re: How could anyone not like our football coach?

quote:

---

How could anyone not like our football coach?

---

No need to waste hate on coaches that haven't secured the hardware. It's the winners of the world that have to duck. Sark is good to go.

This is quite the aggy reply

nah man i think you like fashion design

Alters suck.

quote:

---

That douche doesn't have class.

---

I beg to differ…

Dude, he's fat and doesn't give a frick. Much like your old coach Mac today.

The reality is more coaches dress like Fat Elko than the things Sark wears. Not his fault though, he's trying to please his wife...

The beetus is going to take both Elko and Mac out.

quote:

---

Most of them have toned it down now that they've been put in their place, but they were annoying as hell early on.

---

No, they’re still annoying as frick. They just hold all that gay bravado in, until they win a few games, now. But of course we all know they get loud and proud, until the train comes off the rails. Then it’s back under the bed they go.

quote:

---

No, they’re (aggy) still annoying as frick.

---

Agreed!!

quote:

---

CharlotteSooner - throws like a girl.

---

Sarkisian and Co. made the Aggies' "Wrecking Crew" do like Joe Waldholtz and disappear inexplicably. The Cougar senior quarterback, in a performance that ranks with the all-time BYU best, completed 33-of-44 passes for 536 yards and six touchdowns.

Sarkisian finished with a passing efficiency rating of 217.8. As a comparison, the NCAA record for passing efficiency in a season is 175.6 set by Detmer in 1989 . . . .

Stve Sarkisian (BYU) v. Texas A&M (1996)

quote:

---

BYU K.O.'S TEXAS A&M: SARKISIAN GETS TIME, HURLS 6 TD PASSES IN DRAMATIC 41-37 NATIONAL TV VICTORY
Published: Aug 25, 1996, 12:00 a.m. MDT

By Deseret News, Loren Jorgensen, Sports Writer

K.O. Kealaluhi was supposed to be a decoy. His job was to run a deep route down the left sideline taking a Texas A&M defender or two with him.

Instead, the BYU senior became the intended target of a perfectly thrown spiral lofted by Steve Sarkisian - "the best throw of Sarkisian's whole career," according to tight end Chad Lewis. Kealaluhi, with Aggie defender Andre Williams in his wake, had a single horrifying thought cross his mind as the pigskin returned to earth.

"Don't drop the ball on national television."

He didn't. Kealaluhi not only held on to the ball, but he carried it the final couple of yards into the end zone before sliding to the ground and being mobbed by teammates.

The 13th-ranked Aggies were stunned. A minute of football time later, the Cougars owned one of their biggest victories ever.

Final score: BYU 41, Texas A&M 37.

It's safe to say the 1996 Pigskin Classic will be one of those games that - like the '80 Holiday Bowl against SMU and the '90 win over top-ranked Miami - will become legend for BYU fans.

"This was a great victory for us," said BYU coach LaVell Edwards, ever the master of understatement.

"That's the loudest I've ever heard a BYU crowd," said Lewis, who grew up in Orem and has been to his share of games in Cougar Stadium.

A&M entered the contest with a well-deserved reputation for its strong defense. The Aggies returned seven starters - including three All-America candidates - from last year's team that was third in the nation in total defense and second against the pass.

But Sarkisian and Co. made the Aggies' "Wrecking Crew" do like Joe Waldholtz and disappear inexplicably. The Cougar senior quarterback, in a performance that ranks with the all-time BYU best, completed 33-of-44 passes for 536 yards and six touchdowns.

An A&M defense had never been so abused through the air. Sarkisian's passing yardage and touchdowns are both records against the Aggies. In fact, A&M had never previously given up five passing TDs in a game, let alone six.

"I have to give a lot of credit to Sarkisian," said Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum. "There were times when we had a pretty good rush on him and he avoided that rush . . . . He's an excellent player and we knew that coming in."

Sarkisian, unlike Ty Detmer in the '90 Holiday Bowl blowout loss to A&M when both of his shoulders were separated, had plenty of time to pass. Sarkisian wasn't sacked until midway through the fourth quarter thanks to the inspired play of the the Cougar offensive line against a defensive front rated as the best in the nation in The Sporting News.

