2006 BYU Cougars football team

Pre-season

During the season

Schedule

Rankings

Roster

Regular season

References

Postseason awards and citations

Arizona

Tulsa

Boston College

Utah State

TCU

San Diego State

UNLV

Air Force

Colorado State

Wyoming

New Mexico

Utah

Las Vegas Bowl

2006 BYU Cougars football
2006 BYU Cougars football
Mountain West champion; Las Vegas Bowl champion
Las Vegas Bowl, W 38–8 vs. Oregon
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 16
Record	11–2 (8–0 MW)
Head coach	Bronco Mendenhall (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Robert Anae (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Air Raid
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	LaVell Edwards Stadium; (Capacity: 64,045)
	Seasons ← 2005 2007 →

2006 Mountain West Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 16 BYU $	8	–	0	11	–	2
No. 22 TCU	6	–	2	11	–	2
Utah	5	–	3	8	–	5
Wyoming	5	–	3	6	–	6
New Mexico	4	–	4	6	–	7
Air Force	3	–	5	4	–	8
San Diego State	3	–	5	3	–	9
Colorado State	1	–	7	4	–	8
UNLV	1	–	7	2	–	10

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2006 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars won the Mountain West Conference (MWC) championship outright with an 11–2 record (8–0 in the MWC), their first unbeaten conference play since 2001. This was also BYU's third season with at least a share of the MWC title (co-champions with CSU and Utah in 1999, and sole champions in 2001). The Cougars played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium, named after its legendary coach, LaVell Edwards.

Among the returning starters were quarterback John Beck, running back Curtis Brown, linebacker Cameron Jenson and tight end Jonny Harline.

The Cougars started the season unranked in either the Coaches Poll or the AP Poll, and would not enter the polls until they had won their eighth game. They steadily rose in the rankings mainly on the strength of an offense that finished the regular season 5th in the nation in scoring and 4th in passing yards of 323.5 per game. The key to their offense was quarterback John Beck, who was one of the nation's top quarterbacks, running back Curtis Brown, and tight end Jonny Harline. They averaged a 465.5 yards and 36.8 points per game.

The Cougars played five bowl-bound teams during the season—Boston College, their second opponent from one of the six BCS conferences; Tulsa; TCU; the New Mexico; and their conference rivals, the Utah Utes. Notably, BYU defeated TCU (then ranked #15) by 31-17 putting an end to the Horned Frogs' 13-game winning streak.

John Beck

MWC Offensive Player of the Week for seven weeks
Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year (unanimous)
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Finalist
Davey O'Brien Award Semifinalist
Heisman candidate
Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week
First Team All-Mountain West Conference (unanimous)
Second Team All-America, The Sporting News
- Honorable Mention All-America, CBSSportsline.com, Pro Football Weekly, College Football News

Jonny Harline

Mackey Award semifinalist
First Team All-America, The Sporting News, ESPN, College Football News, CBSSportsline.com, SI.com
- Third Team All-America, Associated Press

Jake Kuresa

Second Team All-America, College Football News
- Honorable Mention All-America, The Sporting News
First Team All-Mountain West Conference

Bronco Mendenhall

AFCA Region 5 Coach of the Year

Curtis Brown

First Team All-Mountain West Conference

Sete Aulai

Second Team All-Mountain West Conference

Cameron Jensen

First Team All-Mountain West Conference (unanimous)
Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week

Quinn Gooch

Second Team All-Mountain West Conference

Bryan Kehl

Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference

Jared McLaughlin

Second Team All-Mountain West Conference

Nate Meikle

Second Team All-Mountain West Conference
Academic All-District
National Scholar-Athlete Candidate

