From: jsnow@javelin.sim.es.com (John Snow)
Subject: BYU Report: BYU vs. Air Force
Keywords: BYU football
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp.
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 16:45:06 GMT

BYU Game Report: BYU vs. Air Force  November 14, 1992

BYU traveled to Colorado Springs to take on the Falcons of Air Force
Academy. The Falcons have had a strange year in the WAC having won all
their road WAC games and lost all their home WAC games. BYU has never
lost at Colorado Springs and has beaten Air Force 13 of the last 14
years with BYU's only loss coming in the inagural game in the expanded
Cougar Stadium in 1982.

BYU has been playing well of late and is still in the hunt to take a
piece of the WAC championship.

Air Force plays the wishbone and BYU has always had good success
defending that offense. Air Force averages about 4 pass completions
per game.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
------------

BYU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. BYU kicked the
opening kickoff out of the end zone and Air Force started at their own
20. QB Jarvis Baker kept the ball on the first play and gained 2
yards. On second down, Baker passed to his tight end, but the ball was
dropped. On third down, Baker again kept the ball for no gain and the
Falcons punted to the Y 34 with Drage returning the ball to the 43.

BYU's defense kept alive a streak of not allowing the opposing team to
score on their first possession all year.

On first down, Ryan Hancock passed to Tyler Anderson for 5 yards then
Jamal Willis carried for no gain. Hancock then found Hall on a pass to
the 45 yard line of Air Force. The next play was an incomplete pass
but BYU was called for pass interference and the ball was moved back
to the BYU 40. On 2nd and 25, Hancock threw deep and over the head of
Tyler Anderson at the 5. On 3rd and 25, Hancock again went deep, but
the intended receiver, Otis Sterling, fell down. Brad "The Punter"
Hunter came in to punt with a 20 MPH wind at his back and kicked it
into the end zone.

Baker threw the ball on first down, but the ball was knocked down at
the line of scrimmage. A pass on second down was caught at the 50, but
the receiver was out of bounds. On third down, Todd Herget sacked
Baker back at the 5 yard line and the Falcons were forced to punt
again. The punt, into the wind, went to the BYU 45 and Drage returned
it to the Air Force 45.

Jamal Willis gained 4 yards on first down then Kalin Hall lost 2 yards
on second down. On third down, Hancock hit the tight end Byron Rex at
the 22 yard line. A deep pitch to Willis on a "one man reverse" lost 3
yards. Hancock then hit Otis Sterling at the 16. On third down, a
scrambling Hancock spotted Drage flying into the end zone and hit him
for 6 points. It was a great play for Hancock who had to scoop the
ball off the ground on the low snap in shotgun formation. The PAT was
good to make the score 7-0. The drive was 6 plays, 45 yards, and
lasted 2:10.

Air Force again started at the 20 yard line after the kickoff. A
handoff to the fullback netted 1 yard. A pitch to the halfback gained
5 more. Another pitch to the halfback lost 4 yards as the halfback
fell down after getting the ball. The Falcons punted again to the BYU
35 and Drage returned it to the Air Force 42, but holding was called
on the Cougars and the ball was moved back to the 35 yard line. The
Falcons had a total of -6 yards in their first 3 possessions.

On first down, Willis lost 1 yard. A pass to Heimuli gained 4 yards. A
pass to Rex was dropped and BYU was forced to punt. Hunter's punt landed
on the goal line and bounced straight up in the air, but then bounced
into the end zone.

Air Force, starting from the 20 for the fourth straight time, gained 7
yards on a handoff to the fullback. The QB then gained 6 on a keeper
and Air Force had its first first down of the game. A pitch to the
halfback moved the ball to the 39 then the full back gained 3 more to
the 42. The QB was then stopped for no gain on third down and the
Falcons had to punt again. The punt went just 29 yards to the BYU 32 -
there was no return.

On first down, Hancock threw the ball behind Sterling for an
incompletion. A screen pass to Hall lost 1 yard. On third down,
Hancock found himself under a heavy pass rush and threw the ball away.
The ref called intentional grounding moving the ball back to the 5
yard line. Hunter came in to punt standing 9 1/2 yards deep in the end
zone. The punt carried to the Air Force 37 and was returned to the 48
yard line.

Air Force, starting with their best field position of the game, gained
two yards on a handoff to the fullback to mid-field. The QB kept the
ball on second down to the 47 of BYU and Air Force had their only
field position inside BYU territory as the first quarter ended. On
third and four to start the second quarter, the fullback gained just 1
yard and Air Force was forced to punt yet again. This time, kicking
with the wind, the punter kicked the ball out of bounds at the BYU 13.

