#89 - 12/17/77 & 12/24/77 - The Silk Bowl: #17 BYU - 61, Eastern All-Stars (Japan) - 13; #17 BYU - 71, Western All-Stars (Japan) - 0

        On 11/26/77, BYU claimed its second straight WAC title with a 68-19 win over UTEP. However, BYU declined to play in the Fiesta Bowl, despite being conference champions, because it would be played on Sunday. Instead, co-champion Arizona State got the Fiesta Bowl bid. Rather than end their season without any post-season competition, the #17 Cougars (9-2) flew to Japan to play a pair of Japanese All-Star teams as part of a Goodwill Tour. As part of the festivities, BYU player Gary Peterson was invited to participate in a Sumo wrestling competition. Peterson won his match in an unconventional manner - picking up the other wrestler and setting him outside the ring. The pair of games the Cougars played against the Japanese All-Stars received the unofficial moniker “The Silk Bowl.”

Courtesy of deseret.com

        Despite using their offensive stars for only half of the game, the Cougars won the first game 61-13, in Tokyo, against the Eastern All-Stars. It took 37 seconds for the Cougars to score: RB Scott Phillips ran 48 yards to the Japan 3-yard line, and FB Todd Christensen punched it in for the first of 9 Cougar TDs.

        In the second game, held in Nagoya, the Cougars scored 49 first half points en route to a 71-0 win over the Western All-Star team. Bill Ring was named Player of the Game after returning 6 punts for 121 yards, including a punt returned for a touchdown, and rushing for another TD while netting 262 total yards.

        Following the second game, BYU players had to hustle to make their flight home. Because they crossed the International Date Line on the long flight home, they made it home on Christmas Eve (the same “day” they’d played Game 2). Despite the pair of unofficial blowout wins, pollsters were not impressed. BYU dropped to #20 in the final AP poll.

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