55. 9/25/76 – Last Second win over Conference Rival: BYU – 23, Arizona - 16

             When the BYU Cougars (1-1) headed south to play the Arizona Wildcats (1-1), both teams knew it would be a key game in determining who would win the WAC. After all, in the previous 3 seasons, the Wildcats had finished as conference co-champion once, and runner up twice. For their part, the Cougars had won their first conference championship in 1974, and were poised to win their second.

            Senior RB Jeff Blanc pounded the Wildcat line for 41 yards in 6 consecutive running plays to carry the Cougars into field goal range on their first drive. Dave Taylor booted a 36-yarder for the game’s first points. When Arizona took over, the Cougar D forced a fumble deep in Wildcat territory and Steve Dewey pounced on it for a turnover. Although three more Blanc rushes only produced 6 yards, the Cougars doubled their score when Taylor popped a 38-yard FG through the uprights. Arizona crossed into Cougar territory on the ensuing drive, but once again the Cougars came up with a big stop outside of FG range - or so they thought. Arizona’s Lee Pistor nailed a 53-yard FG to cut the Cougars’ lead in half. The Cougars responded my marching to the Wildcat 20. From there, Junior QB Gifford Nielsen, nicknamed the “Mormon Rifle,” fired the ball to Brian Billick for a 20-yard TD strike, giving BYU a 13-3 lead after one period of play.

            In the second quarter, the Wildcats punted the ball to the Cougar 31, where Blanc fumbled the return, turning the ball over to Arizona. From there, QB Jim Krohn fired a 31-yard TD pass to Charles Nash, cutting the lead down to three again. Late in the second, the Cougars blocked a 27-yard FG attempt that would have tied the game. Instead, Nielsen and company orchestrated their longest drive of the afternoon, slogging 63 yards in 13 plays to the Arizona 20. With 3 ticks remaining in the half, Taylor nailed his third FG of the half - a 39-yarder that put BYU up by six at halftime.

            Arizona started the second half with a 77-yard march that resulted in a 20-yard FG by Pistor. From there, the field conditions deteriorated quickly. Playing in a torrential rainstorm, both teams struggled to move the ball for the rest of the game.

Nevertheless, after more sloppy play early in the fourth, Arizona took advantage of good field position to march into FG range. They tied the game at 16-16 courtesy of a 39-yard FG with just over four minutes to go. When BYU was obliged to punt, it appeared that they were booting away any chance at victory in order to preserve a tie. With 1:05 remaining, Arizona just needed to get into FG range to set up a victory. However, the Cougar D only allowed a net gain of one yard in three plays, forcing Arizona to punt. The punt was shanked, and rolled out of bounds at the Wildcat 43. With 14 seconds remaining, the Cougars found themselves with time for one or two plays. Trying to make something something, Gifford Nielsen scrambled right, eluding two tacklers as he headed for the sidelines while scanning the field for an open target. As he was being pushed out of bounds, Nielsen heaved a desperation pass in the direction of George Harris. Harris corralled it and tumbled into the end zone for the game-winning TD with 3 seconds left.

Gifford Nielsen
Courtesy of BYU Photo

The win sparked the Cougars' march to their second WAC title. BYU finished the season with a 9-2 record, including a 6-1 record in the WAC, which tied them with Wyoming for the conference championship, and earned them an invite to the Tangerine Bowl, where they fell to #14 Oklahoma State.