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Brigham Young Cougars © |
Wyoming Cowboys |
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WAC Championship Played December 7, 1996 at Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Brigham Young © | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | ||||
| Wyoming | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | ||||
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
OT |
Final |
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Brigham Young |
3 |
10 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
28 |
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Wyoming |
0 |
0 |
10 |
15 |
0 |
25 |
The 20th ranked, 10-1 Wyoming Cowboys of coach Joe Tiller met the 6th ranked, 12-1 Brigham Young Cougars of coach Lavell Edwards with both the WAC Championship & The Belt to be decided in Las Vegas. Brigham Young's PK Ethan Pochman hit 4 field goals including a 32-yarder in overtime to help the Cougars retain The Belt & claim the WAC Championship with a 28-25 win. The first half was dominated by Brigham Young with Pochman hitting field goals from 30 & 47 yards sandwiched around an 11-yard touchdown run by RB Brian McKenzie. With Brigham Young leading 13-0 at the half, Wyoming finally responded in the 3rd quarter when LB Jay Jenkins returned a fumble by Brigham Young's All-WAC QB Steve Sarkisian 25 yards for a score. A field goal from All-WAC PK Cory Wedel got the Cowboys within 3 points at 13-10. A 7-yard touchdown pass from Cowboys’ All-WAC QB Josh Wallwork to WR David Saraf gave Wyoming a 17-13 lead. Brigham Young's All-WAC CB Omarr Morgan intercepted Wallwork &, three plays later, Sarkisian found All-WAC TE Chad Lewis on a 13-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cougars the lead 20-17. The Cowboys came back with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Wallwork to Saraf. The 2-point conversion came on a fumbled snap with Wedel throwing to Todd Grosskopf open giving Wyoming a 25-20 lead. With 1:56 to play, Wyoming took an intentional safety when P Aron Langley stepped out of the end zone. Brigham Young took the ball back &, as time expired, Pochman hit on a 20-yard field goal leaving the game tied 25-25 at the end of regulation. For the first time, The Belt would be decided in overtime. When Wedel missed on a 47-yard field goal attempt on the Cowboys’ opening possession of overtime, Pochman hit from 32 yards to give Brigham Young the victory. Sarkisian finished with 250 yards passing with a touchdown for the Cougars. For the Cowboys, Wallwork threw for 282 yards with 2 touchdowns but 3 interceptions while All-American WR Marcus Harris added 6 catches for 188 yards. Brigham Young finished the season 14-1; WAC Champions, ranked 5th nationally while the Cowboys finished 10-2 & ranked 22nd nationally in Tiller’s final season. Wyoming has not played for The Belt again.