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:15 p.m.	at Arizona*		Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	TBS	L 13–16	58,450
September 9	2:00 p.m.	Tulsa*		LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	mtn	W 49–24	56,627
September 16	10:00 a.m.	at No. 23 Boston College*		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN2	L 23–30 ^2OT	40,233
September 23	1:00 p.m.	Utah State*		LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT (Beehive Boot & The Old Wagon Wheel)	mtn	W 38–0	58,659
September 28	4:00 p.m.	at No. 17 TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	Versus	W 31–17	32,190
October 7	11:00 a.m.	San Diego State		LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	mtn	W 47–17	60,804
October 21	2:30 p.m.	UNLV		LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	mtn	W 52–7	63,341
October 28	12:00 p.m.	at Air Force		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	Versus	W 33–14	35,521
November 4	4:30 p.m.	at Colorado State		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	mtn	W 24–3	21,117
November 9	6:00 p.m.	Wyoming	No. 25	LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	CSTV	W 55–7	59,901
November 18	2:00 p.m.	New Mexico	No. 23	LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	mtn	W 42–17	63,814
November 25	1:30 p.m.	at Utah	No. 21	Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Beehive Boot & Holy War)	CSTV/mtn	W 33–31	45,330
December 21	6:00 p.m.	vs. Oregon*	No. 19	Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV (Las Vegas Bowl)	ESPN2	W 38–8	44,615
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	21	20	19	16
Coaches Poll	RV	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	23	21	20	15
Harris	Not released				—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	21	19	19	Not released
BCS	Not released							—	—	—	—	25	23	21	20	Not released

	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	7	0	3	3	13
• Arizona	3	3	7	3	16

Date: Saturday, September 2
Location: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Game start: 7:28 p.m. PST
Elapsed time: 3:22
Game attendance: 58,450
Game weather: 90 °F (32 °C), partly cloudy, wind 17 mph (27 km/h) various
Referee: Larry Farina
TV announcers (TBS): Chip Caray, Tom Ramsey, David Aldridge

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulsa	0	10	7	7	24
• BYU	7	14	14	14	49

Date: September 9
Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Game start: 2:06 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 4:04
Game attendance: 56,627
Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), partly cloudy and warm, wind NW 5 mph (8.0 km/h), 53 minute rain/lightning delay
Referee: Steve Barth
TV announcers (mtn., BYU SN): James Bates, Todd Christensen, Toby Christensen (mtn.)
Chris Twitty, Gary Sheide (BYU SN)

Source:

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
BYU	7	6	0	10	0	0	23
• #23 Boston College	6	6	8	3	0	7	30

Date: September 16
Location: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, MA
Game start: 12:05 p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 3:50
Game attendance: 40,233
Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C), Sunny, wind NNE 15 mph (24 km/h)
Referee: Terry Leyden
TV announcers (ESPN2): Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Rob Stone

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utah State	0	0	0	0	0
• BYU	10	14	7	7	38

Date: September 23
Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Game start: 1:06 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 2:49
Game attendance: 58,659
Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), partly cloudy, wind S 7 mph (11 km/h)
Referee: Bill Athan
TV announcers (mtn., BYU SN): James Bates, Todd Christensen, Anne Marie Anderson (mtn.)
Chris Twitty, Gary Sheide (BYU SN)

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
• BYU	3	7	7	14	31
#15 TCU	0	3	7	7	17

Date: September 28
Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Ft. Worth, TX
Game start: 6:06 p.m. CST
Elapsed time: 3:08
Game attendance: 32,190
Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), clear skies, wind NNE 12 mph (19 km/h)
Referee: Scott Novak
TV announcers (VS.): Gary Bender, Glenn Parker, Argy Stathapolous

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
San Diego State	3	0	14	0	17
• BYU	20	20	7	0	47

Date: October 7
Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Game start: 12:06 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 2:57
Game attendance: 60,804
Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), cloudy, wind S 3 mph (4.8 km/h)
Referee: Rich Kollen
TV announcers (mtn., BYU SN): James Bates, Todd Christensen, Blaine Fowler (mtn.)
Chris Twitty, Gary Sheide (BYU SN)

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
UNLV	0	7	0	0	7
• BYU	21	7	14	10	52

Date: October 21
Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Game start: 1:06 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 3:15
Game attendance: 63,341
Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), partly cloudy, wind WNW 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
Referee: Gerald Wright
TV announcers (mtn., BYU SN): James Bates, Todd Christensen, Blaine Fowler (mtn.)
Chris Twitty, Gary Sheide (BYU SN)

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
• BYU	7	14	3	9	33
Air Force	0	0	7	7	14

