19. 12/18/81 – Back-to-back Holiday Bowl wins: #14 BYU – 38, #20 Washington St. - 36

            One year after the Cougars’ first every bowl win, they returned to the Holiday Bowl. This time the #14 BYU Cougars (10-2) were matched up against the #20 Washington State Cougars (8-2-1). BYU was led by senior All-American QB Jim McMahon, who won both the Davey O’Brien and Sammy Baugh Awards as the best quarterback in the nation. Washington State was powered by RB Tim Harris, who racked up 915 rushing yards on the season. In the first ever match-up between the two universities, the eyes of the West were on San Diego to see which brand of Cougar would emerge victorious.

            The first break of the game was in favor of BYU, who recovered their own fumble deep in their own territory on the opening drive. Although they ended up punting, they kept Washington St. from converting a turnover into an early lead. BYU began their third possession at their own 39-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, BYU called for a trick play. McMahon pitched the ball back to tailback Scott Pettis. Pettis took a couple of steps, then pulled up and threw a pass to TE Gordon Hudson, who barreled his way to the Washington State 35-yard line. On the very next play, McMahon threw a long pass to Dan Plater, who caught it and fell into the end zone for the first score of the game. Near the end of the first quarter, Washington State was driving, but LB Mike O’Neil intercepted a pass and brought it back to the BYU 47.

            As the second quarter began, McMahon threw a bullet to Hudson, who scampered all the way to the Washington  St. 12-yard line for a 25 yard gain. On third-and-6, from the Washington 7, McMahon connected with Hudson again, just over the goal line. Hudson was nailed right as he caught it, but managed to hold on for BYU’s second TD of the evening. BYU suffered a three-and-out on their next possession. Unfortunately, the punt was blocked, and Washington State took over at the BYU 24-yard line. After pounding their way to the BYU 2-yard line, Ricky Turner swept right and leapt into the end zone for Washington State’s first points.  Starting at their own 13, McMahon methodically led BYU up the field. Twelve plays later, they made it inside the five yard line, but faced fourth-and-goal. Playing it safe, Coach Edwards sent out Kurt Gunther to kick a 20-yard FG. On their next drive, BYU moved quickly up the field. Once BYU penetrated inside the 10, however, the WSU defense stiffened. A controversial pass-interference call, however, gave BYU an extra set of downs at the WSU 1-yard line. It took three tries, but RB Waymon Hamilton finally found a gap and plowed into the end zone. At halftime, BYU held a comfortable 24-7 lead.

1981 Holiday Bowl
Courtesy of Bleacherreport.com

Washington State started with the ball to begin the third, but on the third play, DB Tom Holmoe (who later became BYU's athletic director) intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a TD. With a 24 point lead, Cougar fans weren’t sure how to act. Never before had BYU held such a large lead in a bowl game. Unfortunately, Washington State soon put them back into familiar territory by scoring on three straight possessions. First, Don LaBomme scored on an 18-yard rush, followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Pat Beach. Next, Ricky Turner pitched the ball to Robert Williams, who ran it in from five yards out. This time the 2-point conversion failed. On the next possession, Turner kept the ball himself, bouncing off a couple of BYU Cougars before stumbling into the end zone. After three quarters of play, BYU’s lead was down to three - 31-28.

McMahon went to work with less than a minute remaining in the third, and was almost picked off on the first play. He was sacked on second down, losing 2 yards. On the third play, though, he found Hudson open. The tight end caught it and dashed all the way to the WSU 38 for a 45-yard gain. Another first down pass to Hudson put BYU at WSU’s 11. From there, McMahon looked for his other favorite target, Scott Pettis, leading him into the left side of the end zone with an 11-yard TD pass. After punts by both teams, Washington State again started with good field position at midfield, with more than 9 minutes to work with. Washington State marched deep into BYU territory when a BYU penalty placed them at the 1 1/2 yard line with first and goal. It took them three tries as well, but Mike Martin finally pounded through the line for a TD. A 2-point conversion on the keeper narrowed Blue’s lead to two points with five minutes remaining. A quarterback sack on third down forced BYU to punt yet again. WSU almost blocked the punt, but a BYU Cougar laid down a block at the last instant. This time, BYU’s Defense rose to the occasion, forcing Washington State to punt with 3:02 remaining. McMahon fumbled the ball in BYU territory, but managed to pick it up and scramble for the first down, allowing BYU to run out the clock.

1981 Holiday Bowl Trophy
BYU's Legacy Hall

The win was the second ever bowl victory for BYU. With the win, the Cougars finished the season ranked #13. McMahon was drafted by the Chicago Bears, with the 5th overall pick - the highest pick ever by a BYU footballer. Many Cougar fans wondered how they could possibly replace McMahon behind center. After all, his backup was a relatively unknown player named Steve Young.

 Game link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aghv8ttKxzg