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Provo • Leave it to senior receiver Devon Blackmon to sum up what BYU players, coaches and fans have gone through this season after the Cougars pulled out another nail-biter late Friday night by stopping San Jose State's two-point conversion attempt with 45 seconds remaining at Spartan Stadium.
"Our BYU fans, including our coaches, are probably going to have 20 years off our life span because each game that we play is like a heart attack," Blackmon said after the 17-16 win. "We go through every emotion each game. … You can just imagine how I was feeling, actually being a player on the field. But I knew we were going to pull it off."
The Cougars (7-2) escaped when SJSU coach Ron Caragher opted to go for two and the win after quarterback Kenny Potter's 6-yard touchdown run capped an 85-yard drive. On the two-point play, Potter handed the ball to star tailback Tyler Ervin, who tried to throw a pass.
BYU safety Michael Wadsworth did enough to flash in front of the receiver, and the ball fell incomplete. The Cougars still had to withstand an onside kick before it could leave with a one-point win.
Mistakes, costly penalties and an SJSU pick-six that changed the complexion of the game almost amounted to what would have been one of the more embarrassing losses of coach Bronco Mendenhall's era.
"I think we got in our own way a little bit with the interception for a touchdown, and a few key penalties down the stretch," Mendenhall said. "And then San Jose State, with all the different tricks and gadgets and misdirections, and a really good tailback, they were able to just kind of hang in there."
And almost win.
Caragher said he went for two because his team had momentum, "and I wanted to deliver the knockout punch. It was a good play, and I thought it would work the way Tyler [Ervin] commands so much attention. We went for the win. We didn't get it."
Mendenhall, who went for two three years ago at Boise State in a similar situation, but with more time on the clock, said he would have done the same thing as Caragher did, and told the coach as much when they shook hands after the game.
"I know they are disappointed, but it was the right thing," Mendenhall said. "It was the right message to their team. It was the right message for their program. It was the right call, and they almost pulled it off."
The Cougars held Ervin, the third-leading rusher in the country, to 80 yards on 23 carries.
But BYU's offense struggled mightily after scoring touchdowns on its first two drives, a 4-yard pass from Tanner Mangum to Mitch Mathews and a 5-yard run by Algie Brown. The Cougars scored just three points the rest of the way, and finished with just 329 yards.
"It became clear even at the end of the first half that this game was going to be one of those that they are going to be sticky, and they are going to be there," Mendenhall said of the way the 4-5 Spartans hung around. "As much as I didn't want that, that is what it is going to be."
The Cougars were at less than full strength on the offensive line, and rushed for 36 yards on 25 attempts.
Mendenhall suspended starting center Tejan Koroma for disciplinary reasons, while guards Ului Lapuaho and Kyle Johnson missed the game due to injuries and tackle Ryker Mathews played sparingly. Inside receiver Terenn Houk left the game in the first half with concussion-like symptoms. The coach said Koroma's suspension is for one game only and expects most, if not all, of the injured linemen to be back Saturday for the showdown with Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
"I think [the injuries] that showed up in our inability to run the ball effectively," Mendenhall said. "And there were critical holding penalties on the O-line, and they got some pressure on us. No question, the offensive line we were playing with today [was not optimal]. I credit them for playing hard. We have some players out, and that is part of it."
It might not have been a close game if not for a huge swing before halftime. The Cougars almost scored on a 41-yard throw to Mathews in the end zone with less than a minute remaining until halftime.
On the next play, SJSU defensive back Cleveland Wallace III stepped in front of a Mangum pass and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown.
"It was my fault," Mangum said. "[Mitchell] Juergens did a good job of settling his route to avoid the cover-two corner. I just threw it. I thought he was going to keep running his route. … It was my fault. Juergs did the right thing."
Defensively, linebacker Fred Warner led the Cougars with two sacks and a fumble recovery and Wadsworth recorded 10 tackles.
Twitter: @drewjay