Date: October 28
Location: Falcon Stadium, Air Force Academy, CO
Game start: 12:06 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 2:56
Game attendance: 35,521
Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), mostly sunny, wind SE 10 mph (16 km/h)
Referee: Rich Kollen
TV announcers (VS.): Gary Bender, Glenn Parker, Argy Stathapolous

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
• BYU	7	7	7	3	24
Colorado State	0	3	0	0	3

Date: November 4
Location: Hughes Stadium, Fort Collins, CO
Game start: 4:36 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 2:38
Game attendance: 21,117
Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), partly cloudy, wind SW 5 mph (8.0 km/h)
Referee: Terry Leyden
TV announcers (mtn.): James Bates, Todd Christensen, Anne Marie Anderson

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wyoming	0	0	0	7	7
• #25 BYU	21	10	10	14	55

Date: November 9
Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Game start: 6:06 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 2:50
Game attendance: 59,901
Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C), overcast, wind N 4 mph (6.4 km/h)
Referee: Scott Novak
TV announcers (CSTV, BYU SN): Jonathan Coachman, Chris Rix (CSTV)
Chris Twitty, Gary Sheide (BYU SN)

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
New Mexico	3	0	14	0	17
• #23 BYU	14	14	7	7	42

Date: November 18
Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Game start: 2:07 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 3:02
Game attendance: 63,814
Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), partly cloudy, no wind
Referee: Karl Richins
TV announcers (mtn., BYU SN): Rich Cellini, Jon Berger, Blaine Fowler (mtn.)
Chris Twitty, Gary Sheide (BYU SN)

Source:

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #21 BYU	14	0	0	19	33
Utah	0	10	14	7	31

Date: November 25
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
Game start: 1:38 p.m. MST
Elapsed time: 3:18
Game attendance: 45,330
Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C), mostly sunny, wind SW 4 mph (6.4 km/h)
Referee: Rich Kollen
TV announcers (mtn., CSTV): James Bates, Todd Christensen, Blaine Fowler

Source: [1]

Announcer James Bates: "Five in a row won't happen." Referring to Utah winning the past four years in the rivalry series.

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #19 BYU	0	17	7	14	38
Oregon	0	0	0	8	8

Date: December 21
Location: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Game start: 5:01 p.m. PST
Elapsed time: 3:28
Game attendance: 44,615
Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), partly cloudy, wind 2 mph (3.2 km/h)
Referee: Nick Define
TV announcers (ESPN/Sports USA): Brent Musburger, Bob Davie, Lisa Salters (ESPN)
Tom Dillon, John Robinson (Sports USA)

Source: [2]

"Um, remind me again who's in the Mountain West Conference." - Mike Bellotti on BYU's undefeated conference record
"Collectively, no, they couldn't compete at the highest level in the Pac-10. They lost to Arizona this year. They wouldn't even be a midlevel Pac-10 team." - Bellotti on BYU as Pac-10 team
BYU first bowl win since 1996 season

