59-0!!!

Wow. Is there any other way to describe BYU's drubbing of UCLA last Saturday? That was an unbelieveable game. More specifically, that was an unbelievable 2nd quarter at Saturday's game.

I arrived just a little bit late to the game and had just heard BYU's opening touchdown on the radio (following its 29th consecutive time of not allowing a TD on its opponent's opening drive - a phenomenal achievement). As I walked into the stadium, I commented that here is where we'll see if BYU has learned to put the hammer down, or if it will allow a team to hang around, as it did with Washington the week before. Well, we had that question answered.

As the first quarter ended, BYU was up 7-0, had the ball, and was driving in the "Blue Zone" (great job by Bronco, Greg Wrubell, etc. for this slight, but important, modification on "Red Zone"). Suddenly, just 5 minutes and 18 seconds later, BYU led 35-0. Game over. I have never seen a series of quick turnovers and quick touchdowns like that little stretch. Boy did the Cougars answer my question about putting the hammer down. They answered it with about 10 exclamation points!!!!!!!!!! In fact, I had my answer on the TD that put BYU up 21-0. Jan Jorgensen had just caused UCLA's QB to fumble and BYU recovered. BYU's offense came out and on the very first play, Max Hall hit Austin Collie in stride for a TD. That was the hammer. By the end of the first half, the scoreboard said it all:
Probably my favorite play of the 2nd quarter, however, was the blocked field goal. The Bruins, though clearly shell-shocked from the barrage of touchdowns that they were hit with, managed to put a drive together and march down the field late in the 2nd quarter. BYU's defense stiffened and forced a field goal. I'm sure it was running through the UCLA's kicker's mind, "The last time I kicked against these guys, they blocked my Las Vegas Bowl game-winning field goal attempt. And the last time they line up in kick defense position, they blocked Washington's 35-yard extra point try." Well, BYU brought the house and blocked that 2nd quarter attempt as well. That pretty much guaranteed the shutout, as they were in the kicker's head, evidently influencing his 4th quarter field goal attempt (wide left to preserve a shut out). Way to get in the kicker's head.

Speaking of the kicking game, I really like BYU's recent emphasis on blocking kicks. I always viewed Virginia Tech and Air Force, perennially two of the nation's best at blocking kicks (and at special teams in general), and thought they used this strength as a great strategy - one that was a result more of effort than talent. I'm glad Bronco has realized this and begun to emphasize it. Now if they can do the same on kick returns.

One other thing on kickoffs. Late in the 3rd quarter after BYU scored its eigth and final TD, Justin Sorensen (a local hero in Provo despite this kick) shenked the kick and it flew out of bounds and landed right smack dab in the middle of a group of BYU Cougarettes huddled together. They scattered faster than rats in a subway.

I heard two stats (from my hero Ralph Sokolowsky via Greg Wrubell) about that 2nd quarter that I loved. UCLA's average starting field position for the quarter was its own 33-yard line (a bit of concern, actually as they had some pretty good kickoff returns) and BYU's starting average field position for the quarter was the UCLA 35-yard line. A two yard difference in starting field position. The other stat was that during that historic stretch, Max Hall hit on 7 of 8 passes, including 4 TD's. You don't see that everyday.

You also don't see 7 TD passes every day. In fact it has only happened twice before at BYU - once by Jim McMahon and once by Marc Wilson. It's been nearly 30 years. It caused a very interesting, and maybe somewhat troubling, thought. What if Max Hall ends up in the discussion for greatest BYU quarterback ever. In my mind Ty Detmer has had a firm grip on that spot for nearly 2 decades. McMahon is solidly in 2nd place. But if BYU keeps winning, Hall may end up with the stats and the winning percentage that rivals those two. I always thought that Detmer was and always would be BYU's best. I never considered that someone could even approach his greatness. Maybe Hall will. That's probably its own blog topic for another day.

Speaking of stats and Cougarettes, I calculated that the Cougarettes performed 307 legs kicks. More impressively, the ROTC had to do 307 push-ups on the day.

A couple of other anecdotes from the game: this was only the 3rd time in its history that BYU has shut out a team currently in a BCS conference (Kansas St. in 1977 and Arizona St. in 1935 were the other two)....This was the 3rd time in 1 year and 4 days that BYU and UCLA have battled. It was a fun little three game series....Former BYU quarterback Ben Olson finally got to take the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Too bad it was in street clothes and just for the coin toss....We left the game in the middle of the 4th quarter. Walking out, we passed two female fans wearing UCLA shirts, walking back toward the stadium as they finished their smoke break. I guess that's what this game drove them to.

Finally, in the past week and a half, I've had two opportunities to hear Bronco Mendenhall speak in two very differnt settings, but in both cases, I've been left feeling proud to be a Cougar fan. The first was two days before the UCLA game at a Cougar Club luncheon. Bronco used his time to primarly let us know what goes on in a daily team meeting. He showed a slide show that the outside linebackers had put together (and shown to the team) on Christ and His Atonement. He then read two letters that were read to the team, one from a player currently on a mission, and one from two military members in the Middle East who find inspiration from BYU's Quest. It was a unique look at a unique program. I'm sure some critics would be appalled that it was more of a Sunday School feel than a pep talk feel. The other time I heard Bronco was this past Wednesday as he was a guest on the Jim Rome Show, a nationally syndicated radio program. Rome seemed enthralled with Bronco and his descriptions of the kinds of kids he recruits, the Honor Code, the fact that football is BYU players' and coaches' 4th or 5th priority, and the team's Quest for Perfection (on and off the field). Most of it was not new to Cougar fans, but was new to Rome (and most of his audience as evidenced by later emails and texts to the show). He represented BYU and The Church well. There is a link to hear the interview if you click here. Bronco is also appearing on ESPN's College Game Day this morning.

So the ball is rolling. A 59-point blowout of a big-name team is exactly what BYU needed to get positive national exposure. Let's hope the Cougars can keep it going. It continues today with the Cowboys.