OPENING DRIVE SUCCESS
For the fourth time in six games, BYU started the game with a touchdown drive. The Cougars marched 43 yards on five plays (all rushes) with Fui Vakapuna picking up the final 14 yards for a touchdown. After starting the drive at the San Diego State 43-yard line, BYU needed just 1:41 seconds, scoring the opening touchdown at the 13:19 mark of the first quarter. The 1:41 minute scoring drive marked the quickest opening-drive touchdown since Brian Gray returned a 39-yard interception against San Diego State on Oct. 29, 1998.
EARLY LEAD
The Cougars scored first for the fifth consecutive game. The last time a BYU opponent took an early lead was in the Cougars' opener when Arizona scored an early field goal to go ahead 3-0.
FIRST OF THE YEAR
Curtis Brown, who led BYU last season with 16 touchdowns--14 rushing--picked up his first rushing touchdown of the season in the first quarter. Brown scored on a 62-yard touchdown reception against Tulsa earlier this season. Freshman Mike Hague made his first career reception in the second quarter. Dustin Gabriel recorded his first interception of the season. He also returned the interception for his first career touchdown.
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER
All totaled, the Cougars have outscored their opponents in 17 of 24 quarters this season, including eight shutout quarters. BYU has not trailed since the Boston College game, marking 12 consecutive quarters without trailing.
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN
Gabriel's 38-yard interception touchdown marked the second straight home game BYU has recorded a defensive touchdown. Justin Robinson had a 64-yard interception return against Utah State. This season marks the first time BYU has scored two defensive touchdowns since 1998.
HALFTIME LEAD
BYU's 40-3 halftime lead extended the Cougars' streak of being ahead at half to six straight games. BYU has held a halftime advantage in every game this season.
BIG HALFTIME LEAD
The Cougars' first-half offensive outburst marked the first time BYU has scored over 40 points in the first half since the 2001 season opener. The Cougars posted 49 first-half points against Tulane on August 25, 2001. The 37-point advantage was BYU's largest since leading Nevada, 38-0, September 1, 2001.
SCORING DEFENSE
Entering Saturday's game against San Diego State, BYU ranked 40th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 17.4 points per game. The BYU defense gave up just 17 points against the Aztecs, lowering the Cougars' average to 17.3 points per game -- the lowest scoring defensive average through six games since 1988.
QUARTER "BECK" UPDATE
With four touchdown passes, John Beck has thrown 59 career touchdown completions. Beck's eight-yard touchdown pass to Jonny Harline was his 57th career TD throw, breaking the all-time Mountain West Conference record of 56 touchdown passes previous held by Wyoming's Casey Bramlet. Beck finished the game 16-of-21 for 267 yards and four touchdowns for a career-high efficiency rating of 245.85. Beck's quarterback rating was the highest for a Cougar quarterback since Steve Sarkisian posted a 260.8 mark against Rice in 1996. Beck's 267 yards give him 8,689 in his career and moves him closer to second place (Jim McMahon 9,536).
GOOD GRIEF, CURTIS BROWN
Curtis Brown rushed for 46 yards on 11 carries and caught four passes for 33 yards. Brown had one rushing and one receiving touchdown. Brown also returned three kickoffs for 94 yards with a long return of 48 yards. Brown now has 2,569 yards rushing in his career, remaining in fourth place all time.
THREE IN A ROW
BYU's victory over the Aztecs was the third consecutive win for the Cougars. It marks the first three-game winning streak for BYU since the Cougars beat Air Force, UNLV and Wyoming in back-to-back-to-back contests last season. When BYU plays host to UNLV in two weeks, the Cougars will be going for their first four-game winning streak since 2001.
CONFERENCE START
With Saturday's 47-17 victory over San Diego State, the Cougars are off to a 2-0 start in Mountain West Conference play, marking the best league start for the Cougars since the 2001 season.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
After finishing 3-3 at home last season, the Cougars are off to a 3-0 start in Edwards Stadium for the first time since the 2001 season.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
BYU is 3-0 at LaVell Edwards Stadium this season. All three games have been blowouts with the Cougars averaging 41.3 points a game while holding their opponents to 13.6 points per game.
BIGGEST CROWD
A crowd of 60,804 witnessed BYU win its third consecutive game at LaVell Edwards stadium. The crowd was the largest this season.