PROVO, Utah (AP) -- After celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first bowl team at BYU, LaVell Edwards gave an inspirational speech to his current Cougars squad.

Touched by his words, the Cougars (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) went out and beat Air Force 27-20 Saturday for his 250th career victory.

	BYU freshman running back Luke Staley had a pair of TDs Saturday, extending his scoring streak to seven games.

"I'm inspired by the guy," said linebacker Rob Morris. "He's one of the greatest men I have ever met. He deserves this win."

The previous night, Edwards attended a banquet honoring the 1974 BYU team that won the Western Athletic Conference and went to the Fiesta Bowl. It was the first of Edwards' 18 WAC champions and 21 bowl teams.

"That was the group of kids that totally changed the direction of my life and the direction of our football program," he said. "We started 0-3-1 and won seven or eight in a row. They were the first bowl team in school history."

"I hadn't really accomplished anything yet," Edwards said. "To see all those guys reminded me where we've been. It was an emotional night."

After the banquet, Edwards returned to the team hotel and delivered a pep talk to his 1999 squad.

"He told us how much it meant for that (1974) team to win, how important chemistry is," said quarterback Kevin Feterik, who completed 24 of 31 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns against Air Force. "It was a great speech. I was really inspired by it."

Edwards, in his 28th year, improved his career record to 250-92-3. He needs five victories to tie former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne for sixth place on the all-time Division I list.

Feterik was 14-of-15 for 188 yards in the first half for the Cougars (7-1, 4-0), who remained the only unbeaten team in the Mountain West Conference.

With Air Force (4-3, 1-3) trailing 27-10 late in the fourth quarter, Jeff Felton forced a fumble by BYU's Jeron Dabney, scooped it up and returned it 30 yards to the Cougars' 10.

Two plays later, Scotty McKay scored on a 7-yard run with 3:30 to play. Air Force recovered the ensuing onside kick and marched downfield for a 32-yard field goal by Jackson Whiting to pull within 27-20 with 2:37 remaining.

Falcons coach Fisher DeBerry opted to go deep on the next kickoff and the defense held, but Charlie Jackson was penalized for roughing BYU punter Jesse Sowards.

Air Force, traditionally one of the most disciplined teams in the nation, was penalized seven times for 62 yards. After Jackson's penalty, DeBerry threw his hat to the turf and scowled at his defense.

"BYU has a very outstanding football team," DeBerry said. "They did the things necessary to win. Unfortunately, we had some calls that did not go for us and we were our own worst enemy."

The automatic first down helped BYU run one minute off the clock. The Falcons, with no timeouts, got a final opportunity with 16 seconds remaining but couldn't get past midfield.

Feterik had a great first half. Relying largely on dump passes and screens, he completed his first 10 passes and had a 14-yard touchdown pass to Luke Staley as BYU led 17-7 at the break.

"We knew they were not a man (coverage) team. We knew it would be all zone, so we did some things with it," Feterik said. "The flats were open early in the game and then the balls over the middle started coming."

One of those came on Feterik's second TD, which included a scary moment.

Feterik threw to Margin Hooks at the Air Force 37, and defenders Tony Metters and Wes Glisson converged. The collision knocked both Falcons to the turf but Hooks kept his balance and outran three other Falcons to the end zone for a 57-yard play that made it 27-10 with 10:18 remaining.

Metters was briefly unconscious and lay on the field 12 minutes before being placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. He was taken to a hospital for a precautionary neurological examination.

"Right now, he's the most important thing on our football team," DeBerry said. "It puts the game, very clearly, in perspective."

Early in the second half, Glisson blocked a punt to give the Falcons the ball at BYU's 7. Because of a roughing-the-kicker penalty against BYU, Air Force got two possessions to score but couldn't put the ball in the end zone.

"That goal-line stand tells the story of our defense this year," said linebacker Rob Morris. "We know how to suck it up and if we do, good things happen."

The Falcons misfired on their three first-quarter possessions.

Mike Thiessen was intercepted by Dustin Staley on Air Force's third play from scrimmage. Later, the Falcons drove to the BYU 3 before Nathan Beard fumbled. On the next series, a holding penalty nullified McKay's 70-yard TD run.