NOTEBOOK : Brown Took Tough Path to Glory

SAN DIEGO —  Ty Detmer was revving it up and ready to step into Holiday Bowl lore Friday as Brigham Young was frantically moving downfield in the final minute.

The Cougars were trailing, 43-39, and at the Penn State 38. Detmer faded back to pass, there was a swarm of jerseys, and suddenly, Penn State junior defensive back Gary Brown had the ball and a clear path to the end zone. He snatched the ball at the 48 and went 62 yards for a touchdown.

Turns out, Brown’s path to the quarterback took him right around BYU’s Outland Trophy winner, Mohammed Elewonibi.

“That’s what makes it extra special,” Brown said. “I outran him. It’s the best thing that’s happened to me in my athletic career. I’ll never forget it.”

Remember, fumbles cannot be advanced in college football. But while it looked like a fumble, it wasn’t--it never hit the ground. Brown zeroed in on Detmer, hit his arm, and the ball squirted backwards into Brown’s arm.

Once Brown got hold of the ball, though, he knew what to do with it. A former running back, he was converted to Penn State’s “hero” back, or free safety, during spring practice.

Weird Plays, Take Two: Brown’s gallop wasn’t even the strangest play of the quarter, let alone the game. Two minutes earlier, after Brigham Young scored to cut the Penn State lead to 41-39, standout linebacker Andre Collins intercepted Detmer’s two-point conversion attempt and ran 102 yards for a two-point score.

That rule was instituted last year by the NCAA. Collins was fully aware of it.

“The extra point rule is that if you return it and score you get two points, so I had no reason to down it,” Collins said.

So he took off to his right and ran down the sidelines. Now Detmer, one of the offensive stars, had to play defense. He was one of the few people Collins had to beat on his way to the end zone.

“I saw Detmer come over, but I tried to put a move on him and I somehow got over the top of him.”

The score gave Penn State a 43-39 lead, and it forced Brigham Young to go for a touchdown rather than a field goal on the drive in which Brown stripped Detmer.

And You Thought This Was Just a Regular Fake Punt: One of the big plays of the game--and it was lost in the crowd during the fourth quarter--was the fake punt Penn State ran in the third.

It was fourth and six at the Brigham Young 40 when Penn State Coach Joe Paterno sent Terry Smith in to punt.

Now, all of the college football experts in the stands were probably saying, “Hey, wait a minute. Doug Helkowski is Penn State’s punter.”

True. But BYU didn’t notice that Smith, No. 8, was standing there--not Helkowski, No. 4. Smith is a junior wide receiver who hasn’t attempted a punt in his college career.

He wasn’t about to Friday night, either. He got the ball and promptly threw a nine-yard pass to Tisen Thomas. First down, Penn State. Two plays later, Leroy Thompson scored from the 14 and the Nittany Lions led, 29-19.

Oh, one other thing. Smith wasn’t the only inexperienced part of that play. Thomas? He’s a freshman cornerback who isn’t even in the Penn State media guide.

History Major? There were still 2 1/2 minutes in the third quarter when a man came around the press box passing out ballots for offensive and defensive players of the game. He said he would return in the middle of the fourth quarter to pick them up.

Considering Holiday Bowl history, in which nearly every game has been decided in the final minute, isn’t the middle of the fourth quarter a bit early to decide this important stuff?

For the record, Detmer and Blair Thomas shared the offensive player of the game honors. There was no defensive player of the game.

Eavesdropping Outside the Clubhouse: Injured Penn State tight end Kevin O’Keeffe was talking to a teammate on their way into the locker room after the game. He leaned over and said, “Did you ever think a Penn State team would put 50 points on the scoreboard and nearly lose?”

Welcome to the west, where those wacky Western Athletic Conference teams light it up. Penn State could be forgiven, though, for being surprised. The last time the Nittany Lions played a game in California was in 1973.

The 50 points scored by Penn State were the most for the Nittany Lions since 1984.

More Records: The game produced its fair share of Holiday Bowl records.

Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer broke virtually every passing record. He completed 42 of 59 passes for 576 yards, all Holiday Bowl records. The old records were 32 completions by Jim McMahon of BYU in 1980, 51 completions by Craig Burnett of Wyoming in 1987 and 446 yards by McMahon in 1980. McMahon was in attendance to see his records broken. Detmer’s passing yards also were the most against Penn State. Doug Flutie of Boston College had 520 in 1984.

Penn State tailback Blair Thomas carried 35 times for 186 and one touchdown. His carries broke by six the bowl record set last year by Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders.