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BYU gets revenge on UCLA in blowout victory

Sep 14, 2008 - 4:04 AM PROVO, Utah (Ticker) -- BYU wasted no time on foreplay.

The 15th-ranked Cougars served up a full course of revenge on UCLA on Saturday, exploding for 42 first-half points to cruise to a 59-0 victory that should force the rest of the country to take notice.

Seen by many as strong contenders to go undefeated and crash the BCS this year, the high-powered Cougars (3-0) wasted no time cementing that reputation - though a vendetta may have made the game all the more meaningful.

A year ago, the Bruins derailed the Cougars' chances at an unbeaten 2007, utilizing an opportunistic defensive effort and a key special-teams touchdown to topple BYU, 27-17, in Pasadena.

That loss snapped the Cougars' 11-game winning streak - the longest in the nation at the time.

But UCLA would have no such luck in its trip to Provo, as BYU extended its winning streak to 13. Junior quarterback Max Hall tied a school record with seven touchdown passes to lead an attack that racked up 489 yards of total offense - and most of that was before the end of the first half.

"I did expect us to come out and play well," Hall said. "I expected us to put a lot of points on the board because I think this team, right now, we believe in each other and we're working our tails off."

Even when Hall and the powerful BYU passing attack wasn't on the field, the Bruins were doing a perfectly good job beating themselves, giving the Cougars easy opportunities to light up the scoreboard. In a span of 3:20 in the second quarter, UCLA turned the ball over three times, leading to three touchdowns.

Already facing a 14-0 deficit, UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft was sacked by Jan Jorgensen, fumbling the ball to set the Cougars up in UCLA territory. Hall immediately capitalized, taking advantage of soft man coverage over the middle as he found Austin Collie for a 37-yard touchdown.

"I think the offensive coaches did a great job of recognizing, 'Hey, we got a turnover and they are down a little bit, let's take a shot at them,'" Hall said. "We worked on (that play) all week in that situation and we performed and Austin made a great catch. I had all the trust and belief in the world that he would go get that. So when that happened, I think it really deflated them and we kept rolling off the momentum."

On the following possession, Bruins running back Raymond Carter got upended near the sideline and fumbled the ball away, setting up Hall's 13-yard scoring strike to Michael Reed.

Just moments later, things officially got disastrous for the Bruins (1-1), as Terrence Austin fumbled the ensuing kickoff and BYU essentially put the game away at 35-0 on Harvey Unga's 15-yard touchdown reception.

"They were determined to put a complete game together, and I think that is as close as we've come yet, not only this year but in the last couple of years," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said.

Hall added one more touchdown pass for good measure in the second half, but was taken out of the game after just two second-half possessions as the backups took over the rest of the way.

This is the first time that UCLA has been shut out since a 27-0 loss to Pac-10 rival USC on November 17, 2001. Due in large part to the fact that they were behind big for practically the entire afternoon, the Bruins managed 11 rushing yards all game. Craft finished 23-for-39 for 224 yards and one interception, BYU's first of the season.

"When we are clicking on all cylinders, we will do that," Jorgensen said of the blowout victory.

Nothing went well for the Bruins. They had a scoring opportunity late in the second quarter, but Kai Forbath's 32-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Collie had 10 catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns, Reed had 92 yards on five receptions and Unga caught five passes for 43 yards and a pair of scores, while also rushing for 76 yards on 17 carries for BYU. Hall was 27-of-35 for 258 yards and the seven scores, tying the mark held by both Marc Wilson and Jim McMahon.

"I don't know what his numbers were ... but they were staggering in terms of hitting every ball," UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel said. "It wasn't like they were great catches. Those balls were on the money."