#82 - 11/3/73 – Jay Miller's record setting day – BYU – 56, New Mexico – 21

         The BYU Cougars (1-5) got off to a bad start in Coach Edwards’ second year at the helm; in what would ultimately be the only losing season during LaVell’s Hall of Fame career. Luckily, the Cougars started to turn things around when they hosted the New Mexico Lobos (2-5). The turn-about had a lot to do with the Gary Sheide-Jay Miller connection that was beginning to gel as the Cougars began transforming from a running offense to a passing attack. In those days, most offenses were based on the run; but Coach Edwards recognized that BYU’s best years were during the Virgil Carter-Phil Odle years, when BYU relied heavily on the pass. He realized that if BYU was going to be successful, they’d have to do something different from the others teams; so he hired Dewey Warren, a former All-American QB at Tennessee, with the nickname “The Swamp Rat,” to be his quarterback coach, and gave him free reign to draw up a playbook full of passing plays. Of course in 1972, they had to work with what they had, which was a big running back named Pete Van Valkenburg. Ironically “Fleet” Pete led the nation in rushing in 1972, since the quarterbacks on the roster weren’t your prototypical passers. But in the offseason, the Cougars picked up a junior college kid named Gary Sheide (described as a Joe Namath clone) who was a perfect fit to implement the Swamp Rat’s playbook. WR Jay Miller was already on the roster, but had only racked up 30 receiving yards his first year with the Cougars. However, with Sheide behind the line, he more than doubled that total in his first game of the 1973 season. By the time New Mexico came to town, Miller already had 2 100+ receiving yard games under his belt, including 193 against Iowa State. He’d also tied Phil Odle’s school record with 14 receptions against Arizona State. As it turns out, those were just warm-ups for the New Mexico game.

        On the Cougars’ first drive, the Lobos stopped the drive at the Cougar 26, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave thema fresh set of downs. Sheide took advantage of the penalty, leading the Cougars to the Lobo 33. From there, he let loose, connecting with Miller on a 33-yard TD pass. Unfortunately, they missed the extra point. After swapping punts, Dave Atkinson intercepted a Lobo pass and ran it back to the Lobo 29. Four plays later, Sheide completed a 13-yard TD pass to Wayne Bower. This time the Cougars went for two, but once again failed to convert. Before the quarter ended, New Mexico organized an 80-yard drive, with Ben Turner scoring with a 3-yard rush. After one quarter, BYU led 12-7.

        Early in the second, BYU capped a 73-yard drive with a short 2-yard TD pass to Bower. Near the end of the half, a good punt return set them up at the Lobo 30 after being penalized 15 yards for clipping. Three plays later, Sheide connected with Bower again for a record-tying third TD reception - this time for seven yards. The Lobos went to the air in an attempt to conserve time and were intercepted again, this time by Mike Russell. On third-and-eleven, at the Lobo 17, and 0:24 remaining on the clock, Sheide went back to Miller, whose 17-yard TD reception gave the Cougars a 33-7 halftime lead.

        In the third, defense asserted itself on both sides of the field, forcing punts and turnovers. BYU did manage a long 76-yard drive, but turned the ball over on downs at the Lobo 5.

Jay Miller
Courtesy of BYU Photo
        Early in the fourth, Mike Russell intercepted another pass, at the Lobo 30, and ran it back to the Lobo 5. On their first three tries, the Cougars failed to score. On fourth down, with less than a yard to go, Sheide dove over the line for the score. The Cougars next drive went for 64 yards, with Rand Litchfield completing the drive by booting a 31-yard FG. With 5:41 remaining, the Cougars completed a 41-yard TD drive when Sheide and Miller continued their record-setting performances with a 6-yard TD pass. The game was already well out of reach when New Mexico finally scored again on a 5-yard TD pass from Troy Williams to Ken Lege. With the BYU reserves playing out the final minutes, BYU came back and scored on a 34-yard pass from Rand Litchfield to Dave Affleck with 1:15 remaining. With nothing to lose, New Mexico drove into Cougar territory. On the last play of the game, Williams threw up a long pass, which Paul Labarrere caught for a 38-yard TD. Final score: 56-21.

Wayne Bower
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Gary Sheide
Courtesy of BYU Photo

In the blowout, Jay Miller set an NCAA record with 22 receptions (1st), and BYU records of 263 receiving yards (9th), and 3 TD receptions (T5th). By year’s end, Miller would lead the nation with Cougar records of 100 receptions (T2nd) and 1,181 receiving yards (5th). WR Wayne Bower also recorded 3 TD receptions (T5th) in the contest. Gary Sheide set BYU records with 32 completions and 6 TD passes (T4th) in the game. He would finish the season with Cougar records of 2,350 passing yards, 22 TD passes, 177 completions and a .602 completions %. On defense, the Cougars snagged 5 interceptions, including a record-tying 3 interceptions (T1st) by Mike Russell. The Cougars would win three of their final four games, finishing with a 5-6 record - their only losing season during the Edwards Era. On the bright side, with each game, the Cougars were getting more comfortable with their new offense. And even though Jay Miller, beset by injuries, would only play 4 more games following the 1973 season, Sheide and his growing cadre of receivers would finally win a second WAC championship for the Cougars in 1974.

 

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