BYU Football: 10 Steps to the Cougars' Dream Season in 2011

Confused by the headline? Don't be. It's pretty simple.

We all have to dream. Goethe said "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."

So why not take this chance to imagine what it would (or will, depending on how myopic you really are) be like to recall the 2011 season if everything fell into place and the dream scenario was realized?

Check your concerns, worry and logic at the door and just enjoy.

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BYU Defeats Ole Miss in Oxford

In a battle that saw lots of rust shaken off in the first quarter, these two offenses battled competitively through three quarters before Jake Heaps and Ross Apo hooked up for three fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Cougars dropped the Rebels in Oxford 41-28.

Ole Miss, building on the success of Week 1, rattled off four straight wins and shocked the world by beating Alabama with a last-second field goal on October 15. The Rebs then went on to beat Auburn the week after the Tigers were forced to vacate their 2010 national championship for paying players.

The Rebels' only other blemish came when LSU, with just three seconds on the clock, managed to move the ball 45 yards downfield on a series of laterals, one of which was actually to Les Miles.

The stellar 10-2 season gave the Rebels a spot in the Cotton Bowl where they pounded Texas A&M 44-14.

A Texas-Sized Victory

BYU made its trip to Austin a memorable one, beating the Texas Longhorns 35-21 on the strength of Josh Quezada’s running game. The Longhorns, after watching Jake Heaps torch Ole Miss in game one, dropped an extra linebacker into coverage all day to weaken the passing attack.

But new OC Brandon Doman won the chess match when he fed the Horns a steady diet of Quezada and JJ Di Luigi. Heaps dinked and dunked enough passes to keep the ‘Horns honest, but in the end, Texas had no answer to the BYU run game.

Following the tough loss to the Cougars, Texas bulldozed its way through the new Big-10-or-12-or-whatever, its only resistance coming from Oklahoma in the annual Red-River Rivalry game, which Texas won after Sooner QB Landry Jones threw a pick-six with two minutes left in the fourth.

Texas fans lamented all season that a loss to BYU early on ended up costing the ‘Horns a shot at the national championship. Instead, they met Big East champ Cincinnati in the Fiesta Bowl and demolished the second-rate conference champ 77-7.

Holy War Rages on After Lopsided Game, Inflammatory Comments

Utah came into the annual so-called "Holy War" following its first-ever Pac-12 victory, having beat the mighty USC Trojans in the Coliseum the prior week on a 55-yard field goal as time expired.

But BYU earned 12 months of in-state bragging rights after the Cougars posted a triumphant 41-17 win over the seemingly confused Utes.

BYU defensive backs and linebackers had banner days, recording five interceptions against Ute QB Jordan Wynn, who posted a record-low .0734 passer rating. Following the game, Kyle Whittingham ruffled Utah fans when he remarked that he hadn’t seen a whoopin’ that bad since 1980 when, as a Cougar, his team beat the Utes 56-6.

Utah continued to struggle to find consistency throughout the season, finishing 5-4 in Pac-12 play and 7-5 overall, earning them a berth in the New Mexico Bowl, where they beat UTEP in a 44-41 shootout.

The University of Central Florida Visits Provo

Building on the success of 2010, Central Florida came into Provo boasting a 3-0 record and a No. 19 ranking in both polls. The Cougars entered the game at a matching 3-0, with its victories over Texas, Ole Miss and Utah vaulting the Cougars to a No. 14 rank.

Central Florida jumped out to an early 14-3 lead on the Cougars after a couple special-teams blunders put the Cougar D back against the wall.

But Jake Heaps responded with a Heisman-ballot-earning performance, throwing for 330 yards in the second half and 490 overall, along with seven touchdowns and just one pick to lead the Cougars to a 52-35 comeback victory over the Knights.

Following the game, Jake Heaps made his first call-in appearance on SportsCenter where Scott Van Pelt called him “a bigger, better, Mormoner version of Ty Detmer.”

Central Florida used the confidence found in moving the ball against BYU (and a cake schedule) to run off eight straight wins, and a Conference USA championship game en-route to a 12-1 season and No. 9 national ranking.

The Kinghts found themselves in the BCS discussion, prompting Alabama Coach Nick Saban to comment that UCF wasn’t worthy of BCS consideration because of their “powder-puff” conference. Saban later apologized and rescinded his comments. He later rescinded his apology after the ‘Tide was left out of the BCS mix themselves.

UCF ended up in the Liberty Bowl where they pasted Mississippi State 35-17.

BYU Avenges Last Year's Loss at Utah State

Utah State and San Jose State both came into—and left—Provo winless.