Hancock handed off to Heimuli on the counter trap for 6 yards then
Hall carried for 3 more to the 22. On third down, Willis gained 8
yards and the first. On first down, Willis lost 1 yard. A pass to
Tyler Anderson was good to the 45 yard line and a first down. Willis
gained 9 yards on first down then Hancock picked up the first down on
a QB sneak. On first down, Hancock tried to loft one over the middle,
but the wind held it up and it was intercepted at the Air Force 40.

On first down from their own 40, a pitch to the halfback lost 2 yard
on a great tackle by safety Derwin Gray. Air Force then went to their
favorite trick play - the fumblerooskie - but BYU was ready for it and
it gained only 1 yard. Baker, looking to pass, found no one open and
ran the ball for the first down at the BYU 45. A handoff to the
fullback gained 3 then Baker was sacked back at the 47 by Kevin
Nicoll. Another QB sack, this time by Todd Herget, moved the ball back
to the BYU 45 and forced Air Force to punt yet again. The punt went
into the end zone.

Hancock, starting from the BYU 20, pitched the ball to Jamal Willis on
a sweep. Willis, who ran a sweep for 71 yards and a TD last week,
bettered that mark by running this one 80 yards for the TD. The PAT
was good and the score was 14-0.

The kickoff by BYU went out of bounds and Air Force started their
possession at the 35. This was to be a great drive for the Falcons who
needed something to keep them in the game. Baker gained 5 yards on
first down then gained nothing on second down. A pass by Baker was
good to the 50 yard line for a first down. A pitch to the halfback was
good for 10 yards and another first down. The fullback gained 5 yards
then the halfback added 3 more. On third down, a pitch to the halfback
moved the ball almost to the 30 - just short of the first down. Air
Force went for it on fourth down and a QB keeper netted the first
down at the 29. Another QB keeper moved the ball to the 25 then the
fullback gained 3. Baker, keeping the ball again, got another first
down at the 19. A pass to the 5 yard line was almost intercepted by
Gray, but bounced out of his arms and fell incomplete. A pitch to the
Falcon's great running back Obasi Onuoha was good down to the 4 yard
line. The fullback gained one yard to the 3. Baker gained another yard
to the 2 then Air Force called timeout with just 30 seconds left.
After the time out, the officials really blew a big one! The fullback
carried the ball to the one yard line and fumbled the ball well before
going down. BYU recovered the ball at the one, but the refs said the
fullback was down. Bad, bad call. On fourth and goal from the 1, Baker
kept the ball and went in for the TD. With the PAT, the score was
14-7. The Air Force drive went 65 yards in 17 plays and lasted 7:01.

BYU ran out the few remaining seconds after the kickoff and Lavell
chased the refs off the field complaining about the blown fumble call.

The half time stats looked like this:

		BYU	Air Force
Total yards	183	94
Rushing yards	106	84
Passing yards	77	10
Passing		8-14	1-5

BYU's defense played an outstanding first half holding the Falcons on
every possession with the referees giving the Falcons their only score
of the first half. I know complaining about referees gets you no
where, but it was a terrible call and it really gave the Falcons the
momentum they needed to carry them into the second half.

BYU received the second half kick off and started at their own 20.
Hall gained 5 yards then 4 yards. Willis picked up 3 yards and the
first down. Heimuli gained nothing on first down then a low pass by
Hancock was dropped by Rex. On third and 10, Hancock made a very poor
pass which should have been intercepted. Instead, the defender
deflected the ball into the air and Drage was in position to catch the
ball at the 50. If the ball hadn't been deflected, there were no BYU
receivers close enough to catch it. Hancock, feeling sorry for the
Falcons not intercepted the ball, then threw one right to another
Falcon who managed to hang on to the ball this time and return it to
the Cougar 42. Hancock must have forgotten that his team had the white
on the top and the blue on the bottom instead of being all blue like
the Falcons. 

On first down, Onuoha gained 4 yards to the 38. A personal foul on the
Falcons moved the ball back across mid-field to the 47. On second and 25,
Onuoha moved the ball back to the 50. A incomplete pass and the
Falcons were ready to punt. The punt went into the end zone.

BYU, starting from the 20, lost 4 yards on a carry by Willis. A deep
pass to tight end Rex was good to the Falcon 35. Hall gained 2 yards
on first down but Air Force was offsides. On first and 5, Willis
gained nothing. Hancock then threw to Otis Sterling and refs blew
another big call. Sterling, laying on the ground caught the ball then
rolled out of bounds. The ref said he was out of bounds when he caught
the ball, but the replay showed that he was in bound by over a yard
when he caught it! Sterling protested too much to the ref and drew a
flag moving the ball back to the 45. On third and 20, Hancock was
sacked back at the 50 and Hunter was called on to punt it into the end
zone.

