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1999 BYU Season in Review
Cougars earn trip to Motor City Bowl and matchup with unbeaten Marshall.
Dec. 13, 1999 Even before the 1999 season began, all that seemed to surround the BYU football program was one question after another. From “How will the Cougars fare in a new conference,” to "How can BYU expect to win with such a tough schedule?” Other questions asked, “Who will fill the void of Joe Wong and first-round draft pick John Tait on the offensive line,” “What are the Cougars going to do with no experience at running back,” “How will Kevin Feterik handle the shotgun,” and many other personnel questions. Yet, both the coaches and media surrounding the Mountain West Conference picked BYU to win the league’s first-ever, regular-season title. It didn’t take long for the Cougars to answer many, if not all of the questions that surrounded BYU when the season began. Senior quarterback Kevin Feterik wasted little time, racking up 501 yards and three touchdown passes in the season-opener against Washington. Any questions about the depth of the Cougar receiving corps was answered when Feterik used 12 different receivers to complete 39-of-59 attempts, which set a Cougar Stadium record for most pass attempts. With just over a minute remaining in the game, and trailing the Huskies, 28-27, Feterik found freshman receiver Chris Hale in the endzone for a 38-yard game-winning touchdown. Little did anyone know at the time, but Hale’s catch would be just one of many key plays by true-freshmen on the BYU roster. Rookie running back Luke Staley scored two of the Cougars’ touchdowns on the evening, while fellow freshman Fahu Tahi had a solid game, which seemed to ease many of the questions surrounding the BYU running game. Riding the redeeming victory over the Huskies, BYU played host to Colorado State the following week in the first-ever Mountain West Conference game. The Cougars didn’t waste time in letting folks around the Mountain West know they fully intended to carry on their winning ways from the WAC to the new Mountain West Conference. BYU jumped out to a 31-point lead, fueled by a trio of touchdown runs from Staley, who was celebrating his 19th birthday. The win would propel BYU into the nation’s top-25, ranking 17th by the Associated Press and 19th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll. In week three, Virginia came to Cougar Stadium behind the bullish rushing attack of Heisman hopeful Thomas Jones. Jones would reel off a cool 210 yards, scoring two touchdowns in the process. Despite giving up 21-unanswered points to the Cavaliers in the first quarter, BYU fought back and pulled to within five points toward the end of the game but couldn’t muster another touchdown. After three straight home games to open the season, BYU finally took to the road, making a two-hour drive north to Logan where a well-prepared Utah State was waiting for the bruised and battled Cougars. Again, BYU gave up the early lead, spotting the Aggies a quick 14 points. But the Cougar defense stiffened long enough for Feterik & Co. to battle back and take a 31-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Interceptions by Jeff Holtry and Brian Gray gave BYU the momentum heading in to the final minutes. However, Utah State was not about to roll over. Two touchdowns in the final six minutes, including a four-yard pass with just :21 remaining tied the game at 31-31. After Utah State missed a 42-yard field goal in the overtime period, Owen Pochman capitalized by splitting the uprights on a 33-yard attempt to give BYU the 34-31 victory. After being scored upon early and often over the previous two games, the Cougars took matters in to their own hands by scoring 21 unanswered points against California. The Golden Bears slowly started to gain on BYU, but the Cougars would have nothing to do with it. Feterik found Jonathan Pittman on a 44-yard strike in the fourth quarter and Staley added yet another rushing touchdown in the final period to give BYU a 38-28 win over its second Pac-10 foe of the season. For the first time during the season, BYU took to the road for a two-game road stint. BYU first dismantled New Mexico in an impressive defensive performance. The Cougar defense held the Lobos to minus-10 yards rushing on the night and limited UNM quarterback Sean Stein to just 134 yards passing. BYU registered seven sacks, including back-to-back sacks by Setema Gali, en route to a dominating 31-7 win in a rain-delayed game in Albuquerque. Against UNLV, it was much of the same. A stingy BYU defense, led by Rob Morris who had missed the previous four games with a lower abdominal strain, held the Rebels to a minus-14 yards rushing until the last play of the game when UNLV running back Joe Haro rumbled for a 38-yard gain. The Cougars also put the clamps on the Rebels’ passing game, holding two different UNLV quarterbacks to a combined 94 yards passing on the night. BYU spoiled the UNLV homecoming game with the 29-0 shutout. Pochman did more than his share, picking up a school-record 17 points on the night, including five straight field goals. Looking for its fourth straight Conference win, the Cougars returned home to take on the Air Force Academy. Staley picked up a pair of touchdowns in the first half and Hooks collected a 57-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to take a commanding 27-10 lead heading in to the game’s final 10 minutes. With 3:30 remaining, the Falcons scored two quick touchdowns in a matter of 1:07 to pull within seven points. A Chris Hoke sack ended an Air Force drive and BYU held on for the 27-20 win. Back on the road, the Cougars headed to San Diego State with a chance to guarantee at least a share of MWC title. Morris was again the story in leading BYU to a 30-7 win over the Aztecs. Morris picked up 15 tackles on the night, including 14 unassisted tackles and five takedowns for a combined loss of 30 yards. He also recovered two fumbles and forced a fumble that was picked up by Hans Olsen who rumbled, bumbled and stumbled in to the endzone, giving BYU a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter - a lead it would not relinquish. The Cougars’ momentum would quickly come to an end when BYU traveled to Wyoming for the first time in six years. After the Cowboys controlled the momentum early, Feterik found Hooks on a 20-yard strike to tie the game at 7-7. Wyoming posted a 14-7 lead just before the half and added to it on a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter. Pochman cut the lead back to seven on a 32-yard field goal, marking a school-record 