PROVO -- The BYU Cougars came on strong in the second half, defeating San Diego State 49-16 at LaVell Edwards Stadium Saturday. The Cougars improve to 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference and 5-4 overall. The Cougars also extended their win streak to three games, the longest streak the 2001 season.

BYU coach Gary Crowton said he was pleased with the effort of his team and the energy supplied by the fans.

"The guys played hard," Crowton said. "I just want to thank the student fans. They were very loud."

The 49-point outburst was the highest scoring total since the Cougars scored 56 against Colorado State, Nov. 1, 2001. The 34-point margin of victory was the biggest since a 59-21 drubbing of San Diego State, Oct. 27, 2001. With 36-second half points, BYU has scored more than 30 second half points two weeks in a row.

"The team came out very focused in the second half," Crowton said. "It looked like they had something to prove."

John Beck led the offensive onslaught, passing for 313 yards and three touchdowns on 15-of-25 passing. Todd Watkins caught three passes for 135 yards and one touchdown and Austin Collie caught three for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Watkins' touchdown went for 68 yards while Collie caught the longest pass of the season, an 82-yarder for his second touchdown.

Curtis Brown led a solid rushing attack for the Cougars, running for over 100 yards for the fourth straight game. He is the first Cougar running back to do so since 2001, when Luke Staley eclipsed the century mark in seven consecutive games. Brown finished the game with 106 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

The BYU defense also turned in a solid performance. Shawn Nua contributed two sacks while Cameron Jenson and Micah Alba each had an interception. Jenson and Poppinga tied for the team lead in tackles with eight a piece.

Quarterback Kevin O'Connell, who passed for 229 yards one touchdown and ran for 101 more, led the San Diego State offense. Brandon Bornes picked up 64 yards on the ground and scored the other Aztec touchdown.

After forcing San Diego State to punt, the Cougars struck quickly on their first drive. On the second play, Beck found Todd Watkins, who was wide open down the middle, for a 68-yard touchdown with 11:27 remaining, the quickest BYU score of the season. The drive, which covered 74 yards on two plays, lasted only 46 seconds.

The Cougars shut the Aztecs out in the first quarter, the fifth straight first quarter shutout dating back to the Colorado State game Oct. 2. San Diego State got on board early in the second, however, on a 47-yard field goal by Garrett Palmer.

The score remained 7-3 until Micah Alba intercepted an O'Connell pass that set up a Matt Payne field goal. The 43-yarder with 3:51 left in the second was his 13th consecutive from between 40-49, breaking the record set by former Notre Dame kicker John Carney.

Payne added another three points just before the end of the half, splitting the uprights on a 34-yard field goal to put the Cougars up 13-3.

BYU got the ball to start the second half and added seven more on a 14 play, 73-yard drive that lasted 6:08. Brown, who capped the drive with a three-yard plunge, ran for 24 on the drive and also caught a 13-yard pass.

The Cougars did not wait long to add to their lead, scoring on a two-play, 58-yard drive that lasted just 37 seconds. The first play was a 52-yard flee flicker from Beck to Watkins, who stumbled after the catch to the six-yard line. Collie then made an acrobatic catch for the touchdown.

The point after by Payne was blocked, keeping the score at 26-3, putting to end Payne's school record of 67-straight extra point kicks, which dated back to the 2002 season.

On the ensuing San Diego State possession, BYU's Cameron Jenson intercepted an O'Connell pass on the Aztec 20-yard line. As he was going down, he pitched it to Nate Soelberg who ran the ball to the two-yard line. Fahu Tahi ran the ball in untouched to put the Cougars up 33-3.

San Diego State continued to struggle, turning the ball over on downs on the Cougar 30-yard line. A 43-yard run by Brown put the BYU in scoring position, and Payne connected on a 42-yard field goal to make the score 36-3.

The Aztecs again turned the ball over on downs and BYU made them pay in a hurry. On the Cougars first play, Beck found Collie streaking down the middle of the field for an 82-yard touchdown with 14:42 remaining, the longest BYU touchdown of the season. The reception gave Collie his team-leading seventh touchdown.

BYU added one more second half touchdown, a two-yard dive by Eric Watterson with 1:13 remaining. San Diego State also added two more touchdowns to account for the final score.

Crowton said he felt the win was very important for the Cougars.

"We're moving in the right direction," Crowton said. "It was a big win for us because it helps the team stay focused and continue to move forward."

