Undefeated Cougars Outlast Colorado State

PROVO -- In a battle between two Mountain West Conference heavyweights, BYU's Luke Staley delivered one too many blows in leading the Cougars to a 56-34 victory over the Colorado State Rams. Staley led BYU to its first 9-0 start since 1984 and its 11th straight victory going back to last season.

Staley finished the game with five touchdowns, 196 yards rushing on 22 carries and three catches for 28 yards. The five touchdowns gave him 42 for his career, breaking the BYU record for career touchdowns. Jamal Willis held the record with 40 before Staley's outburst against the Rams. Staley now has 1,092 yards rushing on the season, a career high, and 22 touchdowns.

"They've got a couple excellent players in their quarterback and Luke Staley," Colorado State head coach Sonny Lubick said. "We knew that coming into the game."

Brandon "The Domanator" Doman perfectly complemented Staley's ground attack by rushing for a career-high 164 yards and throwing for another 284 yards. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another. He now has thrown for 23 touchdowns on the season and rushed for eight touchdowns.

BYU jumped all over Colorado State in the first quarter, sprinting out to a 21-0 lead. But Colorado State refused to roll over. The Rams roared back to score 21 straight points to tie the game. BYU added a touchdown and Colorado State countered with a field goal to give BYU a 28-24 lead at the half.

"That gave us new life and it shows the resiliency and the character of our guys," Lubick said.

Colorado State continued its momentum and scored first after the half to take the lead, but BYU's defense buckled down when it had to. BYU only allowed a field goal the rest of the game.

"Our defense came up big in the second half like it always does," Crowton said.

The defense also came up with big plays, including two interceptions in its own end zone. Jernaro Gilford intercepted a pass on Colorado State's first possession, halting a long drive for the Rams.

Colorado State attacked BYU's defense with its own one-two punch all night long. Running back Henri Childs rushed for 237 yards while quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt rushed 174 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams finished the game with 440 yards rushing.

But in the end, it was too much Staley and Doman for the Rams to handle and the Cougars took over in the fourth quarter. BYU scored 14 in the final quarter and held Colorado State scoreless to pull away in the final quarter.

"I wish I could win them all 52-0, but that's not going to happen," Crowton said.

Playing after a short week, the Cougars will now enjoy a longer rest before their next contest. BYU will travel to Wyoming to face the Cowboys on November 10. BYU defeated Wyoming last year, but lost the last time the Cougars traveled to Laramie.

With the victory, the Cougars can clinch at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title with a UNLV win over Utah on Saturday. Should that scenario play out in Las Vegas, the Cougars would be guaranteed the outright MWC Championship.

Linebacker Paul Walkenhorst lead the Cougars with 13 tackles. (BYU Photo / Mark Philbrick)

GAME NOTES

No. 8/13 BYU vs. Colorado State

LaVell Edwards Stadium ò Provo, Utah

November 1, 2001

11 STRAIGHT WINS AND COUNTING

BYU's victory over Colorado State on Thursday marked the Cougars' 11th straight win, dating back to the 2000 season. The win also marks BYU's ninth straight of the season, marking the most wins to start a single season since the Cougars' 1984 National Championship campaign. The current single-season streak also marks the most consecutive victories since recording 12 straight wins during the 1996 season.

NUMBER 9

BYU's victory over Colorado State on Thursday also marks the Cougars' ninth win of the season. Currently at 9-0, BYU remains one of only three undefeated teams in the country. BYU is tied with Nebraska for the best record in the country at 9-0. The Cougars have produced 16 nine-win seasons since 1922. All 16 of BYU's nine-wins seasons have occurred since 1976.

CHAMPIONSHIP HUNT

With BYU's victory over Colorado State, the Cougars are in line to record their second Mountain West Conference title in the past three seasons. Should Utah lose at UNLV on Saturday, BYU would clinch at least a share of the 2001 MWC title. A win at Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 10 would give the Cougars their first-ever outright MWC Championship. BYU has registered 20 league titles since winning its first WAC championship in 1965, including a stretch of 10 straight WAC Championships from 1976-1985. Of the 20 conference titles, BYU has won the championship outright 12 times. BYU has not won an outright title since 1996.

SWEET REVENGE

BYU's win over Colorado State completed a three-game sweep of all three MWC opponents (Air Force, San Diego State and Colorado State) who registered victories over BYU last season, including a 45-21 whipping at CSU.

