AUSTIN, Texas – Fueled by a strong second-half Texas performance, the BYU football team fell 17-16 on the road to the No. 21 Longhorns Saturday at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in front of 100,995 - the largest crowd ever to witness a BYU football game.

BYU at Texas Box Score
Postgame Notes
BYU at Texas Slideshow

Texas converted its game-winning score after getting the passing game going midway through the fourth quarter. Receiver Jaxon Shipley caught two passes for 34 yards before the Longhorns reached the end zone on a 4-yard run from running back Cody Johnson. After the ensuing extra point, Texas took its first lead of the game at 17-16 with 8:46 remaining.

BYU had two chances to take the lead after the Texas score, but the drives ended in a punt and an interception, respectively, enabling the Longhorns to hold on.

"The difference in the game is making critical plays at the right time, which leads to execution," head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I liked the way our team tried. I thought they played with very good effort. Our execution didn’t hold at critical moments, so I’ve got to do a better job of helping them find the right execution and consistency at the critical times of the game."

The Cougars led 13-3 at halftime and held Texas to 88 total yards in the first half, but surrendered 201 yards in the second half while slowing down on offense.

Quarterback Jake Heaps finished the day 22 of 38 for 192 yards and one touchdown. Heaps spread the ball around to 11 different receivers, but the ground game could never got going for the Cougars, as BYU picked up just 45 yards on the ground.

Linebacker Spencer Hadley led the defense with 12 tackles while safety Travis Uale had nine tackles and an interception. Safety Daniel Sorensen also helped with eight tackles and an interception of his own.

BYU scored on three different drives in the first half, with two ending in field goals by sophomore kicker Justin Sorensen, including a career-long conversion from 33 yards. Sorensen was 3 of 3 on field goals for the game.

After a three-and-out stop by the defense to start the game, the Cougars were able to get on the board on their first possession. Sorensen knocked a 30-yard field goal through the uprights to put BYU up 3-0 with 9:33 on the clock in the first quarter.

Sorensen would add another just a few minutes later after the BYU defense got another quick stop, this time from 33 yards out with 6:45 left in the first.

The BYU defense stopped another scoring drive when Sorensen tipped a pass, then dove for the interception. BYU failed to score on the ensuing drive, but the special teams pinned the Longhorns inside their own three-yard line with a 40-yard punt from Riley Stephenson.

Texas moved the football for a time, but the defense continued to make big plays, this time on a Travis Uale interception on a long passing attempt, coming down with the ball at the BYU 3-yard line.

The Cougars responded by driving the length of the field, capping the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Heaps to freshman Ross Apo. The drive featured tight ends Marcus Mathews and Austin Holt combining for three catches for 55 yards. 

Texas got on the board with 1:44 left in the first half on a 23-yard field goal after a Heaps interception.

After the half, Texas came out strong. The Longhorns pounded the ball on the ground, rushing six times for 62 yards on the drive, including a 1-yard touchdown run that cut the score to 13-10 with 10:46 left in the third.

Sorensen hit his third field goal of the game on BYU’s next drive, putting the Cougars up 16-10. But it wouldn’t be enough with Texas picking up momentum late in the game and converting the game-winning touchdown.

Next week BYU plays Utah in a first ever non-conference game at 7:15 p.m. MT at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17 on ESPN2.

BYU will play at Texas on Saturday, Sept. 10, with kickoff set for 6:06 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live from DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Tex., on ESPN2, ESPN3D, WatchESPN.com and KSL Radio 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and ksl.com.

BYU (1-0) at Texas (1-0)
Sept. 10, 2011
6:06 p.m. CT
DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium
Austin, Texas

For the complete BYU at Texas game notes, see the attached PDF file below.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- BYU and Texas are facing off for the third time in history on Saturday, with BYU holding a 2-0 edge over the Longhorns. BYU took games in a home-and-home series in 1987-88, winning. The Cougars have a 12-14 all-time record against the Big 12.
- BYU last played and defeated a team from the Big 12 in its 2009 season opener against No. 3 Oklahoma in Cowboys Stadium, upsetting the Sooners, 14-13. The game was the first against a Big 12 opponent since BYU defeated Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, 17-14, on January 1, 1997.
- The game marks the first-ever meeting between BYU head coach Bronco Men- denhall and Texas head coach Mack Brown.
- The 2011 season marks the first in which BYU has played both an SEC and Big 12 team in the same season. BYU defeated Ole Miss, 14-13, last week. The Cougars also play two teams from the Pac-12 later this year.
- After the first week of play, BYU’s defense ranks as one of the best in the coun- try and is currently ranked in the top-30 in total defense (15th), rushing defense (20th), pass efficiency defense (25th), pass defense (26th) and scoring defense (30th).

