|
|
 |
|
Brigham Young Cougars |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane © |
|
Played October 19, 1996 at Skelly Stadium Tulsa, Oklahoma |
|
Teams' Belt Records
|
Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
||||||||||||
|
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
||
| Brigham Young | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | ||||
| Tulsa © | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
Previous Belt Meetings: None
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
|
|
Brigham Young |
20 |
7 |
21 |
7 |
55 |
|
Tulsa |
3 |
17 |
10 |
0 |
30 |
The 18th ranked, 6-1 Brigham Young Cougars of coach Lavell Edwards traveled to meet the 3-2 Tulsa Golden Hurricane of coach Dave Rader. Brigham Young's All-WAC QB Steve Sarkisian threw for 329 yards & 5 touchdowns as the Cougars’ won 55-30 & claimed The Belt. After Brigham Young's CB Eddie Sampson intercepted Tulsa's QB John Fitzgerald, the Cougars drove 39 yards in 9 plays to set-up a 51-yard field goal by PK Ethan Pochman. A short punt gave the Cougars another short field & Sarkisian found All-WAC TE Itula Mili for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Golden Hurricane got on the board when All-WAC PK James Anderson connected on a 22-yard field goal but the Cougars responded with a 25-yard field goal by Pochman. On the ensuing drive, Brigham Young's All-WAC LB Shay Muirbrook intercepted Fitzgerald & returned it to the Tulsa 1-yard line. Cougars' RB Ronney Jenkins carried the final yard as Brigham Young took a 20-3 lead as the 1st quarter ended. Early in the 2nd quarter the Cougars drove 86 yards in 7 plays with Sarkisian finding WR K.O. Kealaluhi on a 31-yard touchdown pass. During that drive, Tulsa's CB Jeremy Bunch intercepted Sarkisian but the play was nullified by an offside penalty against the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa's KR Jason Jacoby returned the Brigham Young kickoff 56 yards to the Brigham Young 29-yard line but the Golden Hurricane had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Anderson. The Cougars were forced to punt on their next possession &, helped by a Brigham Young personal foul, Tulsa completed a 10-play, 59-yard drive with RB Reggie Williams scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run. With 1:02 left in the half, Sarkisian tried for another score but his pass was intercepted by Tulsa's S Terrance Joseph who returned the pass 48 yards for a Tulsa touchdown & the teams went to their locker rooms with the score Brigham Young 27 Tulsa 20. The Cougars opened the 2nd half with a 7-play, 80-yard drive with Sarkisian finding RB Mark Atuaia for a 9-yard touchdown pass pushing the lead to 34-20. Tulsa replaced the ineffective Fitzgerald with QB Troy DeGar who drove the Golden Hurricane 80 yards in 9 plays hitting WR Damon Savage for the 12-yard touchdown pass. A 43-yard field goal by Anderson got Tulsa within 4 points at 34-30 but Brigham Young controlled the rest of the game. Sarkisian found All-WAC WR James Dye for a 47-yard touchdown pass & after a DeGar fumble, Jenkins scored on a 1-yard touchdown run as Brigham Young took a 48-30 lead to the 4th quarter. Sarkisian’s fifth touchdown pass came early in the final period on a 6-yard toss to All-WAC TE Chad Lewis. Brigham Young's RB Brian McKenzie finished with 132 yards rushing while DeGar threw for 207 yards with his touchdown & WR Wes Caswell made 6 catches for 106 yards in the losing effort. The win gave the Cougars their second Belt reign & first since 1995. The Golden Hurricane finished the season 4-7 while the Cougars finished 14-1, WAC Champions, & ranked 5th nationally. Tulsa has not played for The Belt again.