THE SHUTOUT STREAK CONTINUES

With a Brandon Doman's touchdown at 11:30 of the first quarter, BYU extended its NCAA record streak of 333 games without being shut out. Arizona State was the last team to shut out the Cougars back in 1975.

CROWTON REACHES MINI-MILESTONE

The Cougars' victory over Colorado State on Thursday marks BYU head coach Gary Crowton's 30th career victory. Crowton has produced a 30-13 (.698) career record, including a 21-13 mark (in three seasons) as the head coach at Louisiana Tech.

BRANDON DOMAN NOTES

With tonight's win, senior quarterback Brandon Doman improved to 11-0 as a starter, including a perfect 9-0 this season. Doman paced the BYU offense with a career-high 165 yards rushing and recorded two rushing touchdowns. Doman was 21-of-27 for 284 yards passing on the night. Doman also completed one touchdown pass -- a 29-yard strike to Gabriel Reid.

LUKE STALEY NOTES

With 196 yards rushing on the night, Staley eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark on the season. He now has 1,092 yards on the season. He matched his BYU single-game touchdown scoring performance with five touchdowns on the night. Staley has tallied a single-season record 22 touchdowns on the season, and a BYU record 42 career touchdowns. Staley leads the nation in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game. On the night, Staley became BYU's all-time leading scorer (non-kicker), having racked up 252 career points. Staley has tallied at least one touchdown in 20-of-27 career games and has chalked up 12 multiple-scoring games. Staley carried the ball 22 times for 196 yards, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Staley also leads the nation, averaging 9.1 yards per carry.

ALL THAT SCORING

The Cougars scored 21 points in the first quarter for the third time this season. Counting the first quarter in tonight's game, BYU has scored 21 or more points in a single quarter nine different times. After posting 56 points against CSU, the Cougars are averaging 59.0 points per game in Provo and a national leading 50.8 points per contest. BYU's 56 points against Colorado State marks the most points the Cougars have scored against the Rams since scoring 61 points in 1981.

FIRST QUARTER SHUTOUT

The defense held CSU scoreless in the first quarter. It marked the 11th time this season the Cougars have held their opponent scoreless during a quarter. The BYU defense has managed to have at least one quarter every game where it has held its opponent scoreless.

RED ZONE QUICK STATS

After scoring on 5-of-5 trips inside the Red Zone this evening, the Cougars improve to 46-of-51 on the season. The Cougars have scored 41 touchdowns inside their opponents 20-yard line.

INTERCEPTIONS

The Cougars recorded three interceptions on the evening, including first-ever interceptions for Kurt Elliott and Ryan Denney. BYU has produced at least one interception in all nine games this season, multiple interceptions in five games. BYU has produced three interceptions in three games, including back-to-back games (at San Diego State, vs. Colorado State). Jernaro Gilford's interception in the first quarter marked his fifth of the season. The pick stopped the CSU drive as he intercepted the ball in the end zone. His fifth interception puts him four short of the BYU single-season record for interceptions.

Box Score (Final)

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score

----------------- -- -- -- -- -----

Colorado State...... 0 24 10 0 - 34 Record: (4-5,3-2)

Brigham Young....... 21 7 14 14 - 56 Record: (9-0,5-0)

Scoring Summary:

1st 11:30 BYU - DOMAN, Brandon 7 yd run (PAYNE, kick)

05:20 BYU - STALEY, Luke 2 yd run (PAYNE, kick)

00:48 BYU - STALEY, Luke 2 yd run (PAYNE, kick)

2nd 11:13 CSU - DREESSEN, Joel 1 yd pass from VAN PELT, Bradl

(NAUGHTON kick)

05:24 CSU - VAN PELT, Bradl 18 yd run (NAUGHTON, kick)

04:00 CSU - SAVE, Bryan 28 yd fumble recovery

(NAUGHTON, kick)

01:54 BYU - STALEY, Luke 44 yd run (PAYNE, kick)

00:00 CSU - NAUGHTON, Kent 31 yd field goal

3rd 11:59 CSU - VAN PELT, Bradl 5 yd run (NAUGHTON, kick)

10:23 BYU - DOMAN, Brandon 37 yd run (PAYNE, kick)

07:19 BYU - STALEY, Luke 20 yd run (PAYNE, kick)

01:02 CSU - NAUGHTON, Kent 25 yd field goal

4th 13:23 BYU - REID, Gabriel 29 yd pass from DOMAN, Brandon

(PAYNE, kick)

