Pochman kicked a field goal to tie the WAC championship game as time expired in regulation and then a 32-yarder in overtime Saturday as BYU escaped with a 28-25 win over Wyoming to keep its hopes for a possible Fiesta or Sugar Bowl invitation alive.
"We should be going somewhere," BYU coach LaVell Edwards said. "Certainly we deserve to be one of those teams."
But BYU did not receive a Bowl Alliance bid yesterday. The school will play in the Cotton Bowl against Kansas State on New Year's Day.
With representatives from all three alliance bowls on hand to watch, BYU (13-1) sputtered early and then had to come from behind in a game that wasn't as pretty as its typical Western Athletic Conference ending suggested.
Whether it was enough to get BYU an invitation to one of the big bowls wasn't known until Sunday, but WAC commissioner Karl Benson wasted no time in arguing the case for the Cougars.
"It's not based on who deserves it, the system calls for who's attractive (to the television networks)," Benson said. "I'm confident with what we displayed today the WAC champion meets all their criteria: a premier player, a legendary coach, tradition and fan support. BYU delivers all those."
BYU was one tick of the clock - no ticks, according to Tiller - from not even being in the running for a major bowl, calling time out just before the game clock expired after Mark Atuaia bobbled a pass and fell at the three-yard-line.
"The game was over," Tiller said, arguing that timeout wasn't called in time. "It's really a shame."
Pochman then stepped up and kicked a 20-yard field goal through the uprights to send the game into overtime, where he won it on BYU's first possession.
It was an improbable situation for the first-year kicker, a former soccer player who was a walk-on this season.
"I was less nervous than I've been all season," Pochman said. "It's every kicker's dream to win a game with a field goal."
If not for a decision by Tiller, likely coaching his last game at Wyoming, to take a voluntary safety with Wyoming leading 25-20 late in the game and punting out of its own end zone, the Cougars would have had to score a touchdown in regulation to win the game.
But Tiller defended his call, saying he thought it would give punter Aaron Langley a chance to get the ball beyond midfield, where he thought Wyoming could stop BYU.
"It's one of those strange calls but I really think it was a no-brainer," Tiller said. "It was a good strategic decision."