Few Mysteries In Store for BYU, A&M; : Holiday Bowl: Cougars plan to pass; Aggies want to run. No changes are expected to sneak into either team’s routine. : HOLIDAY BOWL COMPARISONS : BYU

They went to Sea World and saw the shows Wednesday. They were aboard an aircraft carrier and had lunch Thursday. They attended a luncheon Friday.

Now it is Saturday and time for No. 13 Brigham Young (10-2) and Texas A&M; (8-3-1) to play in the 13th Holiday Bowl. And when the Cougars and Aggies kick off at 4:30 p.m. in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, their strict regimens figure to continue.

BYU will pass.

Texas A&M; will run.

Any questions?

There are two ways to move the football, and both will be thoroughly covered this afternoon.

Both teams have strong, talented offenses. BYU’s Heisman Trophy winner, Ty Detmer, hasn’t met a defense yet he couldn’t shred and Texas A&M; back Darren Lewis has found running room against virtually everybody.

Detmer, owner of 42 NCAA records, has completed 64% of his passes this season and has thrown for 5,188 yards. Lewis finished with 1,691 yards rushing, third in the nation. BYU has a plethora of receivers and a good offensive line. Texas A&M; has one of the best running back tandems in the nation in Lewis and fullback Robert Wilson, as well as a formidable offensive line.

Maybe the biggest point of interest this: Can a frenzied Texas A&M; blitz contain BYU’s offense?

That’s another part of Texas A&M;’s itinerary this week--lots of blitzing.

“We probably blitz more than, I’d say, 90% of the teams in college football,” said Bob Davie, Texas A&M; defensive coordinator. “We don’t blitz every down, but it’s our week-to-week defense. We’re probably parallel to the BYU offense in that there are certain things we believe in.”

BYU believes in passing. Detmer has an assortment of receivers, including wide receivers Andy Boyce (1,241 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns) and Brent Nyberg (816 yards), All-American tight end Chris Smith (1,156 yards) and running back Matt Bellini (601 yards).

And every now and then, the Cougars sneak in a running play. The draw-trap is their pet play.

“They do a great job with the draw-trap,” Davie said. “It’s amazing how they execute that so well. They always hit the crease.”

Still, Texas A&M; will blitz.

“We’ll take a lighted stick of dynamite and throw it back and forth and hope it goes off on their side of the line,” Texas A&M; Coach R.C. Slocum said. “We’ve never been a team to bend and not break, to let them bleed. That’s not us.”

BYU averages 42.5 points and 566 yards a game. The Aggies have limited opponents to an average of 18.2 points and 302 yards (19th in the nation) a game this season. Leading the way is linebacker William Thomas, picked as the Southwest Conference defensive player of the year by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and cornerback Kevin Smith, who is tied for the SWC career interceptions lead with 18. The Texas A&M; blitz doesn’t scare Detmer.

“I think we’re more adept at picking up blitzes (than other teams Texas A&M; has played),” he said. “We keep backs in and have good people to protect. Houston (a Southwest Conference member) has four wide receivers and nobody to protect. We seem to match up well against teams that blitz.”

Davie figures the Aggies use an all-out blitz--where they send the free safety--roughly 25% of the time. They blitz out of various formations, but they are usually in a man-to-man coverage. They plan to mix coverages quite a bit this afternoon.

“I think when you play BYU, one thing people say is that you’ve got to give them different looks,” Davie said. “Ty Detmer is like a coach on the field. We’re going to give them as many different looks as we can without confusing ourselves.”

The seed for this game plan was planted last winter. Last year, a few members of the Penn State coaching staff dropped into College Station, Tex., for a visit. Davie and Ron Dickerson, Nittany Lion secondary coach, used to coach together at Pittsburgh and they continue to stay in touch. Like Penn State, Texas A&M; had become a linebacker-oriented defense and the Penn State coaches knew the SWC was slowly evolving into a passing conference. They wanted to see what Texas A&M; was doing against passing teams.

This was shortly after Penn State defeated BYU in last year’s Holiday Bowl, 50-39. So while the Nittany Lion coaches studied Texas A&M;, Aggie coaches asked Penn State coaches a few things about BYU.

A few months later, presto. The Aggies find themselves preparing for BYU.

“I think the key to the game is to keep them off balance,” Davie said.

Penn State played a conservative zone every down in last year’s Holiday Bowl and still allowed 39 points. Davie figures if the Aggies gamble with the blitz every down, that won’t work either.

“Somewhere in between there, there’s a balance,” he said.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, BYU will have to find a way to stop the option.

“They’re exceptionally quick, and exceptionally strong up front in the offensive line,” said BYU’s Alema Fitisemanu, a first-team, All-Western Athletic Conference linebacker. “We have to be quick ourselves. We have to play more attacking, get more penetration.

“They’re going to do like everyone who runs the option does. They’re going to spread it out and get a lot of one on one matchups. Everybody has their own responsibilities. It only takes one (defensive) guy to mess up for an option team to get a TD.”

The point man for Texas A&M;’s option is quarterback Bucky Richardson, a 6-foot-1, 214-pound junior. Lewis, the halfback, gets most of the work, but Wilson, a 6-1, 245-pound fullback who is an excellent blocker, can run a little too. He gained 732 yards on 134 carries this season.

“It’s not just a case of trying to stop Lewis,” BYU Coach LaVell Edwards said. “Richardson is a key. The key to any option team is a decision-making quarterback. He’s a real threat.”

Texas A&M; figures its best defense might be its offense.

“The No. 1 thing we’ve got to do is maintain the football,” Slocum said. “Get first downs, run time off the clock and not give them a bunch of shots on offense.”

