Bruins Survive Their Head-On Collision With Ty Detmer : Brigham Young: Team lost, but quarterback shows why he won the Heisman Trophy.

Just in case anyone has forgotten why Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer owns a Heisman Trophy, simply ask the UCLA Bruins, who can provide the necessary and often painful first-hand testimony.

The Bruins defeated BYU, 27-23, Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, but not before the much-maligned Detmer salvaged a sagging reputation and added yet another NCAA record--45, and counting--to his bulging collection of honors.

In fact, if the Bruins could have had their way, they would have insisted that the historic football be removed from play--and Detmer with it.

Instead, UCLA had to watch Detmer do what he does best: calmly drive stakes through the heart of a secondary. He did it with short, simple passes to fullback Peter Tuipulotu. He did it with medium-range passes to his tight ends, Itula Mili and Byron Rex. He did it with mini-bombs to split end Micah Matsuzaki. And he did it with his scrambling, which had all the artistry of a man running with a slug in his thigh.

In the end, it was almost enough to beat UCLA. It certainly was more than enough to earn Detmer NCAA record No. 45, the one that establishes the Cougar senior as the most prolific passer in collegiate history. The Detmer legacy: an amazing 11,606 yards, making him the all-time career passing yardage leader.

“We couldn’t keep him in the pocket,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. “The guy was like Houdini. He’s better than I thought he was.”

Detmer threw for 377 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night, which pushed him past San Diego State’s Todd Santos, whose 11,425 yardage total becomes a trivia question. With Detmer, it was only a matter of time.

The record came in unspectacular fashion. Needing three yards to surpass Santos, Detmer faded back on first-and-15 from the BYU 38 with 1:08 remaining in the second quarter. He settled into the pocket and threw to Matsuzaki, who ran a simple out pattern. Five yards later, Matsuzaki had a reception and Detmer had a record for the ages--or, at least, until the Houston Cougars find a quarterback who can play a full four seasons.

Gracious UCLA officials stopped the game ever so briefly, long enough for the Rose Bowl public address announcer to tell an audience of 61,542 that they had witnessed a special performance by a special quarterback.

Of course, things haven’t been quite so rosy in recent months. His dismal finish at 1990 season’s end has been well-documented. Interceptions galore, as well as several blowout losses.

The Cougars’ opener against No. 1-ranked Florida State wasn’t anything to write home to Provo about, either. Not only did BYU get beat, 44-28, but Detmer came under criticism for another so-so performance. Against the Seminoles, he completed 19 of 32 passes for an un-Detmer-like 229 yards. He threw two touchdowns, but he did so in the fourth quarter, long after the game had been decided.

But Saturday night was different; UCLA can attest to that.

Trailing by a touchdown midway through the first quarter, Detmer drove the Cougars to a field goal. The score would have been tied, but a sure scoring pass was dropped by running back Brad Clark. Detmer could do little more than grab his helmet in disbelief.

By the half, Detmer had completed 16 passes for 234 yards and kept BYU within 10 points, 20-10. His 19-yard scoring pass to Bryce Doman in third quarter cut UCLA’s lead to three points. And his touchdown pass with 2:20 left in the quarter gave the Cougars a short-lived lead.

UCLA moved ahead early in the fourth quarter, which meant Detmer would be asked to engineer yet another comeback. Much to the horror of the Bruins, he almost did it.

The deciding play was a fourth-and-seven from the UCLA 16-yard line. A mere 1:27 remained in the game. Detmer threw to the end zone, but cornerback Carl Greenwood batted down the pass. End of comeback.

Detmer grabbed his helmet once more and then confronted one of the officials. By his gestures, Detmer indicated there had been pass interference. The official disagreed.

“We had some mental errors at the beginning, then we settled down and got down to business,” Detmer said. “We had a lot of big plays that didn’t quite happen.”

So another game was lost by BYU, the Cougars’ second in as many tries. But if nothing else, Detmer won plenty of admirers back. Standing first in line would be the Bruins.