BYU cornerback Andre Saulsberry celebrates amid a throng of fans after the Cougars defeated Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium on Thursday night. Photo by K.M. Cannon. BYU tight end Jonny Harline beats Oregon's J.D. Nelson to the end zone on a 41-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of the Cougars' 38-8 win in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium on Thursday night. Harline, the game MVP, finished with nine receptions for 181 yards. Photo by K.M. Cannon. Cougars running back Curtis Brown (6) scores on a 4-yard run in the third quarter for his second rushing touchdown of the game. Photo by Craig L. Moran. BYU cornerback Justin Robinson breaks up a pass intended for Oregon receiver Jaison Williams. Robinson had two interceptions. Photo by K.M. Cannon. BYU linebacker Russell Tialavea (51) tries to drag down Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart in the second quarter. Photo by Craig L. Moran. Fans rush the field to celebrate BYU's Las Vegas Bowl victory, the Cougars' first bowl win since the 1996 season. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Maybe Oregon coach Mike Bellotti was right: Brigham Young wouldn't be "a middle-level" Pacific-10 Conference team.

The Cougars looked much better than that Thursday night in drubbing the Ducks 38-8 to win the Las Vegas Bowl before a crowd of 44,615, the largest in Sam Boyd Stadium history.

"If we're a mid-level Pac-10 team, I don't know what that says about their team," BYU tailback Curtis Brown said. "We're just out there to win games and go out there to play hard. You can talk all you want, but I think a 38-8 score speaks for itself."

The victory capped a return to dominance for the 19th-ranked Cougars. The Mountain West Conference champions finished 11-2, not only winning but winning big -- by an average score of 37-15.

"What the players have done for the program this year is just establish a whole different mind-set now of what's possible," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I don't think this team will be satisfied just with this."

BYU pounded Oregon (7-6), which was ranked as high as No. 11 this season but finished with four consecutive losses.

The Cougars seemed to take out their frustrations on the Ducks.

Just a day before, Bellotti -- whose Ducks tied three teams for fifth place in the conference -- said the Cougars wouldn't be even a mediocre Pac-10 team.

He didn't back off Thursday, even after what appeared to be convincing evidence to the contrary.

"We didn't play like a mid-level Pac-10 team, either," Bellotti said. "But, no, my feeling has not changed."

The Cougars insisted they were unaware of Bellotti's comments, and BYU quarterback John Beck said they were unimportant anyway.

"Right now, I could care less," Beck said. "I'm just happy that we won."

The Mountain West has held its own in this bowl, splitting the six meetings with the Pac-10.

"All week long, (the coaches) kept reminding us how much we were being disrespected because of what conference we play in, and that they thought they were a superior team from a better conference," said Cougars cornerback Justin Robinson, who had two interceptions.

BYU showed its superiority in just about every way.

Beck broke his own Las Vegas Bowl record with 375 yards passing while throwing for two touchdowns and running for another.

Brown rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

Tight end Jonny Harline, the game's Most Valuable Player, caught nine passes for a bowl-record 181 yards. His 41-yard score with 1:50 left in the first half put the Cougars ahead 17-0.

BYU's defense, meanwhile, held the Ducks, who led the Pac-10 with 436.8 yards per game, to 260 yards. They avoided the shutout when quarterback Dennis Dixon completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Paysinger with 10:27 left.

In trying to play two quarterbacks (Dixon and Brady Leaf), Oregon essentially wound up with none. They combined to complete 16 of 34 passes for 166 yards and two interceptions.

It all added up to BYU's first bowl victory since the 1996 season.

"There's going to be a championship ring on all our fingers in a couple of months that no one can take away," Beck said. "And there's a bowl trophy that no one can take away that's going to be on that campus forever, and it's part of this team."