That doesn’t happen much to BYU. The Cougars have been held to fewer than 20 points just once in 12 games this season and fewer than 30 just three times.

And several past Holiday Bowls have tended to turn into scoring derbies. . . .

“That makes me nervous,” Slocum said. “I don’t see how we can win getting into a scoring battle.”

Said Davie: “It’s an old cliche, but I don’t think we can count on stopping them. You try to stop (Detmer) from hurting you. That’s the way college football has become.

“It used to be, 250 yards of total offense (allowed) was considered a good game. Now, you can’t count on that. Now, our goal is to hold them to less points than we score.”

Edwards, meanwhile, thinks the Aggies will present the stiffest challenge since BYU knocked off then-No. 1 Miami, 28-21, in September.

“They’re as good (athletically) as anybody (we’ve played),” Edwards said. “I think they’re right up there with Miami. They are the two most athletic teams we’ve played this year. Defensively, we’re going to get our stiffest challenge since Miami, and this is going to be a different kind of challenge because of their size and strength.”

Quarterback

The Heisman Trophy? They’re going to have to give Ty Detmer a lifetime achievement award. He has strung together 24 consecutive games in which he has passed for 300 or more yards.

RUNNING BACKS Halfback Matt Bellini, hobbled with a torn ligament in his ankle, will play, but his effectiveness will be limited. Stacey Corley and Mike Salido are interchangeable while running BYU’s draw-trap.

Receivers

So many targets . . . Andy Boyce fourth in nation at 103.4 yards receiving a game; All-American tight end Chris Smith, Brent Nyberg and Micah Matsuzaki will also catch some passes.

Offensive Line

This may be one of the best lines in college football. Left tackle Neal Fort (6-5, 295) was first-team all-WAC and is a legitimate NFL prospect. Center Bob Stephens (6-3, 275) is also tough.

Defensive Line

Right tackle Rich Kaufusi (6-3, 250) had game to remember against Miami in September. Like A&M;, BYU runs a 3-4.

Linebackers

Alema Fitisemanu and Rocky Biegel are the two standouts. Fitisemanu led BYU with 197 tackles; Biegel was second with 176. The BYU linebackers are good and got better as year went along.

Secondary

Normally, this is the strength of the BYU defense. There are problems here now: Cornerback Tony Crutchfield (knee) and strong safety Norm Dixon (back) are both doubtful for tonight.

Specialists

Earl Kauffman may be the best punter you never heard of: Averaged 43.3 yards a kick, but he didn’t rank nationally because he didn’t get enough attempts to qualify. Thanks a lot, Ty.

TEXAS A&M; Quarterback

Bucky Richardson became a starter six games into the season and helped the Aggies break the school and SWC record for rushing yardage (3,829). Top rushing quarterback in the SWC (670 yards).

RUNNING BACKS Possibly the best running back tandem in the nation: halfback Darren Lewis (1,691 yards rushing), the third-leading rusher in the nation, and fullback Robert Wilson (724). Strong, punishing runners.

Receivers

Good athletes, albeit nearly invisible. Gary Oliver is the leading receiver--with 28 receptions for 455 yards. Detmer passed for 455 or more yards in four different games this season.

Offensive Line

Totally different style than BYU linemen. Aggies mostly run block, which is much more aggressive. Senior center Mike Arthur (6-5, 261) was a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy.

Defensive Line

No. 1 attribute is its toughness. Nose guard John Miller (6-3, 279), left end Jayson Black (6-3, 259) and right end Albert Jones (6-4, 257) are all seniors.

Linebackers

One key for BYU will be controlling outside linebackers William Thomas and Marcus Buckley. These two are quicker than just about anyone BYU has faced all year.

Secondary

Ty Detmer, meet Kevin Smith. Cornerback Smith is tied for first on the SWC all-time career interceptions list with 18. Some of Texas A&M;’s best athletes lurk in secondary.

Specialists

Where’s the 12th man? Traditional student walk-on kickoff coverage team will be here but only suits up for home games. Punter Sean Wilson averaged 42.4 yards a kick.

HOLIDAY BOWL

HISTORY AT A GLANCE

Results from the first 12 Holiday Bowls:

HOLIDAY BOWL

RECORD BOOK

* Most Pass Attempts

59, Ty Detmer, Brigham Young, 1989

* Most Pass Completions

42, Ty Detmer, Brigham Young, 1989

* Most Yards Passing

576, Ty Detmer, Brigham Young, 1989

* Most TDs Passing

4, Jim McMahon, Brigham Young, 1980

Year Final Score Attendance Payout/Team 1978 Navy 23, BYU 16 52,500 $218,645 1979 Indiana 38, BYU 37 52,200 $271,214 1980 BYU 46, SMU 45 50,200 $261,035 1981 BYU 38, Washington State 36 52,419 $286,179 1982 Ohio State 47, BYU 17 52,533 $392,835 1983 BYU 21, Missouri 17 51,480 $412,093 1984 BYU 24, Michigan 17 61,243 $502,635 1985 Arkansas 18, Arizona St. 17 50,641 $546,957 1986 Iowa 39, San Diego State 38 59,473 $661,423 1987 Iowa 20, Wyoming 19 61,892 $771,624 1988 Oklahoma St. 62, Wyoming 14 60,718 $907,613 1989 Penn State 50, BYU 39 61,113 $1,009,038

Year Network/Rating 1978 Mizlou, 3.7 1979 Mizlou, 5.8 1980 Mizlou, 4.6 1981 Mizlou, 5.8 1982 Mizlou, 5.8 1983 Mizlou, 6.6 1984 Mizlou, 9.3 1985 Lorimar, 3.2 1986 H.B. Synd., 5.3 1987 ESPN, 4.1 1988 ESPN, 6.1 1989 ESPN, 6.2