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Anonymous
| Posted: 12 Nov 2005 | Updated: 8 Nov 2020
Cougars Become Bowl Eligible
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LARAMIE -- BYU scored 21 points off five Wyoming turnovers, defeating the Cowboys 35-21 in Laramie. The win not only ensured the Cougars (6-4, 5-2) would have their first winning regular season since 2001, but also gave the team the necessary number of wins to become bowl eligible for the first time over that three-year span.
With the victory, the Cougars--picked fourth in the Mountain West preseason media poll--clinched at least a share of second place in the league standings. With Colorado State's loss to San Diego State on Saturday, the Cougars are currently in sole possession of second place.
"We came in here and expected a difficult game," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I give credit to Wyoming for the game they played tonight. It's nice to be bowl eligible, but it makes me happy that we are going to have a winning season. That hasn't happened in three years. I'm proud of our kids for making the plays when they needed to be made to secure a victory and a winning season."
For the second straight week, BYU linebacker Justin Leuttgerodt emerged as the defensive hero. Leuttgerodt was credited with three fumble recoveries and had a fourth-quarter interception that sealed the Cougars' victory. All totaled, BYU racked up five turnovers, including three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Corby Hodgkiss was also credited with a first-half interception.
The Cowboys have turned the ball over 22 times in the past five games.
"This is like a recurring nightmare," Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn said. "We're making things work on both offense and defense, and then boom, [we] fumble and then they score a touchdown. Then, boom, [we] fumble, and they score another touchdown. We've worked on both the mental and physical part of the turnovers, but it's just killing us."
Offensively, John Beck completed 20-of-29 attempts to 11 different receivers for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
"That's how our offense works," Beck said. "Other teams can't focus on one player because we have so many weapons."
Todd Watkins lead all receivers with three receptions fo 31 yards. Tight end Jonny Harline had a team-high four receptions for 28 yards, including a game-high two touchdown receptions.
Curtis Brown tied the BYU record for career 100-yard game, picking up his 10th 100-yard game on his career. Brown had a game-high 153 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. Senior running back Fahu Tahi had 72 yards on 14 carries, including a one-yard touchdown run in the first half.
"Our offense is exceptional," Mendenhall said. "They are coached well, they are patient and they have the talent to make big plays. Flat out, our offense is difficult to stop."
Wyoming took the opening drive 80 yards in just five plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Bramlet was 3-for-3 on the drive, connecting with Bouknight for the 21-yard touchdown with 13:32 left in the first quarter.
On the following drive, the Cougars used a balance attack to even the score, driving 84 yards in 10 plays. Beck completed 4-of-5 attempts for 52 yards and Brown carried the ball four times for 19 yards, including the 6-yard touchdown run with 8:50 left in the first quarter.
After Leuttgerodt recovered a Cowboy fumble, the Cougars took over at the Wyoming 34-yard line. Faced with a third-and-six, Beck kept the drive alive with a 15-yard run to give the Cougars a first down on the Wyoming 14-yard line. On the following play, Beck connected with Harline for a 14-yard toucdown pass to give BYU a 14-7 lead with 2:16 left in the quarter.
Wyoming answered on the following drive, notching the score at 14-14 on Wynel Seldon's 69-yard run. Seldon's team-high run was the longest running play allowed by the BYU defense this season.
The Cougars responded with a methodical 17-play scoring drive that covered 89 yards and took 8:21 off the clock. BYU did not gain more than 11 yards on a single play during the entire drive. Brown scored his second touchdown of the night on a six-yard run to give BYU the 21-14 lead with 7:50 remaining in the second quarter.
On Wyoming's next drive, linebacker Markell Staffierri forced a fumble, and Lettgerodt was credited with his second turnover of the night. Seven plays later, Tahi strolled into the endzone to give BYU a 28-14 lead with 4:21 left in the opening half.
After Leuttgerodt tackled Devin Moore for an 11-yard loss, Wyoming found itself needing 21 yards for a first down. The Cowboy's plight became worse after a face-mask penalty forced Wyoming back to their own 44-yard line. On second-and-36, Corby Hodgkiss stepped in front of Bramlet's pass, recording the Cougars' third turnover of the night.
