Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

2009 Brigham Young Football

  • Notebook: Wind caused problems for everyone
    The teams and fans weren’t the only people annoyed by the 45 mile per hour winds that accompanied BYU’s 44-20 victory against Oregon State in the 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Tuesday.
  • BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall and Oregon St. head coach Mike Riley shake hands after the Cougars won 44-20 in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Tuesday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
    Oregon State, senior QB struggle with wind in bowl loss
    This is not how quarterback Sean Canfield pictured the end of his Oregon State football career. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound lefty entered Tuesday's MAACO Bowl Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium looking to cap one of the most prolific passing seasons in Beaver history by leading the team to its sixth-straight bowl victory. But 45-mph wind gusts and a suffocating BYU defense proved too much to overcome in a 44-20 defeat. Canfield entered having completed 70 percent of his passes for 3,103 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2009, but struggled adding to those numbers in his final collegiate game.
  • BYU  quarterback Max Hall holds up his MVP trophy  after the Cougars beat Oregon St 44-20 win over in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Tuesday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
    Hall, BYU win third Las Vegas Bowl in five years
    BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall found it hard to sum up the career and legacy of senior quarterback Max Hall in the week leading up to the 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. Sure, Hall held the school’s all-time record for victories by a quarterback with 31 and directed the Cougars to three straight 10-win seasons. But Mendenhall wasn’t able to select a single definitive performance from Hall.
  • BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall and quarterback Max Hall celebrate their 44-20 win over Oregon St. in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Tuesday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
    BYU wins 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas in dominating fashion
    What was supposed to be one of the most competitive bowl games of the year turned out to be a rout Tuesday night at Sam Boyd Stadium. BYU easily took care of Oregon State in the 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, 44-20.
  • Oregon State head coach Mike Riley speaks to the team at the end of practice at UNLV Sunday, December 20, 2009. The Beavers take on BYU Cougars in the Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium Tuesday.
    Motivation runs high for both BYU and Oregon State
    For BYU, tonight's MAACO Las Vegas Bowl is a chance to gain more national prominence and prove last year's loss in the same bowl was a fluke. For Oregon State, it's an opportunity to make amends for its devastating regular season-ending defeat to rival Oregon. Both the Cougars and the Beavers feel like they still have much to prove heading into tonight's 5 p.m. game Sam Boyd Stadium.
  • Max Hall of BYU throws a pass during the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium last year. Hall is back in the Las Vegas Bowl this year and will face Oregon State quarterback Sean Canfield.
    Senior quarterbacks to share spotlight in bowl game
    Oregon State quarterback Sean Canfield has never met BYU quarterback Max Hall, but Canfield feels comfortable speaking for Hall and himself when it comes to a prediction for Tuesday’s MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. “We’re going to have a shootout,” Canfield said.
  • BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall (right) and Oregon St. head coach Mike Riley talk during the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas press conference at the ESPN Zone at New York New York.  The two teams will face off Dec. 22 at Sam Boyd Stadium.
    BYU's Mendenhall to face off against alma mater
    Oregon State coach Mike Riley admits he made a mistake. When Riley became the head coach at Oregon State in 1997, he scheduled a quick interview with a young up-and-coming defensive coach left over from the previous staff. His name was Bronco Mendenhall, an Oregon State graduate who would eventually lead BYU to four straight 10-win seasons.
  • BYU tight end Dennis Pitta speaks to the media during the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas press conference Thursday at the ESPN Zone at New York New York.  BYU will face Oregon St. Dec. 22 at Sam Boyd Stadium.
    BYU energized for fifth straight bowl in Las Vegas
    Forget about last year. That was the predominant theme surrounding BYU’s appearance at the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas press conference Thursday at ESPN Zone. The Cougars appeared sluggish in last year’s Las Vegas Bowl and fell to the Arizona Wildcats, 31-21. But BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was adamant that this year would be different.
  • BYU running back Harvey Unga jogs untouched into the end zone past UNLV defensive back Quinton Pointer during the first half of a Mountain West Conference game at Sam Boyd Stadium.
    Harvey Unga puts on show for BYU fans in 'Provo West'
    At less than full speed and on the road, it would have been understandable if BYU junior running back Harvey Unga struggled Saturday night. Then again, the Cougars were in Provo West, or Sam Boyd Stadium. And the foe was UNLV, with one of the worst defenses in the nation.
  • BYU quarterback has a ball — at UNLV's expense
    Max Hall clenched his fist, threw a punch into the air and spun around. Hall, BYU’s senior quarterback, had no reason to hide his enthusiasm after his second touchdown pass of the night in BYU’s 59-21 victory against UNLV. Carving up the Rebels defense for 320 yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-31 passing was a blast.
  • BYU's high-powered offense will test a beleaguered UNLV defense
    UNLV will be licking several wounds when it returns to Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night following a 63-28 drubbing at the hands of rival UNR — mostly on the defensive side of the ball. And it doesn't get any easier, as No. 18 BYU comes to town next Saturday night with an offense as high-powered as it gets.
  • Cougars bounce back in 48-23 win over Rams
    BYU scored off enough of Colorado State's mistakes early that it didn't matter much when the 19th-ranked Cougars started making some gaffes of their own. The Cougars converted two interceptions and a blocked punt into touchdowns in the first quarter, then held on in the second half for a 42-23 victory over the Rams on Saturday.
  • Ponder leads FSU over No. 7 BYU 54-28
    Florida State ran away with No. 7 BYU's BCS hopes. The Seminoles were too fast for the Cougars on Saturday, scoring every time they got inside the 20 and forcing five turnovers in a 54-28 win that crushed BYU's BCS hopes.
  • No. 9 BYU rolls to 54-3 victory over Tulane
    Everything was working for Brigham Young on Saturday. The No. 9 Cougars got two touchdown passes from Max Hall, and Bryan Kariya and J.J. DiLuigi each scored twice on the way to a 54-3 beating of Tulane.
  • BYU injures Bradford, upsets No. 3 Oklahoma, 14-13
    Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford sprained his throwing shoulder in the closing seconds of the first half, and a mediocre performance by his backup, a questionable decision by coach Bob Stoops and a late meltdown by OU's defense let Max Hall and the 20th-ranked BYU Cougars pull out a 14-13 victory Saturday night in the first college football game at Cowboys Stadium.
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