#99 - 12/30/91 – 1991 Holiday Bowl: BYU – 13, #7 Iowa – 13

Ty Detmer
courtesy of BYU.fandom.com

        The BYU Cougars (8-3-1) faced the #7 Iowa Hawkeyes (10-1) in the 1991 Holiday Bowl. Although both teams had started the year ranked #19 and #18 respectively in the AP preseason poll, Iowa had remained a fixture in the poll the entire year, finally rising to #7. Their lone loss was to the #4 team in the nation - the Michigan Wolverines. That loss not only cost the Hawkeyes a shot at an undefeated season, it had also robbed them of the Big 10 Conference title and an invite to the Rose Bowl, where they could have theoretically been playing for the national championship. Instead, they had to settle for the much less lucrative Holiday Bowl. Meanwhile, the Cougars had dropped out of the polls early on, after starting 0-3 against ranked opponents: #1 Florida State, #23 UCLA & #12 Penn St. The Cougars had finally resurfaced at #23 following a seven game win streak, only to be dropped following a dramatic 52-52 tie game against SDSU, in which they secured the WAC title and an invite to the Holiday Bowl. Now, as the two teams prepared to square off in Jack Murphy Stadium (the site of the Cougars’ famous 52-52 duel in mid-November), the Hawkeyes were labeled as heavy favorites by pundits around the nation.

        The game started off as these experts would have expected. On its first possession, the Hawkeye offense marched down the field, capping a 74-yard drive with a 13-yard TD rush by Mike Saunders. The extra point, however, failed. The Cougars had some success moving the ball, but failed to score after driving deep into Iowa territory. On fourth-and-one, at the Iowa 11, Detmer sold a handoff that faked out just about everyone. Unfortunately, one of the few people in the stadium who wasn’t faked was the safety who deflected the ball out of the end zone. After one quarter of play, Iowa led 6-0.

        In the second quarter, Iowa added to its lead. Their controlled attack racked up 89 yards in 13 plays, with Saunders powering across the goal line for the score. The Cougars’ next drive penetrated the red zone again, but a penalty and a sack pushed them back. The ensuing FGA fell short. After an Iowa punt, the Cougars embarked on a 78-yard drive highlighted by a 43-yard pass to freshman Tim Nowatzke. With just under a minute remaining in the half, Detmer floated the ball over the middle to Peter Tuipulotu, who caught it in full stride for a 9-yard TD reception. As fate would have it, their extra point attempt failed as well. Iowa tried to sneak it one last score before halftime, but the Cougar D prevailed, leaving the score 13-6 Iowa at the half.

        The third quarter featured a long, 18-play, 65-yard drive by the Cougars. However, despite another thrust into the red zone, this drive fizzled with yet another missed field goal. In any case, throughout the quarter, defense was king, with neither team managing to put points up on the board.

        The fourth quarter began with another long Cougar drive. The drive almost came to another jarring end, but on third-and-22, back near midfield, Detmer felt the pocket collapsing and dumped the ball off to Jamal Willis in the backfield. Willis evaded 5 different tacklers as he scampered upfield, and was finally brought down at the 29-yard line, a few yards short of the first down. On fourth-and-four, rather than risk another failed FGA, the Cougars decided to go for it. As Detmer stood behind the line, he signaled to his receivers to change the play. Taking the snap, he stood in the pocket for a couple of breaths before launching a deep throw to the speedy Tyler Anderson, who outpaced the defenders for a 29-yard TD strike. Kauffman’s kick barely snuck inside the goalpost to tie the game at 13-13 with 11:36 to play. There was plenty of time left, but defense once again reigned supreme. BYU’s Tom Crutchfield intercepted an Iowa pass at the Cougar 39. The Cougars drove to the Hawkeye 24, but fumbled the ball back to Iowa. Iowa drove to the Cougar 23 and attempted to take the lead with a 40-yard FG. However, the attempt went wide right. Late in the game, Detmer led his troops to the Iowa 18, stopping the clock by running out of bounds with 0:26 remaining. Unfortunately, his next pass was deflected off of his intended receiver and intercepted by Iowa’s Carlos James. Iowa had 16 seconds to work with and moved up to their own 33. On the final play, Iowa QB Matt Rodgers threw up a Hail Mary that fell among a mass of Cougars and Hawkeyes to be batted away. Final score: Iowa - 13, BYU - 13.

Tyler Anderson
courtesy of BYU photo

Ty Detmer
courtesy of BYU photo

        In his final collegiate game, Ty Detmer managed to rally his troops from a double-digit deficit to an impressive tie against a heavily-favored team. Detmer was named the game’s offensive MVP after racking up 350 passing yards and 2 TDs. While those stats may seem somewhat pedestrian by Detmer’s standards, they are quite impressive when measured against his peers. Following his senior season, the All-American QB was named the winner of both the Sammy Baugh and the Davey O’Brien Awards as the nation’s best collegiate quarterback. But that only hints at Detmer’s success. Ty finished his college career as the holder of a whopping 64 NCAA records, including: 1,530 pass attempts, 958 completions, 15,031 passing yards, 121 touchdown passes, 14,665 yards of total offense, 1,795 total plays, 135 touchdowns responsible for, a 162.7 passer rating, 35 consecutive games with a TD pass and 24 consecutive games with 300+ passing yards. While the tie against SDSU had dropped the Cougars out of the Top 25, the tie against Iowa propelled them back in - finishing at #23. Iowa, meanwhile finished the year at #10.

Game link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZmR6PUaBNA