In the third quarter, Wyoming took advantage of excellent field position--following a 20-yard BYU punt--and drove 43 yards in seven plays to cut BYU's lead to 28-21 with 10:12 remaining in the third quarter. Seldon scored on a two-yard touchdown run.
Hoost Marsh returned a BYU punt 46 yards to give Wyoming excellent field position at the BYU 21-yard line. The Cowboys drove to the BYU 9-yard line before Leuttgerodt came up with his third fumble recovery of the game and ended the Cowboys' scoring threat.
On the ensuing drive, the Cougars faced third-and-four from their own 26-yard line. Under a Wyoming blitz, Beck took off for a 44-yard run to give BYU a first down in Cowboy territory. Four plays later, Harline made a spectacular one-handed grab in the back of the endzone to give BYU a 35-21 lead with :46 left in the third quarter.
On the next drive Wyoming drove all the way down to the BYU 14-yard line before the Cougars' defense stiffened. On fourth down, with only inches to go for a first down, K.C. Bills stopped Seldon for no gain, turning the ball over on downs with 9:37 left in the game.
On the Cowboys' next drive, Bramlet drove Wyoming to the BYU 33-yard line before Leuttgerodt came up with the game-clinching interception with only 4:28 left in the game.
The Cougars controlled the ball, picking up three first downs over the final minutes to eventually run out the clock.
BYU will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 19 in Provo, taking on in-state rival Utah at Edwards Stadium. Game time is set for 1 p.m. (MT). With Saturday's win at Wyoming, the Cougars have won five of their last six games, including three straight games, while the Utes have lost four of their last six games, including Saturday's 27-31 loss against New Mexico.
Box Score (Final)
Brigham Young vs Wyoming (Nov 12, 2005 at Laramie, Wyo.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Brigham Young....... 14 14 7 0 - 35 Record: (6-4,5-2)
Wyoming............. 14 0 7 0 - 21 Record: (4-6,2-5)
Scoring Summary:
1st 13:32 WY - BOUKNIGHT 21 yd pass from BRAMLET, 5-80 1:28, BY 0 - WY 7
08:50 BY - BROWN 6 yd run , 10-84 4:42, BY 7 - WY 7
02:16 BY - HARLINE 14 yd pass from BECK, 4-34 1:21, BY 14 - WY 7
01:11 WY - SELDON, 69 yd run, 5-80 1:05, BY 14 - WY 14
2nd 07:50 BY - BROWN 6 yd run , 17-89 8:21, BY 21 - WY 14
04:21 BY - TAHI, 1 yd run, 7-33 2:58, BY 28 - WY 14
3rd 10:12 WY - SELDON, 2 yd run, 7-43 3:10, BY 28 - WY 21
00:46 BY - HARLINE, 6 yd pass from BECK, 10-94 5:46, BY 35 - WY 21
BY WY
FIRST DOWNS................... 26 21
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 50-267 33-166
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 179 241
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 29-20-0 25-20-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 79-446 58-407
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-14 1-46
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 3-29 0-0
Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-8 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-35.5 1-46.0
Fumbles-Lost.................. 0-0 3-3
Penalties-Yards............... 7-65 8-80
Possession Time............... 38:30 21:30
Third-Down Conversions........ 11 of 16 7 of 9
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 5-5 1-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-1 2-7
RUSHING: Brigham Young-BROWN, Curtis 25-153; TAHI, Naufahu 14-72; BECK, John
7-40; TONGA, Manase 2-7; TEAM 2-minus 5. Wyoming-SELDON, Wynel 16-110;
MOORE, Devin 11-40; BRAMLET, Corey 3-11; MOORE, J.R. 3-5.
PASSING: Brigham Young-BECK, John 20-29-0-179. Wyoming-BRAMLET, Corey
20-25-2-241.
RECEIVING: Brigham Young-HARLINE, Jonny 4-28; WATKINS, Todd 3-31; COATS, Dan
3-25; BROWN, Curtis 2-24; REED, Michael 2-12; MEIKLE, Nathan 1-19; ALLEN,
Matt 1-11; COLLIE, Zac 1-9; TAHI, Naufahu 1-8; TONGA, Manase 1-6; ASHWORTH,
Luke 1-6. Wyoming-BOUKNIGHT,Jovon 7-87; SELDON, Wynel 3-18; FORD, Michael
2-52; MOORE, Devin 2-26; BARGE, Josh 2-23; BREWER, C.J. 2-18; HOLDEN, Tyler
2-17.
