Night game (clear, 57°) at Jack Murphy Stadium (ESPN-56,737)
Detmer was never better even with a split cheek and facing a 45-17 deficit in the third quarter of a game in which BYU was playing without two of its top three cornerbacks.
Detmer and freshman running back Jamal Willis propelled the Cougars to a 52-52 tie, which assured BYU of at least a tie for the WAC title and of a bowl berth.
Ironically, Detmer broke three NCAA records which had been held by the Aztecs' Todd Santos--for career plays, completions and attempts.
David Lowery took advantage of BYU's secondary problems in completing 26 of 39 passes for 568 yards and five touchdowns.
Freshman Darnay Scott caught eight passes for 243 yards on a night when then the Aztecs' largest crowd ever (56,737) saw the home team take a 35-17 halftime lead. But Detmer led the Cougars to 35 points in the final 16 and a half minutes to provide the highest scoring tie in NCAA history. BYU is now 7-3-1(6-0-1).