BYU will conclude its home schedule next Saturday against New Mexico. Kick off is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Box Score (Final)
San Diego State vs Brigham Young (Nov 06, 2004 at Provo, UT)
Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
San Diego State.....  0  3  0 13  - 16       Record: (2-7,0-5)
Brigham Young.......  7  6 23 13  - 49       Record: (5-4,4-1)
Scoring Summary:
1st 11:27 BYU - WATKINS 68 yd pass from BECK (PAYNE kick), 2-74 0:46, SD 0 - BYU 7
2nd 14:47 SD - PALMER,Garrett 47 yd field goal, 8-42 3:48, SD 3 - BYU 7
    03:51 BYU - PAYNE, Matt 43 yd field goal, 4-0 1:01, SD 3 - BYU 10
    00:00 BYU - PAYNE, Matt 34 yd field goal, 6-0 0:38, SD 3 - BYU 13
3rd 08:45 BYU - BROWN 3 yd run (PAYNE kick), 14-73 6:08, SD 3 - BYU 20
    07:05 BYU - COLLIE, Austin 6 yd pass from BECK (PAYNE kick blockd), 2-58 0:37, SD 3 - BYU 26
    06:13 BYU - TAHI 2 yd run (PAYNE, kick), 1-0 0:00, SD 3 - BYU 33
    02:47 BYU - PAYNE, Matt 42 yd field goal, 6-46 1:39, SD 3 - BYU 36
4th 14:42 BYU - COLLIE, Austin 82 yd pass from BECK (PAYNE, kick), 1-82 0:12, SD 3 - BYU 43
    09:02 SD - BORNES 2 yd run (PALMER kick failed), 5-37 2:20, SD 9 - BYU 43
    01:13 BYU - WATTERSON 2 yd run (WILLIAMS, kick failed), 8-49 4:19, SD 9 - BYU 49
    00:17 SD - THOMPSON 10 yd pass from O'CONNELL (PALMER kick), 4-67 0:50, SD 16 - BYU 49
                                     SD      BYU
FIRST DOWNS...................       21       18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   35-163   43-187
PASSING YDS (NET).............      229      339
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  47-21-2  27-16-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   82-392   70-526
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      1-8      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............     2-12     2-12
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........    5-101     3-69
Interception Returns-Yards....      0-0     2-18
Punts (Number-Avg)............   4-41.0   4-46.8
Fumbles-Lost..................      2-1      2-1
Penalties-Yards...............     7-48    10-75
Possession Time...............    29:47    30:09
Third-Down Conversions........  4 of 16  5 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 5   2 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-5      3-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      1-1     3-17
RUSHING: San Diego State-O'CONNELL,Kevin 15-101; BORNES,Brandon 19-60;
FRANKLIN,Michae 1-2. Brigham Young-BROWN, Curtis 17-106; HUDSON, Ray 10-35;
BECK, John 5-18; TAHI, Naufahu 7-18; BERRY, Matt 2-12; WATTERSON, Eric 1-2;
WATKINS, Todd 1-minus 4.
PASSING: San Diego State-O'CONNELL,Kevin 21-47-2-229. Brigham Young-BECK,
John 15-25-0-313; BERRY, Matt 1-2-0-26.
RECEIVING: San Diego State-ORTIZ,Robert 5-56; WEBB,Jeff 3-47; SWAIN,Brett
2-26; FRANKLIN,Michae 2-19; PORTER,Ramal 2-17; MILLER,Adam 2-11;
LOUIS,Lance, 1-13; PITTS,Devin 1-13; BORNES,Brandon 1-12; THOMPSON,Alex 1-10;
EDWARDS,Marcus 1-5. Brigham Young-WATKINS, Todd 3-135; COLLIE, Austin 3-95;
KUKAHIKO, Jason 2-20; TAHI, Naufahu 2-0; ALLEN, Matt 1-26; PITTA, Dennis
1-21; BROWN, Curtis 1-13; WILKERSON, Rodn 1-11; COATS, Dan 1-11; HARRIS,
Antwaun 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS: San Diego State-None. Brigham Young-ALBA, MICHA 1-0;
BURBIDGE, Jon 1-18.
FUMBLES: San Diego State-O'CONNELL,Kevin 1-0. Brigham Young-BROWN, Curtis
1-1; COOPER, Brett 1-0.
SACKS (UA-A): San Diego State-APPLEWHITE,Antw 1-0. Brigham Young-NUA, Shaun
2-0; DENNEY, John 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): San Diego State-MCCOY,Matt 7-4; UNDERWOOD,Marv 2-6;
BAKER,Donnie 6-0; LOBEL,Blake 3-3; FARWELL,Heath 3-1; MORRISON,Kirk 3-1;
CALISTE,Hubert 2-2; KEIAHO,Freddie 3-0; OSBORN,Nicholas 2-1; DEAN,Josh 2-1;
LARSEN,Stephen 2-1; KAHUI,Kurt 1-2; MARTIN,Brett 1-1; MAKA,Va'ati 1-1;
WEBB,Jeff 1-0; MILLER,Martin 1-0; APPLEWHITE,Antw 1-0; DEMPS,Marcus 1-0;
BAILES,Jonathan 1-0; VAN,Jason 1-0; CONERLY,Kyle 0-1; GRISBY,Reggie 0-1.
Brigham Young-POPPINGA, Brady 4-4; JENSEN, Cameron 3-5; FRANCISCO, Aaro 
-4; GABRIEL, Dustin 4-1; BURBIDGE, Jon 3-2; ALBA, MICHA 2-3; BAUMAN, Matt
4-0; WHITE, Spencer 3-1; CARLSON-MADDUX 2-1; AH YOU, Matt 2-1; NUA, Shaun
2-1; DENNEY, John 1-1; COOPER, Brett 0-2; BROWN, Manaia 0-2; MARQUARDT,
Dani 0-2; ALLEN, Matt 1-0; BECK, Ryan 1-0; PAYNE, Matt 1-0; SOELBERG, Natha
1-0; LOVELY, Gary 1-0; MARQUARDT, Mich 1-0; BUCHANAN, Kayle 1-0; BERRY,
Matt 1-0; TAFUNA, David 1-0; LOVELY, Greg 1-0; HALE, Chris 0-1; GOOCH,
Quinn 0-1; PAONGO, Hala 0-1.
Stadium: LaVell Edwards        Attendance: 53435
Kickoff time: 1:05 pm   End of Game: 4:45 pm   Total elapsed time: 3:40
Officials: Referee: Craig Battaglia; Umpire: Robert Collins;
Linesman: Bob Bahne; Line judge: Gary McNanna; Back judge: Steve Lindsay;
Field judge: Mike Contreraz; Side judge: Ken Lucido
Temperature: 60 F      Wind: 2 mph NE  Weather: Clear

