Anonymous | Posted: 21 Oct 2001 | Updated: 21 Oct 2001

Cougars Jump to No. 10 in National Football Poll

PROVO -- For the first time since the 1996 season, the Cougars have earned a spot among college football's top-10 teams. BYU climbed from No. 13 to No. 10 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top-25 Poll after grounding Air Force, 63-33, on Saturday.

The Cougars (7-0, 3-0) racked up 611 yards against the Falcons, including 408 yards passing, as BYU went on to post 63 points against Air Force -- the most points ever scored by a team in a MWC league game and the most points ever allowed by the Falcons.

As one of only three teams with a record of 7-0 or better in the top-10, BYU ranks second only to Florida with an average 543.9 offensive yards per game (225.0 rushing / 318.9 passing). The Cougars lead the nation in scoring, averaging 48.9 points per game.

Senior All-American candidate Brandon Doman led BYU with a season-high 338 yards on 20-of-32 attempts, including four touchdown completions (three to TE Doug Jolley). Doman paced the Cougars to a "Domanating" 49-13 lead in the third quarter before handing over the reigns to backup QB Charlie Peterson with 10:07 left in the third quarter.

BYU cruised to a 63-13 lead with 1:14 left in the third quarter after reserve running back Paul Peterson recorded his first-ever career touchdown. It wasn't until the Cougars allowed several second- and third-team defensive players to gain valuable playing time that the Air Force offense managed to put up 20 points in the fourth quarter.

The Cougar defense stuffed the potent Air Force option attack, posting a season-high 12 tackles for a loss of 31 total yards. Senior linebacker Isaac Kelley led BYU with nine tackles, including two tackles for a loss and one interception -- the first of his career. After posting over 330 rushing yards last week, the Falcons were held to just 138 rushing yards by the Cougars' first-team defense.

BYU running back Luke Staley racked up his third 100-yard game of the season with 134 yards on the ground and tacked on two more touchdowns to his career total. BYU's "Mr. Touchdown" has produced 34 career TDs and needs just six more to equal the all-time BYU touchdown record (Jamal Willis, 40). The 6-foot-2, 225-pound speedster has a career-best 14 TDs this season and needs just two more to tie Waymon Hamilton (1981) for the most touchdowns scored during a single season. Like Doman, Staley left the game after the second drive of the third quarter.

The Cougars will travel to San Diego State (2-5, 1-2) next weekend, taking on the Aztecs on Saturday, Oct. 27. Game time is slated for 6 p.m. (PT). The game will be televised by SportsWest on KSL, Ch. 5. SDSU lost on Saturday at Ohio State, 27-12.