BYU’s Passing vs. Texas A&M;’s Blitz : Holiday Bowl: Containing Detmer will be one key for Aggies, who figure to counter by running the football.

They visited Sea World and saw the shows Wednesday. They boarded a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier for lunch Thursday. They attended a Kiwanis luncheon Friday.

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

BYU will pass.

Texas A&M; will run.

Both teams have strong, talented offenses. Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer of BYU hasn’t met a defense yet he couldn’t shred with his passes, and Texas A&M; running back Darren Lewis has virtually had it his way, too.

Detmer, holder of 42 NCAA records, has completed 64% of his passes this season 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 question is this: Can a Texas A&M; blitz contain BYU’s offense?

“We probably blitz more than, I’d say, 90% of the teams in college football,” said Bob Davie, Texas A&M;’s 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 from whom to choose, including wide receivers Andy Boyce (1,241 yards receiving with 13 touchdowns) and Brent Nyberg (816 yards); All-American tight end Chris Smith (1,156 yards), and running back Matt Bellini (601 yards).

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

“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). Leading the way is linebacker William Thomas, picked as the Southwest Conference defensive player of the year by the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, and cornerback Kevin Smith, who is tied for the conference career interception 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),” Detmer said. “We keep backs in and have good people to protect. Houston (of the Southwest Conference) has four wide receivers and nobody to protect. We seem to match up well against teams that blitz. “

Davie says the Aggies use an all-out blitz--when they send the free safety--about 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, when a few members of the Penn State coaching staff dropped into College Station, Tex., for a visit. Davie and Ron Dickerson, the Nittany Lions’ secondary coach, used to coach together at Pittsburgh, and they stay in touch. Like Penn State, Texas A&M; had become a linebacker-oriented defense, and the Penn State coaches knew the Southwest Conference 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 defense on every down in last year’s Holiday Bowl and still allowed 39 points. Davie says that if the Aggies gamble with the blitz on every down, that won’t work either.

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

BYU’s defense 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, an 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 to do 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 in 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.”

“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.”

BYU defeated then-No. 1 Miami, 28-21, in September.