QUARTER-BECK NOTES
BYU quarterback John Beck threw for 240 yards, connecting on 16-of-21 attempts. The senior had three touchdowns, including a 62-yard pass to Curtis Brown, a 16-yard pass to Zac Collie and a 3-yard pass to Matt Allen. With his 240-yard performance, Beck moved past Steve Sarkisian and Marc Wilson for seventh place on BYU's all-time passing list with 7,665 yards. He needs just 69 yards to pass Steve Young for sixth place on that list. On the season, Beck has completed 44-of-58 attempts for 529 yards and four touchdowns. Completing 75.8 percent of his attempts, Beck has not thrown an interceptions in 58 straight attempts.
GOOD GRIEF, CURTIS BROWN
BYU running back Curtis Brown ran for 125 yards on 21 carries to improve his school record to 12 career games with at least 100 yards rushing. He has totaled 2,359 career yards, needing just five yards to pass John Ogden for sixth on BYU's all-time rushing list. Brown racked up 207 combined yards in the Cougars' 49-24 win over Tulsa.
SCORING EARLY
After shutting Tulsa down on its first drive of the game, and taking advantage of excellent field position as a result of a blocked punt by Zac Collie, the Cougars drove 55 yards in seven plays to take an early 7-0 lead. The score marked the first time BYU has scored first in a game since Fahu Tahi scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter at UNLV on Nov. 5, 2005. The streak spans four games, including last weekend's season-opener at Arizona.
SCORING DEFENSE
In the first two games of the 2006 season, BYU has allowed just 40 points. With an average of 20.0 points per game, the Cougars currently ranked tied for 59th in the country in scoring defense. Interestingly, the defense is off to its best start (through the first two games against Division I-A opponents) since the 1994 season. BYU's current average is the lowest scoring defense mark over the first two games of a season (against Division I-A opponents) since allowing just 16.5 points per game back in 1994.
HALFTIME LEAD
BYU led Tulsa 21-10 at halftime, marking the second straight game the Cougars have held the lead at halftime. The Cougars' 11-point halftime lead marked the larges lead after the first two quarters since leading Wyoming 28-14 at the half last season.
STILL UNDEFEATED
BYU's 49-24 victory over Tulsa improved the Cougars overall record to 6-0 against the Golden Hurricane. BYU's all-time record against current Conference USA opponents stands at 40-11-1.
EARLY RUSHING
On BYU's opening drive alone, the Cougars more than doubled their total rushing output from the previous week. BYU rushed for 49 yards on five carries in its opening drive while netting only 24 yards last week against Arizona. Curtis Brown led BYU on its opening drive with three rushes for 28 yards on the drive. Brown had 11 carries for 23 yards against Arizona. Fui Vakapuna's 21 yards (on two carries) matched his yardage output for the Arizona game.
TIME OF POSSESSION
First quarter time of possession was dominated by Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane had the ball for 11:05 seconds while BYU held possession for 3:55.
FIRST QUARTER GOOSE EGG
BYU's defense held Tulsa scoreless in the first quarter. The Golden Hurricane first scored with 11:03 remaining in the second quarter. It was the first time the Cougars held an opponent scoreless in the opening quarter since Nov. 5, 2005, in a 55-14 victory over UNLV.
BLOCKED PUNTS
Zac Collie blocked a Tulsa punt on its first possession. It was the first time the Cougars blocked a punt since Sept. 2, 2005 when Bryan Kehl got his hand on a punt against Boston College. The Cougars converted on the ensuing drive, marching 55 yards for an opening-drive touchdown. Tulsa returned the favor in the second quarter when Courtney Tennial blocked a Derek McLaughlin punt. The blocked punt was the fist time an opponent got to a BYU punt since Nov. 5, 2005 against UNLV. The Golden Hurricane blocked punt turned into a 25-yard Jarod Tracy field goal.
CAREER FIRSTS
Manase Tonga scored his first career touchdown in the second quarter. Tonga scampered six yards with 3:51 remaining in the first half. Harvey Unga also scored his first career touchdown on a six-yard run on his second career carry in the fourth quarter. Saturday's game also marked the first time Fui Vakapuna had two touchdowns in a game.
LIKE RIDING A BIKE
Fui Vakapuna took a lateral six yards for a touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter. It was Vakapuna's first touchdown since Oct. 30, 2003 against Boise State. Vakapuna returned from a LDS church mission prior to spring ball.
HALFTIME LEAD
BYU led Arizona 7-6 last week at halftime. The Cougars last double-digit halftime lead was Nov. 12, 2005 when they led Wyoming 28-14 at the break.
LONG PLAY
John Beck hooked up with Matt Allen for a 38-yard pass with under two minutes remaining in the first half, making it the longest play from scrimmage this season until Brown's 62-yard touchdown play in the third quarter.
RUMBLIN', BUMBLIN', STUMBLIN'
Curtis Brown's 62-yard catch and run for a touchdown showed why he is a preseason Doak Walker candidate. On the play, Brown broke four tackles--escaping six Tulsa players--before scampering down the sideline for the score. Matt Allen had a key block on the play to spring Brown.
BIG LEAD
When BYU scored with 13:52 remaining in the third quarter to open a 28-10 lead, it was the Cougars largest lead since taking a 27-7 lead at UNLV at halftime last season.
GOOD DAY TO BE A TONGA
Brother's Manase and Matangi are one of six brother combinations on the BYU roster. The Tongas are the only brother combination to play today. Both contributed with Manase scoring his first career touchdown in the third quarter and defensive lineman Matangi accounting for the game's only turnover, a third quarter interception that led to a BYU touchdown.
WEATHER DELAY
With 6:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, the game was delayed for 53 minutes due to lightning in the area. It was the first time BYU has endured a weather-related delay since a 1999 contest at New Mexico.
TWO 100-YARD RUSHERS...ALMOST
BYU's Curtis Brown (103) and Fui Vakapuna (96) nearly became the first Cougar tandem to rush for 100 yards since 2001 when Brandon Doman and Luke Staley rushed for 164 and 196, respectively.
MOST POINTS SINCE...
BYU's 49 points against Tulsa were the most since the Cougars scored 55 last November against UNLV.
BLUE ZONE
The Cougars were a perfect 6-for-6 in the Blue Zone against Tulsa. BYU scored 42 of its 49 points after entering the Blue Zone, including four rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns. On the season, BYU has scored seven touchdowns and two field goals after entering the Blue Zone.