COUGAR TOWN, Utah (Sept. 22, 2007) BYU quarterback Max Hall threw for 293 yards and led his team to a 31-6 victory as the Cougars handed the Air Force Academy (3-1 overall, 2-1 Mountain West Conference) its first loss of the year. The Cougars (2-2 overall, 1-0 MWC) extended their home win streak to eight games.

BYU running back Manase Tonga recorded two rushing touchdowns on the afternoon bringing his season total up to four, which is the same amount of rushing touchdowns he had all of last year. The Cougars were led defensively by linebacker Kelly Poppinga who recorded 10 tackles against the Falcons.

"The work that [the players] put in, starting first thing Monday morning until 10 o'clock last night, gave them a great chance to win the football game," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "It is to their credit and their willingness to work and try to improve that we were successful."

The Cougars were able to get on the scoreboard first for the 15th time in their last 16 games when the team took advantage of an early turnover and scored six plays later on a one-yard run by Tonga. BYU safety Quinn Gooch came up with the interception, his first of the year, on Air Force's first drive of the game to give his team the ball on the Falcons' 43 yard line.

BYU's stout defense was able to keep Air Force off the scoreboard for both the first and second quarters, the second time the defense has recorded a first half shutout this season.

The Cougars went into the locker room up 17-0 after a second quarter that saw a nine-yard connection from Hall to Matt Allen and a Mitch Payne field goal from 42 yards out. BYU has led at the half in 16 of its last 17 games dating back to the start of the 2006 season.

A 29-yard completion to Harvey Unga in the third quarter opened up BYU's largest lead of the season, 24-0. This scoring drive took 10 plays and had three passing plays of over 18 yards. BYU tight end Dennis Pitta had one of the long receptions to take his game total up to 114. This was his second straight game with over 100 yards receiving, and he is the first Cougar to do that since Jonny Harline did it against Utah and Oregon last season.

The Falcons scored their only points of the game with 3:13 left in the third quarter when quarterback Shaun Carney ran the ball in from eight yards out. The Cougars stopped Air Force's two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown.

"I think the defense played solidly; they were confident and anxious to play assignment football, which is what today took," Mendenhall said. "I think this will be indicative of how I think it will continue to go if they are prepared correctly. I think they are playing how they are capable of playing."

BYU's final score came on the back of Tonga once again, as he ran in from two yards out in the fourth quarter. During the Bronco Mendenhall era, the Cougars are 15-3 when they rush for at least 100 yards.

The Cougars will next be in action on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. That game will be televised live on CSTV.

Box Score (Final)
          Air Force vs BYU Cougars (Sep 22, 2007 at Cougar Town, Utah)
  Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
  -----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
  Air Force...........  0  0  6  0  -  6       Record: (3-1,2-1)
  BYU Cougars.........  7 10  7  7  - 31       Record: (2-2,1-0)
  Scoring Summary:
  1st 11:02 BY - TONGA, 1 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 6-43 2:57
  2nd 14:54 BY - ALLEN, 9 yd pass from HALL, (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 12-56 5:58
      01:14 BY - PAYNE, Mitch 42 yd field goal, 9-55 3:44
  3rd 10:54 BY - UNGA, 29 yd pass from HALL, (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 10-80 0:00
      03:31 AF - CARNEY, 8 yd run (SMITH, rush failed), 5-67 2:09
  4th 13:51 BY - TONGA, 2 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 11-80 4:40
                                       AF       BY
  FIRST DOWNS...................       12       25
  RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   32-133   44-159
  PASSING YDS (NET).............       98      293
  Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  21-10-1  33-23-1
  TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   53-231   77-452
  Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
  Punt Returns-Yards............      0-0     2-14
  Kickoff Returns-Yards.........    5-109      0-0
  Interception Returns-Yards....      1-0      1-1
  Punts (Number-Avg)............   6-35.2   3-41.0
  Fumbles-Lost..................      1-0      2-1
  Penalties-Yards...............     2-17     8-65
  Possession Time...............    22:50    37:10
  Third-Down Conversions........  3 of 13  8 of 16
  Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 2   2 of 2
  Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      1-1      3-3
  Sacks By: Number-Yards........     1-10     2-12
  RUSHING: Air Force-SMITH, Chad 2-47; OLLIS, Jim 7-30; WILLIAMS, Ryan 4-19; 
  HALL,Chad 2-19; BYRD, Brenton 7-14; CARNEY, Shaun 9-5; MOFFETT, Mike 1-
  minus  1. BYU Cougars-UNGA, Harvey 22-111; TONGA, Manase 14-41; HALL, Max 6-
  9; SEMANOFF, Joe 1-0; TEAM 1-minus 2.
  PASSING: Air Force-CARNEY, Shaun 10-21-1-98. BYU Cougars-HALL, Max 23-33-1-
  293.
  RECEIVING: Air Force-HALL, Chad 6-80; QUINTANA, Sean 1-10; DEKKER, Travis 1-
  7; SMITH, Chad 1-1; ROOT, Mark 1-0. BYU Cougars-TONGA, Manase 6-69; PITTA, 
  Dennis 5-114; UNGA, Harvey 4-49; REED, Michael 3-38; ALLEN, Matt 3-22; 
  SO'OTO, Vic 1-2; SEMANOFF, Joe 1-minus 1.
  INTERCEPTIONS: Air Force-BIRD, Carson 1-0. BYU Cougars-GOOCH, Quinn 1-1.
  FUMBLES: Air Force-HALL, Chad 1-0. BYU Cougars-MAHUIKA, Bryce 1-0; HALL, Max
  1-1.
  SACKS (UA-A): Air Force-RABOLD, John 1-0. BYU Cougars-JORGENSEN, Jan 1-0;
  MANUMALEUNA,Eth 1-0.
  TACKLES (UA-A): Air Force-THOMAS, Chris 10-4; SHANOR, Aaron 8-5; RABOLD, John
  5-2; RYBAK, Garrett 4-1; RANDLE, Austin 3-2; BIRD, Carson 2-3; KIRCHOFF,Aaron
  4-0; MORRIS JR, Andr 3-1; FOWLER, Drew 2-2; GIANNINI, Bobby 2-2; LARSON,   
  Stephen 2-1; PAULSON, Jake 0-2; MARVIN, Jared 0-2; SMITH, Nathan 0-2;YEAGER, 
  Luke 1-0; KEUCHLER, Willi 1-0; DEKKER, Travis 1-0; KEMP, Ryan 0-1. BYU 
  Cougars-POPPINGA,Kelly 2-8; JORGENSEN, Jan 3-6; BOLDEN, Chris 3-2; NIXON,  
  David 1-4; STAFFIERI, Mark 0-5; KEHL, Bryan 2-2; MANUMALEUNA,Eth 1-3;  
  CRIDDLE, Ben 1-3; DULAN, Ian 1-3; NELSON, Grant 1-3; BUCHANAN, Kayle 1-2; 
  SULLIVAN, Sean 1-2; GOOCH, Quinn 0-3; HODGKISS, Corby 0-3; HOOKS, Terrance 1-
  1; WOLFLEY, Rick 0-2; JOHNSON, Scott 1-0; REYNOLDS, Dalla 1-0; ANDERTON,Judd 
  0-1; HOWARD, Brandon 0-1; BAUMAN, Matt 0-1; JORGENSEN, Aste 0-1.

