4. 1/1/97 – 1997 Cotton Bowl: #5 BYU – 21, #14 Kansas St. - 17
The #5 ranked BYU Cougars (13-1) had never played in a New Years Day bowl game. Senior QB Steve Sarkisian led the nation in pass efficiency (173.56) en route to winning the Sammy Baugh Award. Their opponent, the #14 Kansas State Wildcats (9-2), went 6-2 in the Big 12 - a conference that featured 4 teams in the Top 20. The Wildcats’ strength was a defense ranked #4 in the nation against the pass.
On the game’s opening drive, Shay Muirbrook and the tenacious Cougar defense (labeled by Coach Edwards as “the best defense we’ve ever had at BYU”) forced the Wildcats to punt. BYU started their first drive with a bang as Sarkisian completed a lateral to James Dye, who ran it up the sideline for a 25-yard gain. Although they drove into Wildcat territory, the 47-yard FG attempt came up short. BYU’s defense came up big again on K-State’s next possession when Tim McTyer picked off the pass and ran it back to the Wildcat 35-yard line. Unfortunately, the Wildcat Defense came up big too, sacking Sarkisian twice to force a punt. The punt bounced perfectly, allowing the Cougars to down it at the 1-yard line. *On second down-and-nine, Shay Muirbrook blitzed, sacking K-State’s quarterback, Brian Kavanagh, in the end zone for a safety (#84). On the ensuing possession, BYU put up three more points when Ethan Pochman nailed the 39-yard field goal, giving the Cougars an uncommon 5-0 lead at the end of one quarter of play.
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| Shay Muirbrook Courtesy of BYU Photo |
Both defenses continued to dominate through the second quarter, with big sacks and tight coverage. With the ball on the Cougar 41-yard line, and six seconds remaining, Kansas State had one last chance to score before halftime. Kavanagh received the ball and drifted back to midfield as his receivers headed for pay dirt. He uncorked a Hail Mary that descended into a mass of players wearing both blue jerseys and white. Unfortunately, it was a white jersey, Andre Anderson, who caught the deflected ball before it could hit the ground. Rather than settle for the extra point, Kansas State went for two. Kavanagh pitched the ball to Mike Lawrence, who dove into the end zone, giving K-State the lead with an even more improbable 8-5 score at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Kansas State lined up on their own 28-yard line. Kavanagh completed a short pass to Kevin Lockett, who turned and sprinted up the left sideline for more than sixty yards for the Wildcats’ second touchdown of the afternoon. When the Cougars took over, they drove down to the Wildcat 22-yard line. However, after a ten-yard reception was ruled incomplete, a quarterback sack and two consecutive pass-interference plays that were inexplicably ignored by the officials, BYU turned the ball over on downs.
After three quarters of play, the Cougars were behind 15-5. The fourth quarter began ominously when Mario Smith picked off a pass in Wildcat territory, derailing yet another Cougar drive. The Cougar Defense stopped Kansas State cold on the next possession, putting the ball back into Steve Sarkisian’s hands. Starting at their own, 27-yard line, the Cougars went to work. A 15-yard completion to James Dye, a 7-yard rush by Ronney Jenkins, and a 19-yard reception by Chad Lewis placed the ball at the Wildcat 32-yard line. *With 11:02 remaining, James Dye sprinted for the end zone. Sarkisian lofted the ball high in the air, and Dye reached over the defender to pull it in and tumble into the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown, pulling the Cougars to within three (#69). Both defenses continued to make big plays as the quarter continued, with Kansas State racking up seven total sacks and BYU recording its fourth. With the clock running down, BYU got the ball back at their own 40-yard line. Sarkisian completed a 17-yard pass to TE Chad Lewis for a first down. After completing another first down pass to Kaipo McGuire, Sarkisian went to McGuire again on second down - but this time the pass was jarred loose for an incomplete pass as McGuire received a monster hit that knocked his helmet off and sent him to the sidelines.
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| James Dye Courtesy of BYU Photo |
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| K.O. Kealaluhi Courtesy of BYU Photo |
end zone. The pass hit K.O. right on the numbers to put the Cougars back on top with 3:39 left to play (#12). That was plenty of time for Kansas State to mount another scoring drive. Several big plays later, the Wildcats were in the Red Zone. On second-and-one, Kavanagh lofted a pass to the back of the end zone. Kevin Lockett made a spectacular catch, but Tim McTyer was in position and pushed him out of bounds before he could land safely. On third down, Muirbrook stuffed Kavanagh for another sack! On fourth-and-twelve, Kavanagh connected with Lockett again for a first down at the Cougar 12-yard line. *With less than a minute remaining, Omarr Morgan deflected the pass, then caught the rebound for an interception at the Cougar 3-yard line, allowing BYU to run out the clock and preserve the win (#8).
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| Omarr Morgan Courtesy of BYU Photo |
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| 1997 Cotton Bowl Trophy Legacy Hall |
Sarkisian tied Roger Staubach’s Cotton Bowl record of 21 completions to earn co-offensive MVP honors with Lockett. Shay Muirbrook was the defensive MVP with a Cotton Bowl and BYU single-game record 6 sacks. When the final polls were released, BYU was still ranked #5 despite becoming the first Division I team to ever ever win 14 games in a season. Sports writers across the nation took notice of the inequity, calling for bowl game reform that would allow the national championship to be decided on the field, not by the Bowl Alliance.
Game link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=552907345626520
*BYU Tv's Top 100 plays in BYU Football TV history (updated 12/12/20 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYzgPw-bQ_c)
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