming, Air Force and San Diego State last season. A win next week against Utah would give BYU its longest win streak (four games) since the 2001 season.
FLAG BEARER
Senior defensive lineman T.J. Sitake was elected by his teammates to run the "Y" flag onto the field prior to Saturday's game at Wyoming.
WINNING SEASON
With six wins on the season, BYU is guaranteed of its first winning regular season since the 2001 season.
BOWL STATUS
BYU's 35-21 win over Wyoming not only ensured the Cougars (6-4, 5-2) would have their first winning regular season since 2001, but also gave the team the necessary number of wins to become bowl eligible for the first time over that three-year span. The Cougars are just one of three bowl-eligible teams in the Mountain West.
PUNT RETURN FUTILITY
Today's game marks the 102nd 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 90th 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.
TURNOVER MACHINE
Justin Luettgerodt recovered a fumble in the first, second and third quarters against Wyoming. He also had an interception in the fourth quarter to seal the BYU victory. He also had interceptions against Air Force and UNLV. The Cougars scored following his three fumble recoveries against the Cowboys. Luettgerodt has now caused six turnovers on the season.
THREE MORE TAKEAWAYS
Against Wyoming, Corby Hodgkiss picked off a Corey Bramlet pass with just over a minute left in the first half. It was the third turnover of the half the Cougars forced. It marked the third-consecutive game BYU forced at least three turnovers. Wyoming ended up turning the ball over five times, including three fumbles and two interceptions. The Cougars forced five turnovers against Air Force and three against UNLV and have only turned the ball over twice in those three games, both against the Falcons.
OPENING DRIVE SCORE
Wyoming's Corey Bramlet found Jovon Bouknight for a 21-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the game. It was the first time this season a BYU opponent scored on the game's opening drive. It was only the third time all season the Cougars have not scored first.
KEEPING IT EVEN
On BYU's opening drive against Wyoming, the Cougars used a balanced attack to reach the endzone, passing five times and running five times. The drive lasted 4:42 and covered 84 yards. Curtis Brown capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run, his 12th score of the year. BYU continued to keep it even the rest of the quarter, ending with 11 runs and 11 passes. For the game, the Cougars ran 50 times and threw the ball 29 times.
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS
The Cougars scored touchdowns after recovering Wyoming fumbles in the first, second and third quarters. In the last three games, BYU has scored 52 points off opponent turnovers. Against Air Force, the Cougars scored 10 points off turnovers and had 21 off turnovers against UNLV.
LONGEST RUN
Wynel Seldon of Wyoming ran for a 69-yard touchdown in the second quarter to tie the score at 14. It was the longest run from scrimmage BYU has allowed this season. The previous long was 53 yards by Lynel Hamilton of San Diego State.
GOOD GRIEF CURTIS BROWN
Curtis Brown scored two touchdowns in the first half against Wyoming. Interestingly, both touchdown runs for No. 6 went for six yards. It was his fourth multiple-touchdown game of the year. He scored two against Colorado State, four against Air Force, two against UNLV and two against Wyoming. All four games have come in a five-game span. Brown now has 13 touchdowns on the season, including 12 rushing and one receiving. Brown has gained 958 yards this season, averaging over 94 yards per game. Brown needs just 58 yards rushing to hit the 1,000-yard mark. He would become the first BYU running back to run for 1,000 yards in a season since Luke Staley in 2001. It would also mark only the eighth time in BYU history the Cougars have had a running back with 1,000 yards rushing in a season. Brown would join the likes of Luke Staley, Ronney Jenkins, Brian McKenzie, Jamal Willis (twice), Pete VanValkenburg and Eldon Fortie as the only other running backs to break the 1,000-yard mark.
TIED FOR FIFTH BEST
John Beck threw two touchdown passes against Wyoming, both to Jonny Harline. Beck has 22 touchdown passes on the season and is tied with former Wyoming quarterback Casey Bramlet for the fifth-most touchdown passes in a season. Beck has thrown for 3,048 yards this season, marking the first time since 2001 a BYU quarterback has thrown for over 3,000 yards, and only the fourth time since 1996 a BYU quarterback has thrown for over 3,000 yards in a single season.
LONGEST DRIVE
In the second quarter, Curtis Brown scored his second touchdown against Wyoming to complete a 17-play, 89-yard drive that lasted 8:21. The drive was the longest of the season as far as time (8:21) and the 17 plays were the most for any drive. The 89 yards makes the drive the third longest of the year. Later in the game, the Cougars had a 94-yard, 10-play drive that lasted 5:46, marking the longest (yardage) drive of the season. The previous long was a 93-yarder against New Mexico.
200 RUSHING YARDS
Against Wyoming, the Cougars ran for over 200 yards, marking the third-consecutive game and the fourth time this season BYU has ran for over 200 yards. BYU had 267 yards on 50 carries against the Cowboys. The Cougars are 4-0 in each of those four games. The Cougars had 274 yards at Colorado State, 300 against Air Force and 224 at UNLV. Against Wyoming, Curtis Brown had 153 yards, Fahu Tahi had 72 yards, John Beck had 40 yards and Manase Tonga had seven yards.
BIG RUN BECK
In the third quarter against Wyoming, facing a third-and-five from the BYU 25, John Beck avoided a Cowboy blitz and ran for 45-yards. Beck ran for 40 yards on the game.
MOST 100-yard GAMES
Junior running back Curtis Brown ran for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns on 25 carries against Wyoming, giving him 10-career 100-yard games. Brown, a junior, is now tied with Luke Staley, Jamal Willis, John Ogden and Lakei Heimuli for most career 100-yard games in BYU history. Brown and Staley are the only two backs to reach the 10-game mark during their junior seasons.
SCORELESS QUARTERS
Against Wyoming, BYU held the Cowboys scoreless in the second and fourth quarters. They were the 11th and 12th shutout quarters of the season for the Cougars.
LONGEST PUNT RETURN
Hoost Marsh of Wyoming had the longest punt return of the season against the Cougars. It came in the third quarter and covered 46 yards.