On first down, Baker kept the ball for 3 yards then Onuoha gained 5.
Baker then picked up the first down. On that play, Shad Hansen, BYU's
outstanding interior linebacker went down with what might be a tear of
a ligament in his knee. The last time Hansen went out of the game,
Marshall Faulk ran all over BYU as San Diego beat BYU at home. Royal
Chamberlain, a freshman, came in to replace Hansen. On first down, a
pitch to the halfback gained 8 yards. A pass deep down field to a wide
open receiver was overthrown. On third down, Onuoha picked up the
first. The fullback gained 1 yard on first down to the Falcon 42. On
second down, Baker, under heavy pressure, threw the ball out of
bounds. On third and nine, Baker's pass was batted down at the line by
BYU. Air Force punted to the BYU 5 yard line where Eric Drage fumbled
the ball then picked it up and returned it to the 22.

On first down, Willis gained 9 yards. Heimuli then picked up the first
down at the 35. Willis gained 3 more on first down but a holding
penalty on BYU moved the ball back to the 25. Willis gained 2 yard on
first down and 20. A pass to Rex was incomplete. On third and 20,
Hancock couldn't find anyone to throw to and ran for 9 yards. Hunter
came in to punt and got off a punt that was partially blocked. The
ball ended up at the Air Force 39.

On first down, Randy Brock sacked Baker at the 31. On second down, a
pass to the tight end was good out to the 50 for a first down. Baker
picked up 6 yards on first down then the fullback gained 3 yards. A
pitch to the halfback got the first down at the 36. Baker gained 3
yards on first down then the halfback lost 2 yards to end the third
quarter. On third down, Baker threw the ball into the end zone but it
was over the head of the receiver and the Falcons punted and should
have had the ball downed at the 1, but it slipped out of the player's
arms as he fell on it and it rolled into the end zone.

On first down from the 20, Willis gained 7 yards then failed to gain
anything on second down. A pass to Rex was dropped and Hunter came
into punt. Air Force, like they had all day, put on a heavy rush and
Hunter was roughed by a Falcon. The Falcon probably felt the penalty
should have been on Hunter as he caught Hunter's foot right in his
face just after Hunter got the ball away. After the penalty, Hall lost
2 yards but re-injured his ankle that he sprained last week and went
out of the game. On second down, Hancock hit Sterling at the Falcon 35
but Sterling fumbled the ball and the Falcons recovered.

A pitch to the halfback moved the ball to the 39. The halfback carried
up the middle for 3 then a pitch to Onuoha gained 1 yard bringing up
fourth down and another Falcon punt. The punt went to the BYU 15 and
Drage returned it to the 27.

On first down, Heimuli got 4 yards. On second down, Hancock threw deep
to Sterling who dropped the ball but pass intereference was called on
the Falcons moving the ball out to the Y 44. On first down, Willis
gained 3 then another pass to Sterling was good to the Falcon 45. On
first down, Heimuli gained 2 yards. On second down, Hancock was almost
sacked but just got a pass off towards Willis but Willis couldn't get
to it. On third down, Hancock, in the shotgun, had to scoop the snap
off the turf then ran the ball to the 27. On first down, Hancock
pitched to Willis on that favorite sweep play and Willis ran 27 yards
for the TD. After the pat it was 21-7 and BYU finally had a more
comfortable cushion.

Air Force started from the 20 after the kickoff and Baker was sacked
at the 15. A pass by Baker gained 12 yards and the fullback picked up
the first down at the 31. On first down, Baker's pass was intercepted
by Derwin Gray at mid-field.

On first down, Willis gained 4 but illegal procedure on the Cougars
moved the ball back to the BYU 43. Willis moved the ball out to the
47. On second down a pass to Heimuli was dropped. On third down,
Hancock was sacked at the 36. Hunter then punted 62 yards into the end
zone. 

On first down from the 20, Baker was sacked back at the 2 yard line.
On second and long, Baker completed a pass to the 37 for the first. On
first down, Baker is sacked again. Two incomplete passes brought out
the Falcon punter for the umpteenth time. The punt went to the BYU 35.

BYU, feeling confident, put in many reserves and Steve Christensen
carried for 6 yards on first down. Christensen then gained 4 more and
a first down. Chad Knowles moved the ball to the 50. Christensen then
showed his stuff as he took the ball on the sweep and rambled 50 yards
for a TD. The PAT was good to make the score 28-7.

After the kickoff, the Falcons started from the 20 and the QB passed
to the 35. A run gained nothing then the Falcon's backup QB tripped
and fell back at the 30. On third down, the QB was sacked and fumbled
the ball. BYU recovered at the Falcon 19.

