#78 - 9/12/98 - Ronney Jenkins Carries the Cougars to Victory with 214 Yards: BYU 26, #14 Arizona State 6:

 The Cougars were swamped in their season opener against the Crimson Tide. As the Cougars (0-1) prepared for game 2 against the #14 Arizona State Sun Devils (0-1), things weren’t looking any brighter. Despite beating the Sun Devils the previous year, 13-10, the Cougars were only 6-20 all-time against their former conference rivals. This year’s Sun Devils were led by RB JR Redmond, who had racked up 1,051 yards from scrimmage in 1997.

ASU received the kickoff. On the first play from scrimmage, the Cougars appeared to strip the ball away from the defender, but the play was called dead. After an ASU punt, the Cougars drove 52 yards on their initial possession, penetrating the Blue Zone on a 25-yard completion from QB Kevin Feterik to RB Kalani Sitake. Owen Pochman booted a 34-yard field goal to give BYU a 3-0 lead. The Cougar D did the rest, forcing punts on each of the Sun Devils’ first four possessions. Unfortunately, the ASU Defense perked up, forcing the Cougars to punt on each of their next 3 possessions too.

Early in the second, following a missed FGA by the Sun Devils, the Cougars faced a second-and-10 from their own 26. *Kevin Feterik dropped back and turned to his right to avoid the pass rush. Feterik then spotted WR Ben Horton running a pattern toward the right sideline with a defender hot on his heels. As he zipped the ball to Horton, the defender leaped in front of the receiver in an attempt to intercept the pass, but the ball slipped through his hands and into Horton’s. Horton slowed as he secured the bobbled ball at the Cougar 40, and turned upfield. With a Sun Devil pursuing him, and two others moving into position to cut him off, Horton juked left at the ASU 35, dropping one defender as he tried to adjust and causing another to turn sharply as he overshot the mark. The third defender dove at the 20, trying to make a shoestring tackle as Horton turned to avoid a latecomer, but missed. This fourth defender also went sprawling in his wake as Horton turned left again to avoid the final Sun Devil who was still in front of him. This final defender almost nabbed Horton as he cruised over the goal line and into the end zone for a 74-yard TD reception (#76). After another failed FGA by ASU, the Cougars advanced 57 yards on their next possession, thanks to an impressive 33-yard rush by Jenkins, to get back into FG range. Pochman’s 41-yarder sailed true, putting BYU up by 13. Near the end of the half, the Sun Devils fumbled the ball deep in their own territory, and the Cougars recovered. Despite losing some ground, they were still within FG range, and Pochman snuck it through the uprights for a 33-yard FG with two ticks remaining in the half to give the Cougars a 16-0 halftime lead.

Ben Horton
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Midway through the third, Ronney Jenkins featured heavily in a 73-yard Cougar drive, rushing for 50 yards and making a reception for 18 more. When they reached the ASU 2, Jenkins plowed his way over the line for a 2-yard TD rush. When ASU tried to respond, a 46-yard reception turned into a fumble, which Tyler Nelson recovered at the BYU 46. After three, BYU led 23-0.

Early in the fourth, the Cougars drove into FG range again. Pochman’s 38-yarder split the uprights to put them up by 26 with under a quarter to play. In three quarters of play, the Sun Devils were still scoreless, having managed only one drive of more than 34 yards. Finally, in the fourth, they put together an 80-yard scoring drive. QB Ryan Kealy found Lenzie Jackson with a 15-yard TD pass to finally put ASU on the board, but the extra point attempt was blocked. When the backups came in, the Cougars’ Junior Mahe gave Cougar fans a preview at what he was capable of with an impressive 57-yard rush that featured a few sharp cuts to avoid tacklers and add on yardage. When Jason Walker intercepted Kealy midway through the fourth, the game was effectively over. The Cougs were able to run down the clock for a 26-6 win.

Ronney Jenkins
Courtesy of BYU Photo

ASU’s star RB JR Redmond was stifled by the BYU’s defense, only netting 42 yards on 16 rushes for a paltry average of 2.6 yards per rush. Redmond would rebound, breaking the 1,000 yard mark again by season’s end. The unheralded Ronney Jenkins, on the other hand, ran the show, putting up 214 total yards. The Cougars also won the turnover battle 3-0 as they dropped the #14 team out of the polls. The Cougars would finish the regular season with a 9-3 record, 7-1 in conference, to win the 16-team WAC’s Pacific Division. They lost to Air Force in the WAC championship game, but accepted a bid to the Liberty Bowl, where they fell to #10 Tulane.

Game link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypLxEZB7gE0

*BYU Tv's Top 100 plays in BYU Football TV history (updated 12/12/20 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYzgPw-bQ_c)

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cougar Centennial preview

 This blog is dedicated to highlighting the 100 greatest games in BYU Cougar football history. I've been a BYU fan since I was a little kid, and attended the university from 1992-1996. When I realized that 2022 was the 100th anniversary of BYU's first official football game, I decided to compile a list of the 100 greatest games in the program's history (from 1922-2021) and do a write-up for each of those games. I did something similar for the 50th anniversary of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and figured I'd share my efforts with other BYU fans out there. Throughout the blog, I will be referring to Top 25 (or Top 20 prior to the expansion of the polls) rankings of either BYU or the teams they played. I realize that there are a couple of major polls, and even a few less famous ones, but for consistency sake I've decided to use the AP poll as the official ranking (even though BYU tends to be appreciated more by the coaches' poll). Also, many posts refer to the
Read more

2.12/21/84 – National Championship Holiday Bowl: #1 BYU – 24, Michigan – 17

Image
               The #1 ranked  BYU  Cougars (12-0) entered their bowl game against the Michigan Wolverines (6-5) as  the nation’s only undefeated team, and with a chance to win their first national championship .  The Cougars were led by junior QB Robbie Bosco - the Sammy Baugh Trophy winner who led the nation in just about every passing category including an NCAA record   12 consecutive games with 200+yards passing . Michigan, who began the season ranked #14, jumped to #3 after defeating #1 Miami to open the season, but fell out of the rankings after a lackluster loss to rival Michigan State in early October. If the Wolverines could defeat another #1 team, their season would be magical despite the losses. BYU vs. Michigan - 1984 Holiday Bowl Courtesy of BYU Photo             The first quarter was dominated by defense. All-American quarterback Robbie Bosco was knocked out of the game late in the quarter with severe ankle and knee injuries by a very aggressive Wolverine defense . Backup
Read more

17. 10/15/94 - First win over Notre Dame: BYU Cougars – 21, #17 Notre Dame – 14

Image
               In the final game of a three game series with #17 Notre Dame ( 4-2 ), the Cougars  (5-1)   desperately wanted a win . Head coach, LaVell Edwards, had never gone 0-3 against an opponent since taking over as head coach, but playing in South Bend, the prospects of that streak continuing seemed to dim considerably. The Irish , led by All-American DB Bobby Taylor,  were favored by 15 points, and sported a streak of 85 consecutive games with a national ranking.                Notre Dame struck first. Starting at their own 38-yard line, the Irish made their way into Cougar territory. On the sixth play of the drive, RB Randy Kinder broke a tackle at the line, then rushed up the right hand sideline for a 41-yard TD. Things went from bad to worse when the Cougars’ return man fumbled the kickoff and Notre Dame recovered at the Cougar 11-yard line. The Cougar Defense stepped up, however, not only stopping the Irish, but forcing them backwards on a fumble that was recovered by Notr
Read more