He may have had the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl XLIV, but for Austin Collie and the Indianapolis Colts, it was too little, too late as the New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl on Sunday, 31-17.

Collie, the rookie NFL wide receiver from BYU, finished with six catches for 66 yards in his first Super Bowl. His 40-yard catch from Peyton Manning came on the drive after Manning threw an interception to Tracy Porter, which Porter returned 74 yards for a touchdown to give New Orleans a 31-17 lead with just over three minutes to go.

The 40-yard catch, the game's longest play, put the Colts at the Saints 30 at the two-minute warning. But Indianapolis couldn't score on the drive after getting inside the Saints' 5-yard line. After stopping Indianapolis on downs, the Saints' Drew Brees used a kneel-down to end the game.

Though Collie and the Colts came up short, it was a successful first postseason for the rookie wideout. In three playoff games, Collie had 17 receptions for 241 yards and two touchdowns, one against the Baltimore Ravens and another two weeks ago against the N.Y. Jets in the AFC Championship game.

Collie made his presence felt early in the game, coming up with a grab on the Colts' first drive of the game. On a third-and-7 in Saints territory, Collie took a pass over the middle from Manning 14 yards for an Indianapolis first down. The Colts finished the drive with a 38-yard field goal by Matt Stover.

The rookie didn't make his next catch until the third quarter, as New Orleans used a time-consuming offensive attack to take the Colts' offense out of rhythm. Collie added a two-yard reception during a touchdown drive in the third, when the Colts regained the lead at 17-16 after falling behind 16-10.

Later in the third, Collie came up with three catches for 10 yards on a drive that extended into the fourth quarter. On the next-to-last play of the drive, a long third down, Manning tried to hit Collie over the middle near the end zone. But Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma had the inside track to the ball and Collie was forced to knock the ball away. On the next down, Stover missed a 51-yard field goal that would have put the Colts up by four.

Another former Cougar, safety Aaron Francisco, also played for the Colts in Sunday night's Super Bowl. A key contributor on special teams, Francisco made the first tackle of the night when he took down Courtney Roby on the opening kickoff. Francisco also made a tackle of Reggie Bush on a punt return right before halftime.

It's the second year in a row Francisco has played on the losing team in the Super Bowl, as he and the Arizona Cardinals fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 in the title game last season.