"Last night we got together and watched the video of the last Texas A&M game," said senior running back Mark Atuaia. "We said right then, 'let's go get this one for Ty.' "

Even with all the Cougars' big offensive numbers, it appeared late in the game that the Aggies would win. When Kyle Bryant booted the third of his three field goals, a 51-yarder, with 1:27 to play, the Aggies had a 37-34 lead.


BYU had one last chance to make the game more than just a moral victory. After the kickoff, the Cougs needed to go 78 yards in just 1:23. They did it on just three plays with a minute to spare.

First Sarkisian hit Kaipo McGuire for 11 yards on the right side. He then found Kealaluhi for a 21-yard gain over the middle. Finally, he hit Kealaluhi again with the 46-yard touchdown bomb that K.O.'d the Aggies with 1:03 remaining.

Texas A&M actually moved into Cougar territory in the final seconds. But Aggie quarterback Branndon Stewart fumbled the ball and Daren Yancey recovered with nine seconds remaining to secure the upset for the Cougars.

"Winning this game feels great. It's like eating straight sugar cubes," said James Dye, who caught two passes for 44 yards and a touchdown in his debut performance as a full-time Cougar receiver.

The game didn't always appear like it would be so memorable for the Cougs or the 55,229 fans in attendance.

After BYU marched to a touchdown - a five-yard pass from Sarkisian to Lewis - on its first possession, the Aggies appeared to take control. Aggie running backs Sirr Parker and Eric Bernard - who each finished the game with 100-plus yards rushing - did the damage on the ground with Stewart mixing in timely passes. A&M scored 20 consecutive points to take a 20-6 lead midway through the second quarter.

Then came the momentum-shifting play of the day. The Aggie defense forced BYU into a punting situation. Cougar punter Alan Boardman kicked a line drive that bounced several times in front of A&M return man Michael Jennings, who couldn't get a handle on the ball. BYU's Greg White recovered, giving the Cougs the ball on the A&M 23. Six plays later Sarkisian hit tight end Itula Mili for a nine-yard score. Ethan Pochman's extra point cut the gap to 20-13 with 5:20 to play in the half.

After the Cougar defense held, BYU got the ball back. Sarkisian led a 74-yard drive culminating in a 10-yard TD pass to McGuire with 45 seconds remaining in the half. Just like that, the game went from being a potential blowout to a 20-20 tie at intermission.

A pair of BYU turnovers - a fumble by Atuaia and an interception that was returned 64 yards by Rich Cody - set up both A&M touchdowns in the second half. The Aggies entered the final quarter with a 34-26 lead.

BYU cut the gap when Dye caught a 12-yard TD pass to complete an 80-yard drive with 11:53 to play. Running back Dustin Johnson hauled in a swing pass and used a second effort to get across the goal line for the game-tying (34-34) two-point conversion.

The Cougars had a golden chance to go ahead with a first-and-goal situation at the five on their next possession. Sarkisian was sacked twice, however, and Pochman's 38-yard field goal attempt was wide right, allowing the Aggies to take a short-lived, three-point lead.

The win gave the new, not-necessarily improved 16-team WAC a 1-0 record against the new Big 12 - and had WAC commissioner Karl Benson grinning from ear to ear.

"That was a big win for us, but there is no need to boast or brag," said linebacker Shay Muirbrook. "We did our talking on the field."

GAME NOTES: Sarkisian finished with a passing efficiency rating of 217.8. As a comparison, the NCAA record for passing efficiency in a season is 175.6 set by Detmer in 1989 . . . .

McGuire caught seven passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns, while Kealaluhi had six catches for 151 . . . . Pochman, a converted soccer player in his first real football game, missed two extra points (one was blocked) and his only field goal attempt . . . . Stewart had a fine day in his first game as an Aggie. He completed 20-of-28 attempts for 232 yards and two TDs.

---