(as of September 2006) Archived 2008-10-16 at the Wayback Machine

Wide receivers

2 Bryce Mahuika - Sophomore

3 Michael Reed^† - Sophomore

5 Brett Cooper - Senior

9 Nathan Meikle^† - Senior

10 Matt Allen^† - Junior

19 Zac Erekson - Sophomore

80 McKay Jacobson - Freshman

82 Ryan Neeley - Junior

83 Saia Hafoka - Sophomore

85 Zac Collie - Senior

86 Daniel Tervort - Freshman

87 Matt Smith - Senior

Offensive guards

62 Braden Hansen - Freshman

74 Travis Bright^† - Sophomore

76 Ray Feinga^† - Sophomore

Offensive tackles

65 Dallas Reynolds^† - Sophomore

66 Garrett Reden - Freshman

68 David Oswald - Sophomore

73 Jake Kuresa^† - Senior

Centers

60 Ryan Freeman - Freshman

67 Sete Aulai^† - Junior

Offensive linemen

53 Tom Sorensen - Sophomore

55 Jeff Rhea - Junior

59 Eddie Keele - Senior

61 Jackson Smith - Freshman

69 John Barrett - Freshman

71 Rick Wolfley - Freshman

72 Nick Longshore - Senior

75 Walter Kahaialii -Freshman

77 Jason Speredon - Freshman

79 Erik Freeman - Junior

58 Jayson Clark - Senior

Tight ends

13 Jonny Harline^† - Senior

20 Daniel Coats - Senior

37 Vic So'oto - Sophomore

84 Jeff Allen - Freshman

88 Andrew George - Freshman

89 Brock Hansen - Freshman

Fullbacks

11 Manase Tonga^† - Sophomore

27 Joe Semanoff - Junior

Quarterbacks

4 James Lark - Freshman

7 Jason Beck - Senior

11 Sam Doman - Freshman

12 John Beck^† - Senior

16 Jacob Bower - Freshman

24 Kurt McEuen - Freshman

Running backs

1 Fui Vakapuna - Sophomore

6 Curtis Brown^† - Senior

22 Ray Hudson - Sophomore

31 Isaac Taylor - Sophomore

32 Mike Hague - Freshman

45 Harvey Unga - Freshman

Defensive line

54 Kyle Luekenga - Sophomore

57 Dan Alleto - Freshman

75 Jordan Richardson - Freshman

77 Ian Dulan - Freshman

90 Mosese Foketi - Junior

92 Brett Denney - Freshman

93 Sean Sullivan - Junior

94 Tommy Nelson - Freshman

95 Temana Paongo - Freshman

96 Kalama Kaluhiokalani - Freshman

97 Garrett Eskelsen - Freshman

Defensive ends

70 Hala Paongo^† - Senior

84 Jan Jorgensen^† - Freshman

91 Judd Anderton - Junior

99 Matangi Tonga - Freshman

Defensive tackles

51 Russell Tialavea^† - Freshman

98 Romney Fuga - Freshman

Defensive backs

4 Brandon Howard - Freshman

6 Jordan Stephan - Freshman

10 Jeff Sorensen - Freshman

14 Tyler Kozlowski - Freshman

16 Kellen Fowler - Junior

18 Aaron Attig - Freshman

19 Brandon Bradley - Freshman

20 Michael Moore - Freshman

22 Carter Mees - Freshman

24 Nate Hutchinson - Freshman

26 Aaron Gordon - Senior

29 Kelly Bills - Sophomore

30 Robbie Buckner - Freshman

31 Chris Warner - Sophomore

32 Scott Johnson - Sophomore

39 Cole Miyahira - Senior

Linebackers

35 Cameron Jensen^† - Senior

36 Markell Staffieri - Junior

41 Bryan Kehl^† - Junior

42 Gary Lovely - Senior

43 David Nixon - Sophomore

44 Dan Van Sweden - Freshman

45 Rex Doman - Junior

45 Zed Mendenhall - Freshman

46 Kelly Poppinga - Junior

47 Terrance Hooks - Freshman

48 Andrew Stacey - Senior

49 Shawn Doman - Freshman

50 Chris Bolden - Junior

52 Aaron Wagner - Senior

53 Austin Nielsen - Freshman

55 Skyler Stephens - Sophomore

56 Dan Bates - Senior

58 Jeff Bell - Freshman

63 Connell Hess - Freshman

Cornerbacks

15 Justin Robinson^† - Senior

21 Ben Criddle^† - Junior

33 Andre Saulsberry - Junior

34 Kayle Buchanan^† - Junior

Safeties

25 Quinn Gooch^† - Junior

23 David Tafuna - Junior

28 Dustin Gabriel^† - Junior

Punters

29 Derek McLaughlin^† - Senior

30 Jared McLaughlin - Senior

Kickers

30 Jared McLaughlin^† - Senior

29 Derek McLaughlin - Senior

38 Spencer Covert- Freshman

† Starter at position * Injured

v t e BYU Cougars football
Venues	LaVell Edwards Stadium (1964–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Utah: Holy War (Beehive Boot) Utah State (Beehive Boot, The Old Wagon Wheel)
Culture & lore	Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Cougar Marching Band Mormons vs. Mullets
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold