Oct 6, 2001

Box Score

By TIM KORTE
AP Sports Writer

PROVO, Utah - Luke Staley ran for 207 yards and four touchdowns and caught a 28-yard scoring pass from Brandon Doman as No. 20 BYU beat winless Utah State 54-34 on Friday night.

Staley took the suspense out of coach Gary Crowton's play-calling. As his yardage and scoring mounted in the second half, 65,396 fans chanted, "Lu-u-u-u-uke! Lu-u-u-u-uke!" if the Cougars got within 15 yards of the end zone.

Staley didn't disappoint them, scoring three times in the third quarter as BYU (5-0) erased a 27-21 halftime deficit to beat Utah State (0-5) for the 16th time in the last 17 meetings.

Doman was 24-of-34 for 293 yards and four TDs with one interception. In the fourth quarter, he was 7-of-8 for 110 yards and two scores.

Staley piled up 311 total yards. He also caught four passes for 44 yards, returned a kickoff 49 yards and, in the first quarter, completed an 11-yard pass to Reno Mahe.

In a shootout that featured lots of hard hits, long returns and penalties, the Cougars were tested by the Aggies, who for the second straight week stayed with a nationally ranked opponent through three quarters.

Last week, it was Oregon that won 38-21. This week, Staley made the difference, gaining the most yards by a BYU running back since Ronney Jenkins had 250 against San Jose State in 1998.

Staley also had a pair of 1-yard runs and scored untouched on a 37-yard run after breaking through the line to pull the Cougars to 34-27 with 8:58 remaining in the third quarter.

Utah State standout Emmett White ran for 144 yards and two TDs but the Aggies hurt themselves with 141 penalty yards.

White had two second-quarter TDs to give Utah State a 27-21 lead at the break, and the Aggies kept the momentum going when Dane Kidman recovered his own onside kick to open the second half.

Six plays later, Jose Fuentes threw a 14-yard pass to Chris Stallworth to extend the lead to 34-21.

The Aggies were driving again late in the third when Jenaro Gilford intercepted Fuentes at the 12, got a great block from defensive end Brett Kiesel and zig-zagged 62 yards to Utah State's 26.

The Cougars needed three plays before Staley swept to the right from the 1, helping BYU tie it at 34-34. Encouraged by the fans, Staley added a 5-yard TD run with 1:33 to play in the third as BYU went ahead for good.