This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Provo • Brigham Young's defense is turning finishes at home into an art form this season. Its offense is still in the paint-by-numbers stage.

The nothing-comes-easy-for-these-guys Cougars were at it again Saturday afternoon, sputtering mightily on offense but rescuing themselves with another late defensive stand. It added up to a 25-20 win for BYU against the also-flailing Wyoming Cowboys, as the Cougars kept their bowl hopes alive, improving to 3-5 in front of 60,505 rain-soaked fans.

This one was just like the other two wins at home — against Washington and San Diego State. The Cougars started fast, failed to put the game away despite multiple chances, and hung on for dear life at the end to avoid what would have been one of the most embarrassing and devastating losses of coach Bronco Mendenhall's six-year tenure.

"I did tell our team earlier this week that I anticipated the game to be very similar to San Diego State [a 24-21 win]," Mendenhall said. "Sure enough, it ended up just like that."

Only when freshman Kyle Van Noy batted away Wyoming quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels' fourth-and-10 pass from the BYU 25 with 16 seconds remaining could the Cougars celebrate. Amazing, considering they had a lead of 16-0 with possession of the ball in the second quarter, and a 25-13 lead with a first-and-10 at the Wyoming 13-yard line with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.

"We love it when it comes down to us [as a defense] having to win the game," BYU linebacker Shane Hunter said.

They should be used to it — the Cougars have won 13-straight games decided by seven points or fewer.

"I think that's just where we currently are," Mendenhall said, touching on the 2010's nothing-comes-easy theme. "Until our execution, until our position mastery, until our confidence [improves] — and until just the volume of games starts to add up — it will be like that."

Consider this: In the middle of the third quarter, Wyoming had just 1 yard of total offense but trailed just 16-10.

Why? Freshman mistakes. Big mistakes.

The Cougars were cruising with a 16-0 lead when Jake Heaps failed to get enough loft on a third-and-4 pass intended for Mike Hague. Wyoming linebacker Keith Lewis intercepted it, then rumbled 55 yards for a touchdown.

"I'm way better than that," Heaps said of the mistake.

Three plays later, freshman running back Josh Quezada fumbled deep in BYU territory, and the Cowboys kicked a 44-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining in the half trailing 16-10.

At halftime, Wyoming had minus 18 yards on 17 plays, thanks, in part, to a bad snap — it sailed over Carta-Samuels' head, resulting in a 15-yard loss — and a safety.

But both offenses made things interesting in the second half — BYU's by failing to capitalize with touchdowns on two of the three times it breached Wyoming's 25-yard line, and Wyoming by suddenly putting together a four-play, 80-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to five.

After forcing a three-and-out, Wyoming took over from its 12 with 4:42 remaining, took advantage of a personal foul, converted on fourth-and-9 from midfield and was close to beating BYU for the first time in Mendenhall's tenure.

"Things weren't going well for a while, but we still had a chance to win," said Wyoming coach Dave Christensen. "They just made better plays on the last drive."

The Cougars had just 81 passing yards — and only 120 yards in the second half after putting up 178 in the first half. Heaps was 10-for-18 with the interception, but he did throw his first touchdown pass (to Luke Ashworth) since the Florida State game more than a month ago.

"We are one or two plays away from exploding out," Heaps said. "We were one or two plays away from just laying them [out]."

drew@sltrib.com Twitter: @drewjay —

Storylines

R In short • BYU's defense dominates early, then comes up with another late stand to keep the team's bowl hopes alive.

Key moment • Wyoming's Keith Lewis returns an interception 55 yards for a touchdown when the Cowboys appeared to be on the verge of getting blown out.

Key stat • Wyoming has minus 18 yards of offense in the first half.