By SCOTT BELL
Almost lost in the hub-bub of Kevin Feterik's return Saturday against Tulsa was Brian McKenzie's big day.
Actually, the senior running back and the entire BYU rushing attack had a standout day. McKenzie rushed for a career-high 187 yards, the seventh highest total in BYU history.
As a team, the Cougars rushed for 296 yards, by far the highest total of the season. The rushing breakthrough eased Feterik's return considerably.
'Last week, we had no running game,' McKenzie said, 'so we wanted to show today that we do have a running game.'
The team's previous rushing high was 153 yards against Hawaii. Besides McKenzie, Jaron Dabney, Will Snowden and Aaron Cupp all made major contributions. Dabney, in particular, added some variety to the offense. The 5-foot-9-inch, 180-pound freshman carried the ball 7 times for 58 yards.
McKenzie's performance moved him into sixth on the BYU all-time rushing list with 1,726 career yards. He figures to stay in sixth. Fifth place is John Ogden, 1964-1966, with 2,366 yards.
McKenzie has 776 yards on the year with two games remaining, not counting possible post-season appearances.
'Last year it was me and Ronney (Jenkins),' McKenzie said. 'This year, everybody's been keying on me. Of course it's been harder, but I just run hard, and get what I can.'
BAD DREAMS: The hit that knocked Kevin Feterik out of Saturday's game did more than give him six stitches in his chin.
It also fulfilled a recurring nightmare of his.
'It was kind of a deja vu thing,' Feterik said. 'I dream about that kind of thing. I had that dream about five times over the past month so it was kind of weird.'
In Feterik's dream, a Tulsa player flattened him, knocking him out of the game. It was nearly identical to what happened in the fourth quarter.
'I was spinning; I didn't know what was going on,' Feterik said. 'But I could remember all the plays, so I knew it wasn't a concussion.'
MOOSE MOVED AGAIN: Dustin Johnson changed positions again Saturday, for the last time most likely.
Last year's starting fullback began the year at tight end, moved to fullback when Kalani Fifita-Sitake went down with a herniated disk in his back, and is now back to tight end full-time.
The tight end position has always been a key in the Cougar offense, producing such standouts as Clay Brown, Gordon Hudson, Chris Smith, Byron Rex, Chad Lewis and Itula Mili.
When Johnson moved to fullback, sophomore John Moala filled in as starting tight end. Moala has struggled, catching only three balls for 38 yards on the year.
With Johnson back in the tight end slot, BYU once again has a receiving threat that must be accounted for by opposing defenses. Johnson has 31 catches on the year for 380 yards.
Junior Aaron Cupp took over for Johnson in the fullback spot against Tulsa. In his first career start, Cupp was impressive. He carried the ball 5 times for 22 yards, and caught 4 passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.
INJURY UPDATE: Offensive lineman John Tait missed his second consecutive game with a high hamstring pull against Tulsa. Freshman Ben Archibald started both game's in Tait's place. Coaches say Tait should be ready to go against New Mexico this Saturday.
Backup linebacker Josh Lowe sustained a high ankle sprain against Tulsa. The freshman special teams player will miss the final two games of the season, but should be available if the Cougars advance to a bowl game.