INTERCEPTIONS: Brigham Young-LUETTGERODT, Ju 1-4; HODGKISS, Corby 1-4.
Wyoming-None.
FUMBLES: Brigham Young-None. Wyoming-MOORE, Devin 2-2; SELDON, Wynel 1-1.
Stadium: War Memorial Attendance: 15889
Kickoff time: 4:07 PM End of Game: 7:17 PM Total elapsed time: 3:10
Officials: Referee: Scott Novak; Umpire: Al Cory; Linesman: Patrick Turner;
Line judge: Bart Longson; Back judge: Robert Wucetich; Field judge: Randy Smith;
Side judge: Bill Agopian;
Temperature: 38 F Wind: WNW 35 Weather: Cold and windy
ID-332425
Brigham Young vs Wyoming (Nov 12, 2005 at Laramie, Wyo.)
SACKS (UA-A): Brigham Young-BROWN, Manaia 1-0. Wyoming-HALL, Austin 1-1;
DOBBS, Ward 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Brigham Young-JENSEN, Cameron 4-4; LUETTGERODT, Ju 4-3;
GABRIEL, Dustin 3-4; BILLS, K.C. 4-1; MIYAHIRA, Cole 3-2; STAFFIERI, Mark
3-2; WHITE, Spencer 3-1; FEULA, Vince 2-2; BUCHANAN, Kayle 3-0; HODGKISS,
Corby 1-2; BROWN, Manaia 2-0; TAFUNA, David 1-1; ROBINSON, Justi 1-1;
WALKENHORST, Pa 0-2; MADDUX, Justin 1-0; LOVELY, Gary 1-0; PAONGO, Hala 0-1.
Wyoming-DOBBS, Ward 6-10; ROCKETT, Ron 6-9; CHASE, Luke 2-7; WENDLING, John
5-2; HALL, Austin 3-2; HOFFSCHNEIDER,D 2-2; MAYES, Jake 2-2; DIEHL, Adam
1-3; JUERGENS, Mike 3-0; BELL, Brandon 2-1; CLAFFEY, Sean 1-1; FLORA, John
1-1; BUTLER,Terrance 0-2; CLARK, Cameron 1-0; STINSON, Julius 1-0; GROOVER,
Mike 1-0; ROSALES,Marcial 1-0; HOLDEN, Tyler 1-0; HAUGEN, Brandon 0-1;
ROGERS, Quincy 0-1.
Game Starters:
Brigham Young Wyoming
POS ## OFFENSE POS ## OFFENSE
WR 84 REED, Michael QB 17 BRAMLET, Corey
OL 73 KURESA, Jake RB 18 SELDON, Wynel
OL 78 SANDERS, Brian WR 9 BOUKNIGHT,Jovon
OL 54 REYNOLDS, Lance WR 86 WALLACE, Jason
OL 65 REYNOLDS, Dalla TE 81 WADKOWSKI, John
OL 59 KEELE, Eddie TE 46 BETSCHART, Wade
RB 6 BROWN, Curtis LT 73 JOHNSON, Chase
RB 3 TAHI, Naufahu LG 76 HOWARD, Kyle
QB 12 BECK, John C 75 SEVERN, Drew
TE 89 HARLINE, Jonny RG 69 KARCHER, Jason
WR 1 WATKINS, Todd RT 67 RICHARDS,Hunter
POS ## DEFENSE POS ## DEFENSE
DE 94 FEULA, Vince CB 3 BUTLER,Terrance
DT 99 BROWN, Manaia FS 23 WENDLING, John
DE 97 MADDUX, Justin SS 12 ROCKETT, Ron
LB 47 WALKENHORST, Pa NICK 24 GOLSTON, Dorsey
LB 35 JENSEN, Cameron LB 29 DOBBS, Ward
LB 51 LUETTGERODT, Ju CB 1 MARTIN, Derrick
S 21 BILLS, K.C. LB 45 HALL, Austin
S 28 GABRIEL, Dustin DE 96 DIEHL, Adam
S 24 WHITE, Spencer NG 58 HOFFSCHNEIDER,D
CB 15 ROBINSON, Justi DT 97 MAYES, Jake
CB 34 BUCHANAN, Kayle DE 43 FLORA, John