Utah State managed just 212 total yards against the increasingly stubborn BYU defense. The Aggies scored just three points through the first three quarters as the Cougars avenged one of the more painful losses in Cougar history when a trip to Logan yielded an embarrassing loss last season.

The Aggies rebounded quickly, scoring a rare win in Laramie against Wyoming, where they were forced to spend a long week as Interstate 80 was closed due to blizzard conditions. Utah State finished the season 4-8.

San Jose State used a Statue of Liberty, combined with a hook-and-lateral—on the same play—to score first on the Cougars and take a 7-0 lead. The Cougars, however, scored the next 48 points on the way to their sixth straight victory and fourth straight game in which Jake Heaps passed for 300-plus yards and Josh Quezada rushed for over 100.

BYU woke up Monday with a No. 10 national ranking and the first talk of its national championship viability. Jake Heaps’ name began showing up on every national media Heisman watch list.

Cougars Give It to the Beavers

BYU made the trip to hoppin’ Corvalis, Oregon with a Top 10 ranking and high expectations. Oregon State came into the game with similar high hopes, after knocking off Big-10 leader Wisconsin in Madison in week 1. 

But it was Jake Heaps’ Cougars who met expectations, leading BYU in a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback rally to take it to the Beavers 28-21.

The Cougars showed clear signs of fatigue, having already played six straight games to that point in the season while the Beavs had played just four. BYU fell behind 21-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

But Jake Heaps and Cody Hoffman found each other deep and often, at one point scoring two touchdowns in three minutes as the Cougars put up 21 points in the last stanza to propel them to victory.

Oregon State later that season found itself outside Autzen Stadium in Eugene with just that one loss, up against the Oregon Ducks for the Pac-12 championship and a Rose Bowl berth. The Beavers fell short of victory, however, as James Rodgers returned a potential game-winning kickoff back to the Duck’s 1-yard line, only to fumble and have it returned by Oregon for a touchdown the other way.

Oregon State ended up in the Alamo Bowl where it was pitted against Wisconsin yet again. The disinterested team lost this round of Beavers v. Badgers 17-10.

BYU followed up the victory in Corvallis with a much-needed rest scrimmage against Idaho State in which the Cougars won 62-21 and Jake Heaps passed for 420 yards. He didn’t play in the second half.

Frogs and Cougs Renew Old MWC Battle in Epic Fashion

BYU entered this highly anticipated showdown against the Horned Frogs with an 8-0 record and No. 7 national ranking. Jake Heaps found himself a top-five Heisman candidate, while RB Josh Quezada was popping up on Doak Walker watch lists.

The Horned Frogs had waltzed through a fairly light schedule and found themselves likewise undefeated. It didn’t take long for this game to establish its identity, as both teams went scoreless for a quarter as the defenses showed speed and effort in shutting down two highly touted offenses.

Coming out of halftime the Cougars held a slim 7-3 lead, and extended it to 17-10 at the start of the fourth. After trading touchdowns in the fourth, the Frogs found themselves with the ball on the BYU 49 with 1:29 on the clock down 24-17. But the previously unheralded BYU defense rose to the occasion, stopping TCU on a 4th-and-3 to seal the victory and the Cougar’s undefeated season.

The TCU win itself wasn’t terribly impressive to media and fans until the Horned Frogs knocked off Boise State two weeks later, ending the Bronco’s national championship aspirations and putting TCU in position as a potential at-large BCS selection.

Following TCU’s victory of the Broncos on November 12, and BYU's demolishing of Idaho in Provo that same afternoon and New Mexico State the next, the Cougars found themselves at No. 3 in the BCS standings with just one game left in the season.

BYU and Hawaii Battle for BCS Glory

Hawaii turned out to be one of the surprise teams this season, using its potent, experienced offense to pile up yards and points against opponents throughout the season on its way to a 12-0 record and a showdown with also-undefeated BYU in Honolulu.

The Warriors, with their unblemished record, found themselves at just No. 6 in the BCS standings, due to most of their games being played against cupcakes at 3 am EST.

As expected, this game was a shootout from the get-go, as both teams put up 28 points in the first half and Jake Heaps and Bryant Moniz passed for exactly 277 yards each in the half.

The second half was much of the same, as both teams put up a TD and FG in the third, heading to a nail-biting fourth quarter tied at 37.

BYU fans at home were keeping a keen eye on the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game, as BCS standings seemed to indicate the No. 2 Sooners and Oregon Ducks would play in the BCS national championship game. But just before the fourth quarter began in Aloha Stadium, the Cowboys converted on a two-point conversion in overtime to beat Oklahoma 34-33, opening the door for the Cougars to play for the title.

Word reached the players on the field and the gravity was instantly palpable, as both sidelines knew the national championship, BCS berths and tens-of-millions of dollars were on the line.

