=== BYU rallies, tops Tulsa in Armed Forces Bowl ===
 
 Dallas,  TX  (Sports Network) -  Riley Nelson  threw three touchdown passes to
 Cody  Hoffman, including  a two-yarder with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth
 quarter, as BYU rallied to beat Tulsa, 24-21, in the Armed Forces Bowl.
 
 Nelson  completed 17-of-40 passes for 250 yards with two interceptions for the
 Cougars  (10-3), who made their seventh consecutive bowl appearance under head
 coach Bronco Mendenhall.
 
 Hoffman finished with 122 yards on eight receptions.
 
 "I  was  really  pleased  with  the  way  our  team  battled,  the  grit,  the
 determination,  especially  the second  half," said  Mendenhall. "I think they
 played hungry. We have a strong reputation of when the games are close to find
 a way to win."
 
 Tulsa's  G.J. Kinne matched Nelson with three touchdown passes, but the Golden
 Hurricane (8-5) couldn't get BYU's offense off the field down the stretch.
 
 "I  could not be prouder of the men I get to lead," said Tulsa head coach Bill
 Blankenship.  "So  thankful I had  this year with  these seniors, the way they
 have  battled  every single game,  I couldn't be  more thankful or more proud.
 We just came up a little short today."
 
 The  Cougars began  the decisive drive at  the Tulsa 48-yard line with 4:18 to
 play.  Nelson ran  for 14  yards  on 4th-and-9  to  move the  chains, and  BYU
 converted  a pair of  third downs before a six-yard pass from Nelson to Marcus
 Mathews set up a 2nd-and-goal.
 
 With  no  timeouts remaining, Nelson hurried  to the line, faked the spike and
 found  Hoffman  at the  right front  corner of  the end  zone for the go-ahead
 score.
 
 Tulsa  started the game  by marching 76 yards in 11 plays and Kinne capped off
 the drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Johnson
 
 The  Golden Hurricane  offense  was  held in  check  following the  impressive
 opening  possession  until Bryan Burnham made  a juggling catch along the left
 sideline  for  a 50-yard  gain in  the second quarter.  Two plays later, Kinne
 connected on a 14-yard scoring strike to Clay Sears.
 
 In  between  the two touchdowns, BYU's  Justin Sorensen kicked a 35-yard field
 goal after an offsides penalty wiped out a Nelson interception.
 
 Tulsa  looked to  go into  halftime with  an 11-point  lead in  tow, but  J.D.
 Ratliff,  with defenders moving  in, opted to field a punt and wound up losing
 control.  David  Foote recovered the fumble  for BYU at the Tulsa 17-yard line
 inside the final minute.
 
 On the next play from scrimmage, Nelson received a key block from a helmetless
 member  of  his offensive line, allowing  him to throw a touchdown pass across
 the field to Hoffman that trimmed the Cougars' deficit to 14-10.
 
 Following  the  break, Dexter McCoil  picked off Nelson  for a second time and
 scampered  32 yards to  the BYU 35. Tulsa failed to capitalize on the turnover
 as Kevin Fitzpatrick missed a 46-yard field goal wide right.
 
 The Cougars responded on the ensuing drive, grabbing a 17-14 lead on Hoffman's
 30-yard TD grab with 1:41 to play in the third quarter.
 
 Early  in the fourth quarter, Kinne answered with a 30-yard TD pass to Burnham
 to put Tulsa back on top.
 
                                   Game Notes
 
 Tulsa  suffered all four of its previous losses this season to teams ranked in
 the  top  10 at the  time (No. 1  Oklahoma, No. 8  Oklahoma State, No. 4 Boise
 State  and  No.  8  Houston)...Kinne  finished  with  214  yards  on  17-of-31
 passing...Burnham  made  four catches for  113 yards...JJ Di Luigi paced BYU's
 rushing  attack with 38 yards on 10 carries...Tulsa was limited to 37 yards on
 the  ground...BYU  improved to  7-1 against  the Golden Hurricane...Tulsa also
 played in the Armed Forces Bowl in 2006, losing 25-13 to Utah.
 
 
 12/30 19:03:08 ET

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