PROVO -- After two straight losses on the road, the Cougars (1-2) return to Provo where they team has won its last seven in a row. BYU will face undefeated Air Force (3-0) for the Cougars' first taste of conference competition this season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:06 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast regionally on The mtn.

HOMECOMING 2007

Today's contest marks the Cougars' 2007 Homecoming game. BYU is 39-20 in Homecoming games since 1947. During the LaVell Edwards' era (1972-2000), the Cougars posted a record of 21-8. Current head coach Bronco Mendenhall is 2-0 in homecoming games, winning by an average 27.5 points per game. The last time BYU played Air Force in a Homecoming game was during the 2001 season. The Cougars prevailed 63-33, scoring a Homecoming game record nine touchdowns. In 1990, Ty Detmer threw for a Homecoming game record 464 yards and five touchdowns against New Mexico. In the same game, Andy Boyce caught nine passes for a Homecoming game record 235 yards receiving. In 1983, BYU posted 66 points against New Mexico to set the Homecoming game scoring record. Last season, BYU defeated UNLV 52-7 in the Homecoming contest.

THE BYU-AIR FORCE SERIES

BYU opens its Mountain West Conference schedule against undefeated Air Force. The Cougars hold an all-time record of 21-6 against the Falcons, most recently taking a 33-14 victory at Falcon Stadium in 2006. Beginning with the first time the two teams played in 1956, BYU won 16 out of its first 17 match-ups against Air Force. The Cougars won 12 in a row from 1983-94 but have gone just 5-5 against the Falcons since the 1995 season. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall is 2-0 all-time against Air Force, winning both games by an average of 20 points per game. Both victories came against former Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry. After 23 years at the helm, DeBerry retired after the 2006 season and was replaced by Houston Texans offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Troy Calhoun. Air Force finished the 2006 season with a 4-8 overall record, losing six of its final seven games.

IMPORTANCE OF THE RUNNING GAME

Entering Saturday's game, the Cougars own a record of 91-18 when rushing for 100 (or more) yards since the 1991 season. The Tulsa game marked only the fifth time since 1991 that the Cougars had gained over 150 yards rushing in a game and lost. (BYU is 72-5 since 1991 when rushing for 150 or more yards.) During the Bronco Mendenhall era, the Cougars are 14-3 when rushing for 100 or more yards.

HOME WIN STREAK

The Cougars enter today's game riding a seven game win streak at Edwards Stadium. The streak began with a 49-24 victory over Tulsa on September 9, 2006 and was extended to seven straight wins with a 20-7 victory over Arizona on September 1, 2007. Eight straight home wins would give the Cougars their longest home winning streak since collecting 10 straight wins from October 26,2000 to September 6, 2002.

SECOND STRAIGHT SELLOUT

For the second consecutive game, BYU ticket office officials have announced today's game against Air Force is sold out. A crowd of over 64,045 is expected for the Cougars? Homecoming match-up against league leading Air Force. The game will mark the second consecutive sell-out at Edwards Stadium and the first time since November 20, 1999 the Cougars have had a sell-out in back-to-back games during the same season. A capacity crowd of 64,525 attended the Cougars? season-opening victory over Arizona on September 1. Since 1999, the Cougars are 8-4 in games with a sell-out crowd.

TALE OF THE TAPE

BYU's starting five offensive linemen weigh in at an average 318.4 pounds and average 6-feet-5. The front five will be going up against an Air Force defensive front that measures an average 6-feet-3, 265 pounds. Defensively, the Cougars' front three average 6-feet-2, 270 pounds, while the Falcons' offensive line tips the scales at an average 6-feet-3, 277 pounds per man.

WEATHER REPORT

According to ksl.com, today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy and breezy conditions. There is a chance of widespread showers and thunderstorms later in the day. Highs should be in the low 70?s with southwest winds from 15 to 25 mph. There is an 80 percent chance of precipitation.