#87 - 11/25/89 – First WAC Championship in 4 years: #21 BYU - 48, SDSU - 27

         After stringing together ten straight WAC titles from 1976-1985, the #21 BYU Cougars (9-2) were in position to win their first WAC championship in four years. A win over the San Diego State Aztecs (6-4-1) would clinch the conference championship and secure the Holiday Bowl bid.

BYU got the ball first, but went three-and-out. The Aztecs marched down the field and scored on their first possession, with Curtis Butts smashing over the line from a yard out for the score. The Cougars responded quickly. QB Ty Detmer let loose a pass that Jeff Frandsen caught and ran all the way to pay dirt for a 67-yard TD reception. The Aztecs responded with another scoring drive. This time Ron Slack did the honors, rushing into the end zone from the Cougar 4. Detmer led the Cougars back into the Blue Zone, taking 4 plays to move 55 yards. From the Aztec 12, Detmer couldn’t find an open receiver, but saw an open lane and scrambled into the end zone for a 12-yard TD rush. Unfortunately, K Jason Chaffetz missed the PAT, breaking his record streak of 37 consecutive successful PATs. After one quarter, it was 14-13, Aztecs.

Jason Chaffetz

An Aztec fumble gave the Cougars good field position, but they failed to capitalize. Luckily, they got another chance after Byron Beatty downed the punt at the Aztec 1. A superb defensive stand, and shallow punt, gave the Cougars the ball back in Aztec territory. Detmer connected with Frandsen again for the score - this time for 27 yards. A two-point conversion to Matt Bellini gave them a 7-point lead. Late in the half, Bellini came through again, capping an 89-yard drive with a 3-yard TD rush. After another SDSU punt, BYU got the ball back with just over a minute left on the clock. The Cougars went into hurry-up mode. A 9-yard TD pass to Andy Boyce with 18 seconds remaining gave the Cougars a 35-14 halftime lead.

The Aztecs began the second half by flying down the field, going 83 yards in four plays - the fourth, a 32-yard TD pass to Tony Nettles from QB Dan McGwire. Midway through the third, the Aztecs drew closer with a 46-yard FG. Near the end of the quarter, an Aztec fumble on a fair catch set up the Cougars’ next score. Starting at the Aztec 19, the Cougars failed to secure a first down, and were going to attempt a field goal. However, a roughing-the-kicker call against SDSU gave the Cougs a fresh set of downs. They advanced to the 1-yard line, where Detmer scored on the keeper. 41-24 Cougars after three.

A 61-yard Aztec drive to start the fourth was capped by a 38-yard FG. The Cougars however went for the jugular on their next possession. Fred Whittingham busted free and out-raced the Aztecs to the end zone for a 34-yard TD rush. The Cougar D forced an Aztec punt on their next possession; then the Cougar Offense went to work running out the clock. The Aztecs didn’t have enough time left to forge a comeback, but they went for it anyway. A Cougar interception with less than a minute ended it - Cougars - 48, Aztecs - 27.

Moe Elewonibi's Outland Trophy
Legacy Hall

Ty Detmer threw for 327 yards in the contest to finish the regular season with 4,560 passing yards (3rd; 2nd best in NCAA history at the time) and 32 TD passes (T10th). Cougar OL Moe Elewonibi, who spent the whole season providing great pass protection for Detmer, was awarded the Outland Trophy for his efforts. With their 10th victory, the Cougars clinched their first WAC title in 4 years and rose to #19 (#15 UPI poll). In the Holiday Bowl, they lost to #18 Penn State, despite Detmer’s  record 576 passing yards (4th) in a bowl game (earning him co-MVP honors), and finished the season ranked #22.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cougar Centennial preview

 This blog is dedicated to highlighting the 100 greatest games in BYU Cougar football history. I've been a BYU fan since I was a little kid, and attended the university from 1992-1996. When I realized that 2022 was the 100th anniversary of BYU's first official football game, I decided to compile a list of the 100 greatest games in the program's history (from 1922-2021) and do a write-up for each of those games. I did something similar for the 50th anniversary of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and figured I'd share my efforts with other BYU fans out there. Throughout the blog, I will be referring to Top 25 (or Top 20 prior to the expansion of the polls) rankings of either BYU or the teams they played. I realize that there are a couple of major polls, and even a few less famous ones, but for consistency sake I've decided to use the AP poll as the official ranking (even though BYU tends to be appreciated more by the coaches' poll). Also, many posts refer to the...
Read more

#98 - 11/1/80 – Most points in a game: #17 BYU – 83, UTEP - 7

Image
Junior QB Jim McMahon didn’t like to share the limelight with anyone. Yet that is exactly what he’d had to do in Provo. When Jim arrived in 1977, he found himself the backup to Marc Wilson, who enjoyed a spectacular sophomore season. The next year, the two QBs shared time behind center. That didn’t work out so well, so McMahon redshirted in 1979 - Wilson’s senior season. The result was the first undefeated regular season in team history. Now, it was Jim’s turn, and he wanted to break every single one of Wilson’s records, as well as set a bunch of new ones. Unfortunately, the Cougars started the 1980 season with a surprise loss to lightly regarded New Mexico. The loss served as a wake-up call to BYU, who were universally picked to repeat as WAC champions. The Cougars rolled out six straight victories, including a 28-3 win over Wisconsin on Sept. 20. These were convincing wins - with a minimum margin of victory of 16+ points. However, the Cougs didn’t break into the Top 20 until Oct. 18,...
Read more

#100 12/28/74 – BYU's first Bowl game: Oklahoma St. - 16, #17 BYU – 6

Image
               When the BYU Cougars (7-3-1) started the 1974 season with a 0-3-1 record, nobody would have guessed that they’d come back and win the WAC. However, since their 3 losses were against non-conference schools, they successfully won the conference title with a 6-0-1 record by knocking off two ranked teams (Arizona & Arizona State). As the winner of the WAC, the Cougars were invited to their first bowl game, to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-5) of the Big 8 in the fourth annual Fiesta Bowl.                In the first quarter, the Cougar D corralled the Cowboys, forcing punts on each of the Cowboys first 5 possessions. The Cougar offense, meanwhile, moved the ball well early on. Senior QB Gary Sheide led the Cougars to the Cowboy 13, where Mark Uselman booted a 30-yard  field goal. Although they punted on their second possession, the Cougars took advantage of good field positi...
Read more