13. 12/30/11 - Armed Forces Bowl: BYU - 24, Tulsa - 21

            The BYU Cougars finished their first regular season as an Independent with a record of 9-3. That record earned them a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl to play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-4). Although the Cougars were 6-1 against Tulsa all-time, their lone loss came in their most recent match-up - a 55-47 loss in 2007. Led by junior QB Riley Nelson (who took over for an ineffective Jake Heaps in the fifth game of the season), the Cougars were trying to post double-digit wins for the fifth time in Bronco Mendenhall’s seventh season at the helm - a feat accomplished by only two other active FBS head coaches. It would also be a nice capstone to a very impressive season - an essential element for an Independent trying to schedule big name opponents.

Tulsa received the kickoff, and started their opening drive at their own 24-yard line. Ten plays later, they faced third-and-six at the Cougar 8-yard line. With plenty of protection, QB G.J. Kinne stood in the pocket waiting for someone to get open. Finally, the Cougars flushed him out, but he escaped a tackle and finally found his man, Ricky Johnson, in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard TD. After punting on their opening drive, BYU forced a short punt by Tulsa, allowing them to start their second drive in Tulsa territory. Once in the Blue zone, the Cougars got lucky when an intercepted pass was nullified by a Tulsa offsides call. That allowed Justin Sorensen to boot a 35-yard FG, making the score 7-3 after one quarter of play.

In the second quarter, with the ball on their own 14-yard line, Tulsa went for a quick strike. On second down, Kinne threw a long bomb to Bryan Burnham, which he bobbled but tenaciously secured for a 50-yard first down. On the next play, Trey Watts burst through the line for a 15-yard gain. On the next play, Kinne faked a handoff, then threw a quick strike to Clay Sears, who grabbed it and ran it in for a 14-yard TD. The Cougars, meanwhile, were struggling. After three straight punts and an interception, the Cougars got the ball back at their own 10-yard line with 1:27 remaining in the half. They secured a first down at their own 43-yard line, but then the offense sputtered to a halt. On fourth-and-ten, they resigned themselves to a 14-3 halftime deficit and punted the ball away. The Tulsa punt returner failed to signal a fair catch and was hit right after he caught it. BYU’s David Foote recovered the loose ball at the Tulsa 17-yard line with 25 ticks remaining in the half. *On first down, Nelson was flushed out of the pocket and ran left to avoid the Golden Hurricane blitz. Meanwhile, left tackle Matt Reynolds saw that his QB was in trouble. Despite losing his helmet on the play, Reynolds ran back 15 yards to lay out the defender with a fearless block. Free from his closest pursuer, Nelson directed traffic, planted and coolly threw to star WR Cody Hoffman right before taking the full brunt of the Hurricane D. Hoffman came back to catch the ball at the 4-yard line, then turned back toward the end zone as the defense caught up to him. Fighting off four defenders, Hoffman leaped toward pay dirt, stretching the ball over the goal line as he was tackled from behind for a 17-yard touchdown (#47). The pumped up Cougars sprinted into the locker room with a much more manageable four-point deficit.

Cody Hoffman's 2nd touchdown
Courtesy of BYU Photo

            The third quarter was another defensive battle. Neither team could get their offense churning. When the Hurricane D intercepted a Riley pass and ran it back to the Cougar 35, it looked like they would score again after Clay Sears (a former HS QB) caught a lateral pass and passed it to fellow WR Ricky Johnson for a 21-yard gain. However, Kyle Van Noy and the Cougar D stepped up their game, pushing the Hurricane backwards. The 46-yard FG attempt sailed wide right, allowing BYU to take over at their own 29-yard line. From there, they began their longest march of the afternoon. On third-and-ten, Nelson found Cody Hoffman over the middle for a 20-yard gain. Four plays later, after converting another first down, Riley connected with Hoffman again, leading him into the end zone with a pinpoint 30-yard TD pass that gave BYU their first lead of the game.

On their first possession of the fourth quarter, the Golden Hurricane started swirling again. Starting at their own, 42-yard line, they marched up to the Cougar 30-yard line. From there, Kinne lofted a pass into the end zone, where Burnham caught the ball to flip the lead back to Tulsa. With about four minutes remaining, BYU returned a Tulsa punt to midfield. Facing fourth-and-nine with 2:56 remaining, Riley Nelson dropped back, then tucked in the ball and ran up the middle for 14 yards to keep the drive alive. A couple of third down conversions later, the Cougars were inside the 10-yard line. With time running out, the Tulsa defenders began holding onto downed Cougars following each play in an effort to burn a few more seconds off of the clock. *On second down and goal, at the Tulsa 2-yard line, and the clock running, Nelson took the hike, faked a spike, looked left…nobody, looked right and saw Hoffman break free of his defender in the front corner of the end zone. Hoffman caught the game-winning TD pass with 0:11 remaining (#42). Tulsa tried a razzle-dazzle play with five seconds remaining, tossing the ball from one player to another, but ultimately fumbled it, and BYU recovered to end the game.

Cody Hoffman's game-winning 3rd TD
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Armed Forces Bowl Trophy
Legacy Hall

The Cougars finished the season with a 10-3 record, and finished the season ranked #25 when the final AP polls were released. Cody Hoffman caught 8 passes, including a record-tying 3 TD receptions, for 122 yards to earn offensive MVP honors. The sophomore would go on to become the Cougars’ all-time leader in receptions, receiving touchdowns, receiving yards, and all-purpose yards.

Game link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnH0sSdN4Zs

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

 

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