PROVO -- Coming off of its first two-game winning streak in over two years, BYU returns to LaVell Edwards Stadium to take on San Diego State, losers of five straight games. Last week the Cougars got some much needed rest during their bye, while the Aztecs lost 51-28 to Utah at home. BYU edged the Aztecs 44-36 last season in San Diego in a game that was reminiscent of the shootouts the two team had played when they were members of the WAC.

SERIES INFORMATION

The Cougars lead the all-time series with the Aztecs 21-6-1, dating back to a 32-7 victory by San Diego State in 1947. An interesting fact about the series is that over the 29 games the two teams have played, the Aztecs have never won two games in a row. The longest streak by the Cougars was nine games stretching from 1976 to 1985. BYU has also won eight out of the last ten meetings between the two schools. One of the most memorable games between BYU and San Diego State was a 52-52 tie in 1991. The game featured reigning Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer and future NFL All-Pro Marshall Faulk. Detmer led BYU back from a 45-17 deficit with five minutes left in the third quarter to tie the score at 52 in the highest scoring tie in NCAA history. The two teams combined for over 1100 yards passing, including 599 by Detmer.

SETTING THE GAME

KICKOFF: 1 p.m.

SITE: LaVell Edwards Stadium (64,045)

TELEVISION (Local): ESPN Regional Television (KJZZ, Ch. 14)

LAST TEN GAMES: BYU leads, 8-2

LAST FIVE GAMES: BYU leads, 4-1

RADIO (Local): KSL-Radio; 1160 AM (Greg Wrubell, Marc Lyons, Andy Boyce)

INTERNET WEBCAST: http://www.byucougars.com/football

THE SERIES: BYU leads 21-6-1

LAST MEETING: Oct. 4, 2003 (BYU, 44-36)

LAST MEETING IN PROVO: BYU leads 12-2

LAST MEETING IN SAN DIEGO: Oct. 4, 2003 (BYU, 44-36)

SUNNY SAN DIEGO

Twenty-three Cougars hail from the state of California. Of those 23, three are from the San Diego area. Wide receiver Todd Watkins is from San Diego and prepped at Helix High School. While at Helix, Watkins became only the second person in the 25-year history of the school to letter in four sports as a senior, including football, volleyball, soccer and track. Following his career at Helix, Watkins starred at Grossmont College, a San Diego area junior college. The Marquardt brothers, Daniel and Michael, also hail from the San Diego area. They are from Vista and attended Rancho Buena Vista High School.

TALE OF THE TAPE

BYU's projected starting offensive line averages an enormous 6-foot-4 and 312 pounds. They will face an San Diego State defensive line that averages 6-foot-4 and 261 pounds. When the Aztecs have the ball, Cougar defensive linemen that average 6-foot-4 and 293 pounds will face a San Diego State front five that are listed at 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds.

