|
BYU-Wyoming notes: Beck settles in behind Detmer |
|
|
|
|
JaredCowley | Friday, November 10, 2006, 7:33 am
|
Jared Lloyd
DAILY HERALD
The question of BYU senior John Beck’s place in the history of quarterbacks in Provo will only truly be answered as the years pass, but Thursday night against Wyoming he took a significant step in the record books.
With a 36-yard pass to sophomore receiver Michael Reed midway through the first quarter, Beck passed BYU legend Jim McMahon for second place in all-time passing yardage.
The senior signal-caller entered the game 43 yards behind McMahon, who threw for 9,536 yards from 1978-81.
“The statistics speak for themselves,” said Cougar head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “All he was missing was a championship, and with securing at least a share of that today, I think it’s time to acknowledge that he belongs with some of the great names.”
In the second quarter, Beck also passed McMahon and moved into second place in the total yardage category when he completed a 22-yard pass to senior wide receiver Nate Meikle.
In an unusual sequence of events, however, the senior actually fell behind McMahon in that category when he was sacked on the next play before a 13-yard pass to senior tight end Jonny Harline put him into second place for good.
Although the numbers might mean a lot to Beck, he certainly wasn’t willing to act like it with two games left to play.
“(The best part) was the we beat Wyoming 55-7,” he said. “I’ve been asked about it a lot, but I didn’t come to BYU with my sights on beating legends. I came with my sights set on winning championships and to get the big win and celebrate with my team. That’s what I came here for.”
That attitude of “team-first” has been a big part of BYU’s success, according to Mendenhall.
“I’m extremely proud of him, not just with the way he’s leading the team and his passing, but with his approach with the team,” the Cougar head coach said.
“I couldn’t ask him to handle any better. It’s not about him, it’s about the team winning a championship.”
Beck now only trails BYU great Ty Detmer in both categories, roughly 5,000 yards behind in each area.
Returning to glory: For the first time in nine years, BYU returned a punt for a touchdown. Jaron Dabney’s return against Hawaii in 1997 was the previous mark before freshman McKay Jacobson’s 77-yard sprint to the end zone in the fourth quarter.
Two other returns also nearly reached paydirt, as Meikle ran the opening kickoff 84 yards before going down at the 2-yard line. The most recent Cougar kickoff return for a score came in 1998 when Mike Rigell ran 96 yards to score at Hawaii.
Junior safety Quinn Gooch also nearly returned an interception in the third quarter, taking it to the 3-yard line before stepping out of bounds.
First-quarter success: The Cougars have now scored 110 points in the first quarter, including tying a season high by putting up 21 in the opening frame against Wyoming (BYU also put 21 on the board against UNLV).
In contrast, the defense has only allowed 12 points on two field goals and a touchdown in the first this year.
Only in the opening game against Arizona did the Cougars fail to put the first points on the board and have yet to be held scoreless in the opening 15 minutes.
Quick strike and slow grind: Twice the Cougars required three plays on scoring drives of less than five total yards, once in the first quarter and once in the third quarter. Each of those drives required more than a minute of clock time to get the score.
Ironically, the quickest BYU offensive scoring drive (not including the punt return), was the two-play, 68-yard drive in the first quarter when the Cougars traveled the distance on a couple of long pass plays.
Couldn’t see the game on CSTV? Neither could the media in the press box: Fans aren’t the only ones who had to deal with the difficulties with the television coverage. Media in the press box watched the in-house feed since the CSTV feed has yet to be worked out.
This isn’t the first time that the media has had trouble watching the game broadcast, since the press box also doesn’t get ESPN2.
Extra points: The BYU-Wyoming game was only stopped once to review a play. It was determined the Beck had scored on a sneak in the fourth quarter ... Senior running back Curtis Brown needs 38 yards to become BYU’s all-time leading rusher. He ran for 92 yards on 22 carries against the Cowboys ... Wyoming has not had a bye week this year. The Cowboys finish the season at UNLV next week ... The Cougars won the toss and elected to receive, quickly turning that decision into a touchdown after the big kickoff return ... Senior linebacker Aaron Wagner carried the flag onto the field ... the announced attendance was 59,901.
Jared Lloyd can be reached at 344-2552 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
For more analysis, check out his blog at blogs.heraldextra.com/blade. |
