47. 9/15/90 – Most 4th quarter points in a comeback: #5 BYU – 50, Washington St. - 36

 47. 9/15/90 – Most 4th quarter points in a comeback: #5 BYU – 50, Washington St. - 36

            One week after taking down #1 Miami, the #5 BYU Cougars (2-0) faced the Washington State Cougars (1-1) of the PAC-10. These crimson Cougars from the Pacific northwest had invaded Provo the previous year, and had left victorious; handing BYU one of its three losses on the season. Now they were back, hoping for a bit of deja vu. In their only other meeting, the Blue Cougars had defeated their crimson cousins in the 1981 Holiday Bowl. With their #5 ranking, the boys in blue were hoping to land a more prestigious bowl this time around.

            Washington State started off the scoring, marching into BYU territory and booting a 44-yard FG. Heisman candidate Ty Detmer responded by leading BYU on an 80-yard scoring drive, including a 28-yard pass to Chris Smith. Detmer capped off the drive with an off-balance 4-yard TD pass to a wide open Peter Tuipulotu. Crimson answered with a 42-yard TD rush by Shaumbe Wright-Fair. WSU followed that up with a 21-yard FG. Before the quarter ended, the Crimson Cougars added on with a 49-yard TD strike from Brad Gossen to Calvin Griggs. As the dust settled on the first quarter, WSU led 20-7.

            In the second quarter, the BYU D finally got its first stop, Crimson kicked a 23-yard FG on its next possession to extend their lead to 16. In response, Detmer threw his second straight interception - a Pick 6 returned 25 yards for a TD by Alvin Dunn. Though they failed to convert the 2-point conversion attempt, Crimson led at halftime 29-7.

            BYU’s defense came out inspired in the second half, forcing punts on five consecutive WSU possessions. The BYU offense, meanwhile, showed some signs of life, converting a 73-yard drive into 7 points with a 2-yard pass from Detmer to Nati Valdez in the back of the end zone. On their next drive, a spectacular TD pass by Detmer to Matsuzaki was called back after offsetting penalties nullified the play. After three quarters, BYU still trailed by 15 points.

            Early in the fourth, Detmer guided BYU on an 88-yard drive, that included a 31-yard pass to Matt Bellini, a 27-yard pass to Andy Boyce, and was punctuated by a 16-yard TD pass to Brent Nyberg. Down by nine, Blue went for two, pulling within 7 when Chris Smith caught Detmer’s off-balance pass in the backfield and bulldozed his way into the end zone to complete the 2-point play. On the next drive, Detmer targeted Andy Boyce, knotting the score at 29-all with a precision 32-yard TD strike. On their next drive, Blue drove 84 yards, relying heavily on Mike Salido. They then pulled ahead when Detmer connected with Stacey Corley over the middle, who then swept around the Crimson defenders and into the end zone for a 9-yard TD reception. WSU wasn’t ready to slink back to Washington with a loss, and tied the game up again with a 7-yard TD reception by Griggs. With less than four minutes remaining, Detmer and company drove 68 yards in less than a minute, retaking the lead when Tuipulotu followed up a huge 30-yard run with a 23-yard TD rush. On their possession, Crimson decided to go for it on fourth down, despite being deep within their own territory, and failed miserably. The result was BYU’s fifth touchdown of the quarter - a 5-yard rush by Corley to cap a short 13-yard drive. Crimson tried to respond, but time ran out and Blue left the field victorious.

An Official Ty Detmer "Heisman Ty"
Legacy Hall 

In the win, BYU raised its record to 3-0 by scoring an NCAA record 36 fourth quarter points to win or tie a game. The 36 points also set a team record for points in a quarter. The fourth quarter heroics only added to Detmer’s resume as the quarterback would finish the season as BYU’s first and only Heisman Trophy winner.

 Game recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bu1asohB80

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