BYU-TEXAS SERIES
This will be the third time in history that BYU faces off against the Texas Longhorns. The Cougars are 2-0 in previous matchups. The first meeting was in 1987 when BYU defeated the Longhorns 22-17 in Austin, Tex. The Cougars overcame being outgained 342-243 in total yards by forcing an incredible eight turnovers (four interceptions, four fumbles) for a school record. In 1988, the Longhorns came to Provo and were handed a 47-6 loss behind 402 passing yards from BYU’s quarterbacks. A freshman Ty Detmer saw limited time but threw a 20-yard touchdown pass in the victory.

HE'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL
Senior captain and offensive tackle Matt Reynolds returns for his senior season after deciding not to enter the NFL draft despite a first round projec- tion. Reynolds has been rewarded with several preseason accolades, including being named a preseason All-American by by ESPN.com, USA Today, Athlon, CBSCollegeSports.com, Lindy’s, Sporting News and Phil Steele, among others. Along with those honors, Reynolds has recognized as an Outland Trophy Candidate, a Lombardi Award Candidate and a Lowe’s Senior Class Award Nominee.

BIG 12 FLASHBACK
The last time BYU played at a Big 12 opponent’s sta- dium was in 1987 when the Cougars traveled to Texas and defeated the Longhorns, 22-17. The last time a BYU team played anywhere against a Big 12 opponent was in 2009 against Oklahoma at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. It had been a while prior that matchup, facing off against Kansas State in 1997 on New Year’s Day at the Cotton Bowl. The Cougars picked up another dramatic comeback, winning 19-15 after quarterback Steve Sarkisian found K.O. Kealauhi for a 28-yard go- ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Defensive back Omarr “The Blanket” Morgan secured the victory, intercepting a Wildcat pass at the 12-yard line to kill the comeback effort.

BYU vs. BCS AQs
With the victory over Ole Miss, BYU has defeated a team from a BCS automatic-qualifying conference six-straight years, the third-longest streak in the nation. The Cougars have defeated at least one AQ school 15 of the past 16 years dating back to 1996.

BEEN ON THIS ROAD BEFORE
In its last two season-openers away from home, BYU has defeated a BCS school by the score of 14-13 in a fourth quarter comeback. In 2009, opening against Oklahoma the Cougars came back from 13-7 with a Max Hall touchdown pass to McKay Jacobson and a good extra point to take the lead and hang on to win 14-13. Last weeks fourth quarter heroics with a late touchdown and fumble recovered for a touchdown matched the score, getting the 14-13 win at Ole Miss.

NO POINTS
After allowing 13 points last week against Ole Miss, BYU has never allowed an opponent to score more than 20 points or two touchdowns under Coach Mendenhall in season openers.

NOWHERE TO RUN
After holding Ole Miss to 64 total rushing yards, the Cougars have now held seven straight opponents to 100 yards or less on the ground. The last time a BYU defense allowed a team 100 yards rushing was on October 16, 2010 in a 31-3 loss against TCU.

NO TOUCHDOWNS ALLOWED
The BYU defense held the Ole Miss offense out of the end zone for the entire 60 minutes, allowing just two field goals for six points. It marks the first time the Cougars have held a team without a touchdown since they beat Tulane 54-3 on September 12, 2009.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
With 14 points in the fourth quarter, the Cougars have scored in the fourth quarter in seven-straight games. During that stretch BYU has scored 53 points, notching seven touchdowns and two field goals.

TEXAS TWO-STEP
Lining up to catch passes for the Cougars in 2011 will be two former Texas High School stars in McKay Jacobson and Ross Apo. Jacobson was the Texas 5A state Player of the Year and caught over 1,600 yards and 19 touchdowns his senior season of prep football. Apo was ranked as the No. 13 wide receiver in the country by Rivals. com his last high school season at The Oakridge School and averaged 19.1 yards per reception throughout his prep career.

HOFFMAN KEEPS IT GOING
As a top target and leading receiver in 2010, sophomore Cody Hoffman received a lot of attention from the Rebel defense at Ole Miss. Hoffman caught just one pass for nine yards but with the catch he extends his streak to seven games with at least one reception and 13 of 14 career games.

200 AND COUNTING
Jake Heaps has finished his last six games dating back to UNLV of 2010 with at least 200 passing yards. In that span the now sophomore signal caller has thrown for 294 against UNLV, 242 at Colorado State, 231 vs. New Mexico, 228 at Utah, 264 in the New Mexico Bowl vs. UTEP and most recently, 225 at Ole Miss.