KING OF PAYNE

After eight games, Matt Payne is seventh in the nation in punting with an average of 45.6 yards per kick. He has pinned opponents inside the 20-yardline 19 times. In the third game of the season, Payne booted a career-long and a then MWC record 79-yard punt. Unlike most punters, Payne likes to get into the thick of it during kick coverage. He had two highlight-reel quality hits against Boise State kick returner Chris Carr. On the season, Payne has racked up seven tackles on special teams, including six solo takedowns. Payne is no slouch as a kicker either. The senior from North Ogden, Utah has booted 12 of 14 field goals, including a perfect 10 of 10 from 40-yards or greater. His 46-yarder against Wyoming was his 12th straight make between 40 and 49 yards, tying him with John Carney who kicked 12 straight from that distance between 1984-85. On the season, Payne has matched his career high of 53-yards twice, against Notre Dame and Air Force.. He has also made all of his extra points this season. Payne has hit 65 straight point-after attempts, dating back to the 2002 season. Against Air Force he broke Owen Pochman's record of 62 consecutive extra points.

OH AUSTIN BEHAVE

Austin Collie is continuing to amaze during his freshman campaign. On the season, Collie has 43 passes for 519 yards and five scores. His 5.38 receptions per game leads all freshman in the nation, and his five touchdown passes leads the Cougars. Prior to his 14-yard touchdown reception against the Falcons, all of Collie's touchdowns had been at least 40 yards with a long of 57 against Boise State.

GOING DEEP

Junior College transfer Todd Watkins has made an immediate impact for the Cougars. He leads the team with 860 receiving yards on 44 receptions and is second on the team in touchdown catches with four. He has caught touchdown passes of 69, 70 and 79 yards on the season, leading Sports Illustrated to dub him the nation's top "deep threat." Watkins is first in the conference and eightth nationally in receiving yards per game with a 107.5 yard average.

GOOD GRIEF CURTIS BROWN

Despite a slow start, sophomore running back Curtis Brown has picked up the pace in his last four games. Over that stretch Brown has racked up 482 yards, including three straight games over 100 yards. His best performance came against Wyoming where he accumulated 230 yards (159 rushing, 40 passing and 31 receiving) and accounted for two of BYU's three touchdowns. On the season Brown has rushed for 585 yards and four touchdowns. Brown accounted for 230 of the Cougars' 416 total yards in the Cougars' 24-13 win over Wyoming. He carried 24 times for 159 yards, threw one time for 40 yards and had three receptions for 31 yards. He also scored one rushing touchdown on a nine-yard run in the fourth quarter to give the Cougars a 17-13 lead with 13:37 remaining in the game. Brown's touchdown run capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive. In the first quarter Brown accounted for 95 of the Cougars' 96 total yards, including 55 yards rushing and 40 yards passing. Brown connected with freshman receiver Austin Collie on a 40-yard touchdown strike to give the Cougars a 7-0. The game marked Brown's second straight 100-yard rushing performance -- the third of his career. He now has four career 100-yard games following his 128 yards against Air Force. He is averaging a team-leading 73.1 yards per game and is tied for the team lead in rushing touchdowns with four.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

Eight games into the 2004 season, BYU's offense ranks third in the MWC in total offense, averaging 384.13 yards per game. A majority of those yards come through the air, where the Cougars rank 10th in the nation and first in the MWC in passing, averaging 283 yards per game. Since the beginning of conference play BYU has picked its rushing game, The Cougars, who at one point in the season ranked last in the country in rushing yards per game, have picked their average up to 101.13 yards per game. The Cougars improvement can be traced back to the improvement of Curtis Brown, who had no 100-yard rushing games in the first five games of the season, but who has rushed for over 100 yards in his last three. BYU will face a defense that ranks second in the conference in total defense, giving up 339.75 yards per game. The Aztecs rank sixth in the conference against the pass and second against the rush. giving up 226.63 and 113.13 yards respectively..

DEFENSIVE NOTES

BYU ranks fourth in the MWC in total defense through eight games of the 2004 season. The Cougars allow 370.38 yards per game (245.75 passing, 124.63 rushing). BYU will face off against one of the more potent passing offenses in the country. The Aztecs rank fourth in the conference in passing yards per game with an average of 256.88 yards per game. Quarterback Matt Dlugolecki leads the SDSU air attack, averaging a MWC best 20.50 completions per game. The Aztecs also boast on of the nation's top receivers in Jeff Webb, who is 17th in the nation in receiving yards per game, averaging 91.50 yards a contest.