BYU looks to extend longest winning streak in NCAA
editor1 |Aug 25,2008
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Northern Iowa at No. 17 Brigham Young, 6:00 pm EDT
PROVO, Utah (Ticker) -- After a dramatic victory over UCLA in
the Las Vegas Bowl, No. 17 Brigham Young quietly enters this
season with the longest current winning streak in the Football
Bowl Subdivision.
Coming off their second straight Mountain West Conference title,
the Cougars seek their 11th straight victory when they host
Northern Iowa in their season opener Saturday.
Georgia's seven-game winning streak is second in the FBS.
After losing consecutive games to Arizona and UCLA, BYU reeled
off 10 straight wins to finish last season 11-2. The Cougars
capped the season with a 17-16 victory over UCLA, avenging a
27-17 regular-season loss to the Bruins.
BYU was held to a season-low 265 yards but escaped with the win
when 280-pound lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a field goal
attempt in the final seconds.
The Cougars again will go as far as junior quarterback Max Hall
takes them. In his first year as a starter, Hall completed
completed 298-of-496 passes for 3,848 yards - the most for any
sophomore in the country - and 26 touchdowns.
Sophomore running back Harvey Unga is coming off a season in
which he was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year, rushing
for 1,227 yards and 13 touchdowns. Unga also caught 44 passes
for 655 yards and four scores.
BYU also returns its top receiver in junior Austin Collie, who
caught 56 passes a year ago for 956 yards and seven touchdowns.
A perennial participant in the Football Championship
Subdivision, Northern Iowa (12-1 last season) may not be a
push-over for BYU.
The Panthers rolled through the regular season undefeated last
year and entered the playoffs as the top seed before losing to
Delaware, 39-27, in the quarterfinals.
BYU will have to contend with senior running back Corey Lewis,
who rushed for a school-record 1,513 yards last season. One of
Northern Iowa's wins last year was a 24-13 victory over Iowa
State of the Big 12 Conference.
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