It was a Hawaiian who turned the game.

With the game tied at 44 and just 45 seconds left, BYU found itself with the ball, on its own 35 with a 3rd-and-long. The play called for Jake Heaps to look for an easy pass or to quickly throw the ball away or check off to a back.

But when the Hawaii free safety jumped on Cody Hoffman’s route, Kahuku grad Spencer Hafoka found himself one-on-one on the weak side of the field. With a quick juke in and a big step out, Hafoka got his defender on the ground and put himself all alone down the sideline with the entire defense moving away from him. Heaps stepped up and floated an easy pass that Hafoka took at the Hawaii 39 and strode down the sideline to the end zone with just 20 seconds left to seal the victory.

Hawaii ended up in the Humanitarian Bowl, where they put up 80 points on Northern Illinois to spite the BCS committee for snubbing them.

BYU moved up a spot to No. 2 in the BCS standings heading into Championship Week.

BYU Waits out Nervous Championship Week

Provo was as quiet as Goshen this week, as the entire State of Utah and BYU fandom awaited the results of the BCS conference championship games and the subsequent BCS rankings which determined the national championship participants.

The SEC featured LSU versus Florida, where the Gators won 21-17. BYU fans worried a one-loss SEC team might leapfrog them in the standings due to bias in the human polls.

The Big-10 featured Wisconsin against Nebraska, where the Huskers could likewise slide ahead of the Cougs. Nebraska prevailed 28-14.

The Pac-12 saw Oregon take on Arizona State, and as expected, the Ducks earned a spot in the NCG with a walk-away 35-17 win.

And the ACC saw two four-loss teams in Florida State and Virginia Tech face off. Tech was victorious, but was not a threat to BYU's title hopes.

As the nation watched on Sunday, Florida and Nebraska were revealed as the No. 4 and No. 3-ranked teams in the BCS standings, prompting cheers from pockets of BYU fans coast to coast as the Cougars earned their second shot at a national championship game, matched against the Oregon Ducks in Glendale Arizona, January 10.

BYU and Oregon Battle to the Finish in Epic National Championship Game

In between heavy practices and film sessions, Jake Heaps flew to New York for the Heisman Trophy Award presentation, where he came in second behind Stanford QB Andrew Luck.

Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly (oh, wait—I heard he’s at ESPN now) worked himself into such a tissy after the announcement of BYU in the title game he threw his laptop into the East River and wandered into Jersey, never to be heard from again (does anyone read him anymore anyway?).

In Glendale in January, the Cougars took the ball first as Oregon deferred on the toss. After an incomplete pass, Heaps handed the ball to Josh Quezada on a halfback draw. The hole in the line was so large Lavell Edwards later joked his wife could have made it to the end zone through it. As it was, Quezada burst through the gaping line and scored a 68-yard touchdown.

After that score, both teams showed signs of rust as drives stalled and scoring was non-existent until Oregon led a sustained drive for a touchdown with just 55 seconds left in the first half. But BYU quickly took the kickoff back to its own 45, completed two passes over the middle and put through a field goal as the first half expired to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead at halftime.

But the second half was an entirely different ballgame. The scoring came fast and often, as each team ran and threw the ball downfield nearly at will.

With the score 24-21 at the end of the third, it appeared whichever team scored last would win. It wasn’t too far off.

In what may be the most prolific display of offense in college football history, BYU quarterback Jake Heaps passed for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the quarter to give the Cougars a 45-38 lead with just 40 seconds left in the game.

But after a long QB scramble, a deep-out pass to the 25 and phantom pass-interference call on the Cougars, the Ducks pushed the ball into the end zone with just four seconds left to tie the game or take a shot to win with a two-point conversion.

The Ducks kicked the point and BYU ran the clock out as the game went to overtime.

After Oregon back LaMicheal James tripped over an O-lineman’s leg on 3rd-and-short, the Ducks were forced to kick a field goal in their first OT possession.

BYU and Heaps went to work with the world watching and a chance to seal the victory. After Quezada picked up five yards on an out, Heaps took to the air. He dropped back and zipped a ball between two defenders to Austin Holt, and, in what appeared to be an instant replay of Max Hall’s pass to Andrew George against Utah in 2009, the two defenders ran into each other as Holt turned and trotted into the end zone to give the Cougars the 2011 national championship.

Heaps earned player of the game honors, passing for 447 yards and five touchdowns, including 150-plus yards each to Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman.

ESPN sports radio host Colin Cowherd resigned shortly after the game ended, due to a promise he made to his viewers that if Oregon didn’t mop up the floor with “those mama’s boys from Utah” he’d step down.

BYU begins the upcoming 2012 season as preseason No. 1.