BYU Won’t Know if It Won Until Today

It took two high-stakes field goals from a walk-on, a questionable decision from the opposing coach, a frantic timeout call at the end of regulation and a little old-fashioned defense--yes, defense--but Brigham Young made its points.

It made three of them with no time remaining and three more in overtime Saturday to escape with a 28-25 victory over No. 20 Wyoming before a sellout crowd of 41,238 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Ethan Pochman tied the game with a 20-yard field goal at the end of regulation and ended it with a 32-yarder after Cory Wedel missed a 47-yard attempt on Wyoming’s possession.

The victory in the first Western Athletic Conference title game improved BYU’s record to 13-1 and its national standing. With Nebraska’s loss, the Cougars should move from No. 6 to No. 5 in today’s Associated Press poll.

The $8.486-million question afterward, however, was whether BYU scored enough points with the alliance, which today will dictate whether a team from the non-alliance WAC will receive one of two at-large selections.

After the game, WAC Commissioner Karl Benson was selling BYU hard.

“On paper, BYU is an attractive team,” Benson said. “You can’t say deserving. Because it’s not based on deserving. Right now, the system calls for the team that’s most attractive. And BYU is a very pretty team.”

Benson said he would be “shocked” if BYU did not get one of the at-large picks, even though the alliance grapevine is suggesting that No. 7 Colorado (9-2) and No. 8 Penn State (10-2) will be the at-large selections. You can now also throw Nebraska into the at-large hopper after its loss to Texas.

If shunned, the WAC is prepared to vent, possibly with legal action. Benson has scheduled a teleconference with reporters after today’s televised bowl selection program.

BYU quarterback Steve Sarkisian, who totaled 182 of his 250 passing yards in the second half, was too drained to consider the big picture after his team’s harrowing win. After blowing a 13-0 halftime lead, the Cougars had to rally from fourth-quarter deficits of 17-13 and 25-20 to even be an alliance consideration.

“I don’t know how everything works,” Sarkisian said of the bowl politics. “It’s out of our hands. We did our part.”

BYU lived to watch today’s selection process thanks to Sarkisian’s poise, Pochman’s foot, and some heady play by wide receiver Kaipo McGuire. Everything was going fine until early in the third quarter, when Wyoming linebacker Jim Talich blindsided Sarkisian and forced a fumble. Jay Jenkins scooped up the ball on a bounce and raced 24 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 13-7.

The play transformed the Cowboys.

When Wyoming took the lead, 17-13, on a seven-yard scoring pass from Josh Wallwork to David Saraf with 13:28 left, BYU wasn’t thinking about alliance bowls.

At that point, it was simply another wacky WAC game.

BYU reclaimed the lead after Omarr Morgan intercepted a Wallwork pass at the Wyoming 44 with 12:46 to play. Three plays later, Sarkisian threw a 13-yard scoring strike to tight end Chad Lewis for a 20-17 lead.

Wyoming answered with a three-play, two-minute drive that ended with Wallwork throwing a 14-yard scoring pass to Saraf.

Wyoming botched the snap on the extra point, but kicker Wedel heaved a desperate pass that Todd Grosskopf caught for a two-point conversion, putting Wyoming up, 25-20, with 9:24 left.

Now this was WAC football.

BYU raced back down the field, but the Cougars failed on fourth and goal at the Wyoming two, giving the Cowboys the ball with 2:57 left. But after three plays yielded three yards, Wyoming Coach Joe Tiller ordered punter Aaron Langley to run out of the end zone and take a safety.

The decision cut his lead to three--the margin of a field goal--and the ensuing free kick still gave BYU good field position at its 41.

“I thought it was a brilliant strategic move because I was the one that made the decision,” said testy Tiller, who will coach Purdue next year.

The move backfired. BYU took over with 1:54 left and drove quickly down field. The moment of truth came on second and five at the Wyoming seven, when, with the clock ticking down, Sarkisian dumped a short pass to Mark Atuaia.

Most people in the stadium thought Atuaia had dropped the ball, but he had not. As the clock ticked toward zero, McGuire rushed frantically toward an official to call time.

“Yelling is an understatement,” McGuire said. “I was screaming.”

The official stopped the clock with one second remaining.

Tiller thought time had expired.

“The game was over,” he said.

No, it wasn’t.

Pochman, a former soccer player who “didn’t kick a football until the spring of ‘93,” tied the game.

Later, McGuire assessed the importance of his call.

“It could have been the $8-million timeout,” he said, noting the payout should BYU receive an alliance pick.

The key play in overtime was defensive end Henry Bloomfield’s five-yard sack of Wallwork, forcing Wyoming back to the 30 and out of Wedel’s field goal range.

Who says they don’t play defense in the WAC?

When Pochman got his turn, he calmly kicked the game winner.

“I’ve gone to bed so many times and just let my head go, concocting all kinds of schemes,” he said.

With his kick, BYU was back in the alliance picture. Or was it the cross hairs?

It then time to build a case.

“It would appear to me if we’re the highest ranking team left, certainly, yes, we should be going somewhere,” BYU Coach Lavell Edwards said.

Linebacker Shay Muirbrook looked into the strobe lights and cameras and made his plea.

“Give us a chance,” he said.

It was more painful for the loser.

Although Wyoming finishes the regular season 10-2, the Cowboys face bowl extinction. If BYU is not an alliance pick, it would go to either the Holiday or Cotton bowl. And there has been talk that the Copper would take Utah over Wyoming because the Utes would bring more fans.

Talich, the Wyoming linebacker, did not want to consider the possibility.

“I don’t think I can say on camera what I think of it,” Talich said. “I think it would be a shame if we don’t get in a bowl at 10-2. The thought of not going to a bowl because of crowd support just blows my mind.”

Welcome to college football.

Welcome to the WAC.

As Edwards left the news conference, he summed up the confusion.

“See you somewhere,” he told the assembled media.