MWC CHAMPS
With a 55-7 victory over Wyoming on Thursday, No. 25 BYU clinched a share of the Mountain West Conference Championship. With two games remaining, the Cougars can win the outright championship with a win next week against New Mexico. The conference championship is the first for BYU since 2001.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
BYU has now won 21 league championships, dating back to its first league title in 1974. BYU won a total of 10 straight conference championships from 1976-1985. Since the 1974 championship season, the Cougars have won 13 outright league titles. All totaled, BYU has recorded five seasons with a perfect league record (1979, 1983, 1984, 1996, 2001.)
BECK BREAKS MWC CAREER PASSING, TOTAL OFFENSE RECORDS
BYU senior quarterback John Beck racked up 313 yards passing against Wyoming to break the Mountain West Conference career passing record. Beck has 9,807 career passing yards, eclipsing the record held by--ironically--Casey Bramlet (9,684) of Wyoming. Beck also broke Bramlet's career record for total offense, totaling 9,810 yards of total offense.
BECK CLIMBS BYU RECORD BOOKS
When BYU quarterback John Beck found Michael Reed for a 36-yard completion with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter, he became BYU's second all-time leading passer, moving past Jim McMahon (9,536). Beck finished the night with 313 yards passing. Beck also moved into second place in total offense after a 13-yard completion to Jonny Harline in the third quarter. Beck passed Jim McMahon, who had 9,723 yards of total offense.
QUARTER-BECK UPDATE
Senior quarterback John Beck led the 25th-ranked Cougars to a 55-7 win over Wyoming on Thursday. Beck completed 20-of-26 attempts for 313 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two rushing touchdowns in the Cougars' 48-point victory. Completing 76.9 percent of his attempts against the Cowboys, Beck has completed over 70 percent of his attempts in seven of nine games this season, including five straight. His 300-yard performance marked the 14th of his career and his third of the season.
SCORING EARLY
When Curtis Brown bulled into the end zone from the one-yard line early in the first quarter, it marked the eighth consecutive game BYU scored first. Brown's touchdown was scored with 13:03 remaining in the first quarter, marking the second fastest time the Cougars have got on the board this season. (BYU scored with 13:19 remaining against San Diego State earlier this season.)
SCORING FIRST
With Brown's one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the Cougars scored first in their eighth consecutive game.
FIRST QUARTER DOMINANCE
BYU held a 21-0 first-quarter lead over Wyoming, marking the 10th straight game this season the Cougars have led after the first quarter of play. On the season, BYU has held its opponents scoreless in the opening quarter in seven different games. Overall, the Cougars are outscoring opponents 110-12 in the opening quarter of play. BYU has allowed just one first-quarter touchdown all season (at Boston College). The Cougars tallied 140 yards against Wyoming while the BYU defense held the Pokes to just 43 total yards in the opening quarter. BYU quarterback John Beck was 6-for-8 for 123 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter.
HALFTIME LEADS
BYU's 31-0 halftime lead is the second largest this season for the Cougars. BYU led San Diego State 40-3 at half. The game marked the third time the Cougars had a shutout at half. The last time BYU held a team scoreless at the break was Oct. 28 at Air Force.
BYU PASSING OFFENSE VS. WYOMING PASSING DEFENSE
BYU entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in passing offense, (297.6 yards per game) while Wyoming entered the game fourth in passing defense (140.1 yards per game). The Cougars won the battle as Beck had 269 passing yards at halftime and the Cougars went on to post 454 yards of total offense.
THE RETURN GAME
McKay Jacobson's 77-yard punt return for a touchdown was the first punt return for a touchdown in 113 games for the Cougars. The last Cougar to return a punt for a touchdown was Jaron Dabney on Oct. 18, 1997 in BYU's 17-3 victory over Hawaii. Jacobson was 10 years old when BYU last returned a punt for a touchdown. More impressively, it was Jacobson's first-ever punt return.
BYU came up two yards shy of its first kickoff return for a touchdown in 101 games. The Cougars' Nate Meikle returned the opening kickoff 84 yards, getting knocked out of bounds at the two-yard line.
TOUCHDOWN-LESS QUARTERS
Wyoming's Devin Moore scored on a 71-yard touchdown run with 6:25 remaining in the fourth game to end the Cougars' streak of seven straight shutout quarters.
LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY
BYU's 48-point victory over Wyoming is the largest victory margin this season.
PERFECT RECORD
With Thursday's victory over Wyoming, the Cougars are 6-0 in league play, marking the first time since the 2001 season BYU has won six straight league games. BYU has posted seven undefeated league seasons in its history, including five perfect (no ties) league records. BYU last went undefeated (an untied) in league play during the 2001 season.
HOT STREAK
Thursday's victory over Wyoming marks the seventh straight win for the Cougars and improves BYU's record to 8-2 on the season. BYU's seven-straight wins marks the longest win streak since the 2001 season. The 8-2 mark is also the team's best mark through nine games since 2001.
SCORELESS QUARTERS
BYU has outscored its opponents in 30 of 40 quarters this season, including 19 shutout quarters. The Cougars have not trailed since the Boston College game, marking 28 consecutive quarters without trailing an opponent. For the second straight week, the Cougars held their opponent scoreless in three of four quarters on the night
FIRST-HALF DOMINANCE
BYU led Wyoming 31-0 at halftime, marking the 10th straight game this season the Cougars have had the lead at halftime. On the season, BYU is outscoring its opponents 192-44 in the first-half of play. The Cougars are averaging 19.2 points per game in the first half and holding opponents to just 4.4 points over the first two quarters.
SCORING DEFENSE
The Cougars held Wyoming to just seven points on the night, marking the fourth game BYU has held a league opponent to seven points or less. On the season, BYU is allowing just 13.5 points per game, including only 10.8 points per game against league opponents.
THIRD-DOWN DEFENSE
The BYU defense allowed Wyoming to convert just one third-down attempt on the night. All totaled, the Cowboys were 1-of-11 on third-down attempts.
HOME DOMINANCE
Through five games at home this season, BYU has outscored its opponents by an average of 37.2 points per game, marking the highest home margin of victory in BYU history. In its 2006 home-opener, BYU pummeled defending Conference USA Champion Tulsa by 25 points, 49-24. Two weeks later, the Cougars posted their first home shutout since 1998, blanking Utah State 38-0. On October 7, BYU registered a 30-point victory over San Diego State, routing the Aztecs 47-17. On October 21, the Cougars notched their most dominating victory of the season, handing UNLV a 45-point loss, 52-7. Most recently, the Cougars routed Wyoming, 55-7.
Over five home games, BYU is outscoring its opponents 79-3 in the first quarter of play. By halftime, the Cougars are enjoying an average 21.4-point lead.
THE BYU-WYOMING SERIES
Tonight's game will marked the 73rd meeting between the two schools, dating back to the 1922 season. The Cougars' 55-7 victory marked the 40th win against Wyoming. BYU owns a 40-30-3 advantage in the regional rivalry, including a mark of 26-11 in Provo. The Cowboys have not defeated the Cougars in Provo since posting a 29-27 victory back in 1987. Since losing to Wyoming in 1987, BYU has posted seven straight wins over the Cowboys in Provo.
YOUNG GUNS
A total of 18 players on the BYU roster were born after Oct. 10, 1987 -- the last time BYU lost in Provo to Wyoming, including quarterback James Lark and Wyoming native Rick Wolfley, who were both born the day after the Cowboys' 1987 victory in Provo. (True freshman McKay Jacobson--who returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown against Wyoming--was born three days before the game.)