14th straight field goal. Wyoming would add 14 more points, extending its lead to 31-17. Feterik scored on a one-yard run with 4:47 left in the game, but it would not be enough as the Cowboys refused to let the Cougars celebrate an out-right conference championship on their home field. In the regular-season finale, the Cougars played host to long-time rival Utah with both teams looking to secure a postseason bowl bid. Pochman established himself as the Cougars’ all-time leading scorer with his 26-yard field goal in the first quarter, giving BYU a 3-0 lead early in the game. The Utes answered with two field goals of their own before the break. BYU looked to take control when Feterik hooked up with Hooks on a 77-yard touchdown pass, marking the longest pass play of the season. Wanting to get into the act, Utah responded with a 70-yard touchdown pass of its own to put the Utes ahead to stay with a 13-10 advantage. Donny Utu scored the game-winning touchdown on a four-yard strike from T.D. Croshaw with 13:08 left in the game. BYU fought back to within three points when Feterik connected with sure-handed receiver Ben Horton on a six-yard touchdown pass. The Cougars would get the ball back for one final series, but the comeback would end with Andre Dyson’s second pick of the afternoon, sealing the Utah 20-17 victory. When all was said and done, all the questions had been answered as the Cougars went on to an 8-3 regular-season record, posting their 26th straight winning season. They earned their 19th conference championship and traveled to their 22nd bowl appearance. Now the only question that remains … when does next season start? Season in Review Notes: * Completed season on Nov. 20 and jumped back into the ESPN poll at No. 25 after its idle week on Nov. 28. BYU concluded the regular season with an 8-3 record, marking the Cougars’ 26th straight winning season. BYU has not had a losing season since posting a 5-6 mark in 1973 - LaVell Edwards’ second season as head coach. The Cougars’ streak of 26 straight winning seasons ranks 11th all-time at the NCAA Division I-A level and is currently the second longest streak in the nation. Nebraska leads with an impressive 38 straight winning seasons. * BYU was the only team in the MWC to not have at least one game without committing a turnover. * Despite losing to Utah in the final regular-season game, BYU extended its NCAA-record streak to 311 games without being shutout. BYU was last shutout during the 1975 season (Sept. 27, 1975 vs. Arizona State). To put the streak in perspective, the Cougars have not been shutout since Gerald Ford was the President of the United States, a soft-spoken speedster out of Jackson State, named Walter Payton, was the Chicago Bear’s first-round draft choice and BYU quarterback Kevin Feterik wasn’t even born. * Owen Pochman connected on a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter vs. Utah on Nov. 20 and set the school record for consecutive field goals (15). * Kevin Feterik tallied 309 yards vs. Utah, marking the seventh 300-yard game of the season. Feterik has 3,554 yards on the season, adding to his career total of 8,065, which ranks fifth on the Cougars’ all-time passing list. Feterik also completed a season-long 77-yard touchdown strike to Margin Hooks, which marked the 16th straight game with at least one TD pass (19 of his last 20 games). During that streak, when BYU connects on at least one TD pass, the Cougars are 11-5. Feterik, who ranks ninth on the Cougars' all-time touchdown completions list with 53, has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 27 of his 32 games. * Hooks picked up his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season with a 139-yard performance vs. Utah. He will enter his senior season in 2000 with 2,123 yards and needs 944 yards to take over the Cougars’ all-time receiving yards record. * Throughout the season, 18 different BYU receivers caught passes for the Cougars, totaling 3,567 yards. Running back Will Snowden became the 18th on his nine-yard reception against Wyoming. In the Cougars’ season-opener against Washington, All-Conference quarterback Kevin Feterik used 12 different receivers to chalk up a season-high 501 yards on the night. Of the 18 different receivers, Margin Hooks led the Mountain West Conference with a career-high 1,067 yards and a team-leading seven touchdown receptions. On the season, Hooks grabbed a career-high 60 receptions and averaged nearly 100 yards per game (97.0 y/pg.) The sure-handed speedster from Waco, Texas recorded six 100-yard games on the season, including four in his last six appearances. After recording the sixth most receiving yards in a single season in BYU history (1,067 yds.), Hooks needs just 943 yards next season to take over the BYU career mark. * Pochman became the Cougars’ all-time leading scorer with two field goals vs. Utah Nov. 20 and now has 247 career points. * BYU faced a handful of teams on the season that had an extra week to prepare for the Cougars, including Utah State, Air Force, UNLV and San Diego State. All totaled, four different teams had bye weeks prior to their BYU matchup, including three on the road and just one game at home. In each case, BYU overcame the perceived disadvantage and ended the regular-season 4-0 against opponents who had an extra week to prepare. In one of those games, the Cougars recorded a 29-0 shutout at UNLV, marking the first road shutout for BYU since the 1988 season when the Cougars defeated New Mexico, 65-0, in Albuquerque. Also against the Rebels, BYU reeled off a 98-yard scoring drive, marking the longest scoring drive since scoring on a 98-yard drive on Oct. 19, 1991 against Hawai’i. * BYU lost two straight games to end the regular season, marking the first time since last season the Cougars have lost two straight. The Cougars have not lost three straight games in a single season in over 80 consecutive games, dating back to the 1993 season. * Luke Staley missed three games of the regular season with a bruise in his upper calf. Team doctors expect Staley to return to practice in early December to prepare for the team’s bowl game on Dec. 27. Prior to Staley’s injury, the Cougars had averaged nearly 130 rushing yards but since his injury have dropped to just over 27.3 yards per game. Over the past two games, BYU has scored just one rushing TD.
* The BYU defense has scored twice this season. On Nov. 6 vs. San Diego State, LB Rob Morris caused a fumble which Hans Olsen recovered and ran for the TD. Against Virginia, CB Brian Gray returned an interception for a TD.
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