02:21 BYU - STALEY, Luke 3 yd run (PAYNE, kick)

CSU BYU

FIRST DOWNS................... 29 33

RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 58-440 45-410

PASSING YDS (NET)............. 158 284

Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 26-12-3 27-21-1

TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 84-598 72-694

Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 1-28 0-0

Punt Returns-Yards............ 0-0 0-0

Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 6-116 3-86

Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-18 3-24

Punts (Number-Avg)............ 1-34.0 0-0.0

Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-1 4-1

Penalties-Yards............... 6-48 10-83

Possession Time............... 30:32 29:28

Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 1-10

RUSHING: Colorado State-CHILDS, Henri 30-237; VAN PELT, Bradl 21-174; RUFF,

Duan 6-27; REBSTOCK, Pete 1-2. Brigham Young-STALEY, Luke 22-196; DOMAN,

Brandon 18-164; MAHE, Reno 2-39; HALLADAY, Soren 1-12; PETERSON, Charl 1-0;

STEARNS, Ned 1-minus 1.

PASSING: Colorado State-VAN PELT, Bradl 12-26-3-158. Brigham Young-DOMAN,

Brandon 21-27-1-284.

RECEIVING: Colorado State-REBSTOCK, Pete 3-50; OCHOA, Jose 3-40; CHILDS,

Henri 3-27; DREESSEN, Joel 2-10; CUPPARI, Joey 1-31. Brigham Young-MAHE,

Reno 6-90; JOLLEY, Doug 5-59; STALEY, Luke 3-28; NEAD, Spencer 2-22;

STEARNS, Ned 1-30; REID, Gabriel 1-29; ANDERSON, Justi 1-15; RIGELL, Mike

1-6; CHRISTENSEN, To 1-5.

INTERCEPTIONS: Colorado State-SPRAGUE, Aaron 1-18. Brigham Young-GILFORD,

Jernar 1-0; ELLIOTT, Kurt 1-25; DENNEY, Ryan 1-minus 1.

FUMBLES: Colorado State-CHILDS, Henri 1-1; VAN PELT, Bradl 1-0. Brigham

Young-DOMAN, Brandon 3-1; NEAD, Spencer 1-0.

SACKS (UA-A): Colorado State-None. Brigham Young-MARQUARDT, Mich 1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): Colorado State-SPRAGUE, Aaron 8-3; GALLIMORE, Jaso 6-4;

WYNN, Dexter 6-2; PAULY, Eric 6-1; WOOD, Drew 3-4; GALLIMORE, Just 3-2;

SOMMERSELL, And 2-1; GRAUE, Geoff 2-1; LOWE, Ameer 2-1; WADE, Adam 2-0;

THOMAS, Wallace 2-0; NELSON, Rhett 2-0; SVOBODA, Brad 1-0; ALCONCEL, Brand

1-0; GOODPASTER, Pat 1-0; JONES, Landon 1-0; REBSTOCK, Pete 0-1; SAVE, Bryan

0-1; AMICARELLA, Jam 0-1. Brigham Young-WALKENHORST, Pa 6-7; ENA, Justin

7-4; STALEY, Dustin 6-3; MADARIETA, Levi 3-5; KELLEY, Isaac 2-6; PILI, Ifo

3-3; COWART, Jeff 4-1; HEANEY, Brandon 4-0; DENNEY, Ryan 1-3; BOCKWOLDT,

Colb 3-0; KEISEL, Brett 1-2; GILFORD, Jernar 2-0; GUNDERSON, Ryan 1-1;

BURBIDGE, Jon 1-1; FRANCISCO, Aaro 1-1; MARQUARDT, Mich 1-0; SUMKO, Mike

1-0; CARLSON, Brent 1-0; WILSON, Derrus 1-0; MAHE, Reno 1-0; WRIGHT, Bill

1-0; ELLIOTT, Kurt 1-0; TANNER, Mike 1-0; MEIBOS, Jared 0-1.

Stadium: Edwards Stadium Attendance: 63478

Kickoff time: 7:51 End of Game: 11:34 Total elapsed time: 342

Officials: Referee: Wright, Gerald; Umpire: Jenkins, Darrel;

Linesman: Hettema, David; Line judge: Lynch, Jack; Back judge: Leyden, Terry;

Field judge: Clark, Land; Side judge: Richins, Karl; Scorer: Media Relations;

Temperature: 51 Wind: lt brez Weather: clear