Salt Lake Tribune: Cougars lose to California in Las Vegas heartbreak

California 35, BYU 28

By Patrick Kinahan

The Salt Lake Tribune

LAS VEGAS - Most of Brigham Young's football contingent was not disgusted with the team's performance in the Las Vegas Bowl.  It was the outcome that irked the Cougars. Even though California won 35-28, BYU had reason for optimism after the season ended Thursday. Coaches and players often play the what-if game, many times when it's nothing more than a false belief they should have won, but in case it's legitimate.  Not that it takes away the sting. To a large degree, the way BYU lost is more difficult to accept than if Cal had won easily.  "It hurts," said receiver Nate Meikle. "Our goal was not just to come to a bowl game. We've been working for this since December. It's about as bad as it gets in the world of athletics."  As well as the Bears played - and make no mistake, they deserved to win - BYU was right there with the Pac-10 team. It all boiled down to series of horrendous attempts at tackling and poor special teams play.    BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall sidestepped the tackling issue, deflecting the problem by praising Cal's elusiveness. But he had no qualms criticizing the miserable special teams effort.

"I think the most signficant factor that changed the outcome of the game is the special teams play," he said. "Cal's special teams out-executed ours." The difference was obvious right from the start. On the opening kickoff, Jared McLauglin barely got the ball off the ground before it dribbled out of bounds. Cal's three touchdown drives in the first half all started with great field position. Against BYU's defense, it was like handing the Bears a loaded gun. And when they pulled the

trigger, Brigham Young tight end Jonny Harline fumbles the ball out of bounds after a 10-yard reception. The Cougars later scored a touchdown on the drive. "It was everything we could do to contain them and to tackle them and pursue them all over the football field," Mendenhall said. "The end result was good enough to lose by seven."  BYU often got to running back Marshawn Lynch and receiver DeSean Jackson, but bringing them down was another story. Lynch gained 194 yards, averaging 8.1 yards a carry, and scored three touchdowns.

Lynch was named the game's MVP. Only a first-year freshman, Jackson had six receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He had the game's biggest play, catching a 42-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half. Jackson eluded three BYU defenders to give Cal a 21-14 lead.  "He made some guys miss," said coach Jeff Tedford. "And anytime you can make a play like that in a two-minute drill, it gives you a little bit of momentum going in at halftime." Penalties also killed BYU. In the first half, the Cougars had 11 penalties for 93 yards. They finished with 12 penalties for 103 yards, including an illegal block on their final drive. Mendenhall took the blame, saying his team wasn't prepared well enough to start the game. He compared the problem to BYU's last game, when Utah jumped out to a 24-3 lead before winning in overtime.  "Any time there's that many penalties, that's on me," the first-year coach said. "That's a hard lesson to learn."

For the second consecutive game, the Cougars staged an impressive rally in the second half.Trailing 34-14 entering the fourth quarter, they responded with two touchdowns. BYU's offense was at its best in both drives, flawlessly executing in crucial situations. The 14-play, 96-yard scoring drive midway through the quarter was a thing of beauty. The Cougars converted twice on a fourth down, with the second ending in John Beck's 9-yard touchdown pass to Todd Watkins.

"We were never worried how far we were down at halftime or in the second half," Beck said. "Our team was very confident. "We've been in this situation before, been in enough close games before and once again we showed resiliency."

But they didn't show enough to win. After the defense stopped Cal in the final three minutes, BYU's possession ended in an interception. Beck, who passed for bowl-record 352 yards, got hit before throwing both of his interceptions.

"We fell short for a number of reasons, but I believe it was a solid beginning of what's to come for this program," Mendenhall said. "And I look forward to getting right back to it after Christmas."