Tom Young came in at QB to relieve Hancock and kneeled down with the
ball on three straight plays to run out the clock.


STATISTICS
----------

BYU		7	7	0	14 - 28
Air Force	0	7	0	 0 -  7

BYU - Drage 16 pass from Hancock
BYU - Willis 80 run 
AFA - Baker 1 run
BYU - Willis 27 run
BYU - Christensen 49 run

			BYU		AFA
First Downs		18		14
Rushes-Yardage		41-240		59-106
Passing Yards		174		75
Return Yards		61		14
Comp-Att-Int		12-25-2		5-17-1
Punts			6-52		11-42
Fumbles-Lost		1-1		2-1
Penalties		6-82		5-54
Time of Possession	23:39		36:21

Rushing Leaders: BYU, Willis 18-146, Christensen 3-59, Heimuli 5-17,
Hancock 6-13. Air Force, Onuoha 7-28, Young 6-25, Pastorello 7-22,
Parisi 6-12, Banks 4-11, Johnson 2-10.

Passing: BYU, Hancock 12-25-2-174. Air Force, Baker 4-16-1-60, Telgen
1-1-0-15. 

Receiving: BYU, Sterling 3-42, Rex 2-70, Drage 2-31, Anderson 2-20, K.
Hall 2-5. Air Force, Hufford 2-30, Hopkins 2-28.


OBSERVATIONS
------------

BYU's defense has played extremely well the last three games against
Penn State, New Mexico, and Air Force. They held Penn State to just a
field goal until the second string was in late in the game. They shut
out New Mexico and they actually shut out Air Force if the officials
hadn't blown the fumble call on the one yard line.

BYU's running game is taking over the offense as of late. BYU was much
more effective on the ground against Air Force than through the air.
Hancock completed just 12 passes in the game and only 4 in the second
half.

Jamal Willis has just exploded the last two games with the Kalin Hall
hobbled by the ankle sprain. Willis has been the player of the game
two weeks in a row and gained 295 yards and 5 TDs in those two games.
If Willis can gain 144 yards next week against Utah he will go over
1000 yards for the season - BYU's first 1000 yard rusher in 20
seasons (and the kid is just a sophomore)!

Christensen's late 49 yard TD came as BYU was trying to run out the
clock using the running game. One wag noted that the way BYU's running
game has been working lately, they should start trying to run out the
clock through the air.


THE REST OF THE WAC
-------------------

Well, as we anticipated last week, BYU is sitting in first place in
the WAC conference now thanks to San Diego State's thrashing of
Hawaii. BYU, San Diego State, and Hawaii are all tied and Fresno State
is one half game back due to a bye weekend.

This week's scores:

BYU 28, Air Force 7
San Diego State 52, Hawaii 28
New Mexico 35, UTEP 14
Colorado State 35, Ohio 24
Utah 38, Wyoming 7

WAC STANDINGS

		WAC	Season
Hawaii		5 2	7 2
BYU		5 2	7 4
San Diego St	5 2	5 3 1
Fresno St.	4 2	6 4
Utah		4 3	6 4
Air Force	4 4	7 4
Wyoming		3 4	5 6
Colorado St	2 5	4 7
New Mexico	2 5	3 7
UTEP		1 6	1 9

Next Week

BYU at Utah
Fresno St at San Diego St
Wyoming at Hawaii
Colorado St at New Mexico

BYU, if it can beat Utah next week, is insured of a least a tie for
the conference championship - something that looked impossible in
September after the Cougars lost their first two conference games.
This will be the first year that the WAC champion has lost two
conference games.

BYU has insured itself of a bowl bid, but which bowl it will be
depends on next week's games. If BYU, San Diego, and Hawaii all win
next week, San Diego will play at home at the Holiday bowl, Hawaii
will play at home at the Aloha Bowl, and BYU will be relegated to the
Copper Bowl. If both San Diego and Hawaii lose, BYU will go to the
Holiday bowl. Other combinations exist - its a wide open race. The
Freedom Bowl is also interested in BYU or Fresno State.

Fresno St could beat San Diego St next week as the Aztecs could suffer
a let down after this week's big game. I doubt that Wyoming can win in
Hawaii, but its possible.

Let's just hope that BYU doesn't suffer the big let down in Salt Lake
City next week. I'm not going to the game. The only time I went to a
BYU - Utah game in Salt Lake, BYU was humiliated for the first time in
10 years by the Utes. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Till next week -- John





-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John F. Snow                         INET:           jsnow@javelin.sim.es.com
Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp.    
Salt Lake City, Utah                 America Online: JohnSnow  GEnie: J.SNOW2