3.9/8/90 – BYU defeats #1 Miami: #16 BYU – 28, #1 Miami - 21

             The defending champion Miami Hurricanes (0-0), led by senior QB Craig Erickson, swaggered into Provo for their season opener with a #1 preseason ranking and dreams of winning back-to-back national titles. The #16 ranked BYU Cougars (1-0) had never played the #1 ranked team in the nation before. The Cougars’ hopes of pulling off a stunning upset were in the hands of junior QB Ty Detmer and a cadre of receivers with below average speed, but excellent hands. With both quarterbacks listed on the Heisman watch list, the national media predicted that the game would be an air show, and it didn’t disappoint.

            On the Cougars’ opening drive, the Hurricane Defense forced a fumble, and took over near midfield. For its part, the Cougar Defense tamed the Hurricane, forcing a three-and-out courtesy of two sacks. On BYU’s second drive, Detmer led the Cougars deep into Hurricane territory before they coughed it up again at the 21. This time, the Hurricane running backs pummeled the Cougar D. Alex Johnson burst through the line for 40 yards, delivering the ball to the Cougar 20-yard line. Several plays later, RB Stephen McGuire rumbled into the end zone from 6 yards out for the first score of the game.

            In the second quarter, Detmer engineered a long drive from his own 40-yard line. *On the final play of the drive, Detmer calmly surveyed the field, looking for an open receiver as his offensive line tried to hold the Hurricanes at bay. As a tackler tried to corral him, Ty slipped out of his grasp, side-stepped another defender as he scrambled to his left and spotted WR Matt Bellini open in the end zone. The pass sailed over the defender’s head into the waiting arms of Bellini for a 14-yard TD (#22). On their next drive, the gutsy Detmer took a shot that made a bloody gash in his chin that required several stitches, yet somehow managed to complete the pass for a first down to the Miami 10-yard line. The Hurricane stiffened, denying the Cougars entrance into the end zone, but kicker Earl Kauffman gave BYU the lead with a 32-yard FG. The next several possessions were marked by big defensive hits and turnovers by both teams. After recovering the ball in Cougar territory, Miami took advantage of the short field to take the lead on a 2-yard rush by McGuire. With only a 1:48 to work with, the Cougars began their final drive of the half at their own 26-yard line. After marching up the field, to the Miami 25, Detmer found RB Mike Salido with a pass up the middle that placed the ball inside the 2-yard line with 14 ticks remaining. A short pass to Andy Boyce in the back corner of the end zone gave the Cougars a 17-14 lead as they headed to the locker room.

NCAA Player of the Week - Ty Detmer
Courtesy of BYU Photo

            After being held to only 51 passing yards in the first half, Erickson came out throwing to begin the second half. Driving 80 yards to the Cougar 5-yard line, Leonard Conley punctuated the drive with a sweep to the left, putting Miami in front again and temporarily quieting the record-breaking crowd of 66,235 screaming fans. On the ensuing drive, the Cougars drove the ball to the Miami 10-yard line, but couldn’t quite complete the drive. Instead, they settled for a 29-yard FG that pulled them within one point, 21-20. On the next drive, Erickson led the Canes to midfield. On fourth-and-one, DT Rich Kaufusi tackled the Miami running back for a loss, giving the Cougars excellent field position. After leading the Cougars to the Miami 8-yard line, *Ty Detmer took the hike and drifted back to the twelve. Two Hurricanes converged on him from either end, so he stepped back to avoid being pancaked in their head-on collision. Dancing around the backfield, Ty finally spotted an open receiver and heaved the ball into the end zone as a Category-5 Hurricane surged forward to engulf him. Mike Salido streaked across the middle of the end zone to snare the pass, giving BYU a 26-21 lead (#7). Detmer then connected with Matt Bellini for the 2-point conversion, giving the Cougars a 28-21 lead with one quarter to go.

Mike Salido
Courtesy of BYU Photo

The fourth quarter was dominated by the defenses. Erickson drove the Canes to the Cougar 16, but then fumbled the ball, and the Cougars recovered. Later, Miami forced BYU to fumble and recovered the ball near midfield. This time, after leading Miami to the Cougar 13, Erickson went for the end zone, even though Ervin Lee was sticking to the Hurricane receiver like butter. *Lee stuck his hand up to deflect the ball, then dove and grabbed it before it hit the ground keeping Miami from potentially tying the game (#41). On Miami’s next drive, kept alive by their third fourth down conversion, the Canes drove to the Cougar 23. After losing two yards on third down, Miami again threw the dice, going for it on fourth down. *Erickson tried to hit his receiver streaking down the sideline, but once again Ervin Lee was there. As the receiver reached up to corral the pass at the 2-yard line, Lee turned and swatted it away (#28). With just over a minute remaining, the Cougars needed to keep control of the ball and run out the clock. On third-and-ten, Detmer connected with Andy Boyce for a crucial first down. For the last couple of plays, Ty just took a knee, allowing the clock to run out as fans stormed the field.

Ervin Lee
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Detmer's Heisman Ty
Legacy Hall

Detmer threw 38 completions (T7th) for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns to earn Player of the Game Honors and launch his Heisman Trophy campaign. By year’s end, Ty would break 31 NCAA records, including 5,188 yards with 361 completions on 562 attempts, to become BYU’s first and only Heisman Trophy winner. As for the Cougars, the win catapulted them up to #5 in the AP college football poll. They would finish the season with a 10-3 record, and ranked #22.

Game link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA9lQ5afxfw

 *BYU Tv's Top 100 plays in BYU Football TV history (updated 12/12/20 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYzgPw-bQ_c)