Vegas revisited

LAS VEGAS — Going into the Las Vegas Bowl, the pressure was squarely on BYU.

The No. 19-ranked Cougars boasted a Mountain West Conference championship and a nine-game winning streak. Plus, they hadn't won a bowl game in a decade. To lose last week's Las Vegas Bowl to Oregon, a team that finished in a fifth-place tie in the Pac-10, and a team mired in a three-game losing streak, would have meant another blue Christmas in Provo.

As it turned out, though, it was the Ducks who quacked under the pressure — of BYU's dominating defense and prolific offense. The Cougars made Oregon look like just another MWC opponent with a convincing 38-8 victory before a Sam Boyd Stadium-record crowd of 44,615.

With that, BYU's bowl-win drought ended emphatically. The Cougars won their first postseason game since defeating Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl after the 1996 season. With the win Thursday, BYU put the finishing touches on a memorable 11-2 campaign.

"I couldn't think of a more fitting ending, one that this team deserved," head coach Bronco Mendenhall said.

And it all came at the expense of the Cougars' former head coach, Gary Crowton, who is now Oregon's offensive coordinator.

"Our dream," said senior quarterback John Beck, "has been fulfilled. This is the way we wanted to end the season, winning the conference, winning a bowl game and sending the seniors out on a winning note. This senior class went through so much, and this program has seen such a tremendous turnaround since coach Mendenhall arrived."

As they have all season, the Cougar seniors led the way against the Ducks, from Las Vegas Bowl MVP tight end Jonny Harline's highlight-reel, career-best performance (nine catches, 181 yards) to running back Curtis Brown's two touchdowns to Justin Robinson's two interceptions (which tied a Vegas Bowl record).

And Beck broke his own Las Vegas Bowl record, passing for 375 yards and a pair of touchdowns. BYU rolled up 548 yards of total offense and limited Oregon to 260.

The Cougars were looking to validate their outstanding season, and they accomplished that in impressive fashion before a national television audience.

"We wanted to show we could come out and compete with anyone," Harline said.

While much was made of Oregon having the eighth-best offense in the nation, BYU's defense rose up once again.

"People seem to forget, this is a defense that allowed just 15 points a game all season," Mendenhall said.

Following the game, fans rushed the field. Bowl officials awarded BYU the Las Vegas Bowl trophy as fans, players and coaches savored the moment.

"It felt like a home game for us," Beck said. "We went undefeated this year at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and it felt like Edwards Stadium to us tonight."

For now, the pressure is off.

Bowled over again

This edition's Utah Valley Life sports pages recap BYU's recent 38-8 victory over Oregon in the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl. The articles and columns — written by Dick Harmon, Brad Rock, Jeff Call and Scott Taylor — are selected text highlights from the Dec. 22 Deseret Morning News, with photographs by Jeffrey D. Allred and Tom Smart.

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E-mail: jeffcx@desnews.com