Centennial Cougars: The 100 Greatest BYU Cougar Football Games

            After finishing the 1979 season with a perfect record, the #13 BYU Cougars ( 9-1 )  got off to a disappointing start in 1980, losing their first game of the season to New Mexico. It would turn out to be the only blemish on their record. By the time they faced the Utah Utes (5-3-1), they’d racked up 9 straight victories and had their eyes set on double-digit wins for the second straight year. On BYU’s initial possession, QB Jim McMahon led the Cougars 68 yards to the Ute 1-yard line, in only 4 plays. Then he handed off to Eric Lane, who crossed the goal line for the game’s first points. Although the Cougar Offense struggled the rest of the quarter, the Cougar Defense played its role well, holding the Utes scoreless, and the quarter ended with the Cougars leading 7-0. In the second quarter, the Cougs got their mojo back. McMahon capped a 14-play, 68-yard drive with a 7-yard scramble for a rushing TD. The Cougars’ next drive went 72 yards...

            After stringing together ten straight WAC titles from 1976-1985, the #21 BYU Cougars (9-2) were in position to w in their  first WAC championship in four years . A win over the  San Diego St ate Aztecs (6-4-1) would clinch the conference championship and secure the Holiday Bowl bid. BYU got the ball first, but went three-and-out. The Aztecs marched down the field and scored on their first possession, with Curtis Butts smashing over the line from a yard out for the score. The Cougars responded quickly. QB Ty Detmer let loose a pass that Jeff Frandsen caught and ran all the way to pay dirt for a 67-yard TD reception. The Aztecs responded with another scoring drive. This time Ron Slack did the honors, rushing into the end zone from the Cougar 4. Detmer led the Cougars back into the Blue Zone, taking 4 plays to move 55 yards. From the Aztec 12, Detmer couldn’t find an open receiver, but saw an open lane and scrambled into the end zone...

          1922 is considered the first official year of BYU football. However, the origins of BYU football date back to 1896. That spring, Brigham Young Academy challenged the University of Utah to a football scrimmage. On April 6, 1896, the two teams met in Salt Lake City. The University of Utah won 12-4. You may be thinking that the scoring consisted of 4 field goals and 2 safeties, but in those days a touchdown was worth 4 points, a goal after a TD was worth 2 points, a FG worth 5 points and a safety worth 2 points.           In the fall of 1896, BYA played its first regular season. Benjamin Call was both coach and captain of the team, which fielded 14 players. The starting 11 played both offense and defense, with 3 substitutes coming in as needed. On Nov. 14, they played the U of U in an official game at SLC, and lost 6-0. On Dec. 5, Utah’s team came down to Provo for a rematch at Public Square (now known as Pioneer Park)...

          On 11/26/77 , BYU claimed its second straight WAC title with a 68-19 win over UTEP. However, BYU declined to play in the Fiesta Bowl, despite being conference champions, because it would be played on Sunday. Instead, co-champion Arizona State got the Fiesta Bowl bid. Rather than end their season without any post-season competition, the #17 Cougars (9-2)  flew to Japan to play a pair of Japanese All-Star teams as part of a Goodwill Tour. As part of the festivities, BYU player Gary Peterson was invited to participate in a Sumo wrestling competition. Peterson won his match in an unconventional manner - picking up the other wrestler and setting him outside the ring. The pair of games the Cougars played against the Japanese All-Stars received the unofficial moniker “The Silk Bowl. ” Courtesy of deseret.com           Despite using their offensive stars for only half of the game, the Cougars won the first game 61-13 ,...

          In today’s college football universe, the tie no longer exists. However, in the 20th  century, there was a lot more pressure placed on head coaches late in the game, after a crucial touchdown, when they had to decide whether they were going to go for a tie with the extra point, or go for the win (but risk a tough loss) by going for two. They didn’t have the cushion of OT to hedge their bets. That was the dilemma that Coach LaVell Edwards faced when the #23 BYU Cougars (7-3, 6-0) faced the San Diego State Aztecs (8-2, 6-1), in front of 56,737 fans (the largest home crowd in Aztec football history) with the WAC title on the line. BYU got the ball first, and Ty Detmer, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, guided them into enemy territory. On first down, Ty rolled right and surveyed the field. He let loose a rocket across the field to where RB Jamal Willis was wide open. Willis caught the 31-yard TD pass right in front of the end zone and dove in ...

          One of the most competitive rivalries in the NCAA has been between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. This rivalry extends to all sports, as evidenced by the Deseret First Duel - a trophy awarded by the Deseret First Credit Union (since 2008) to the school that compiles the most points in head-to-head matchups across 12 sports: f ootball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming, women's gymnastics, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball, women's soccer, and women's volleyball . However, even in the scoring system devised by Deseret First, the football matchup has always been awarded more points than the other sports. Why? Because the quasi-annual BYU - Utah football game garners more attention throughout the state than any other athletic event. In recent years, Utah has won nine of the last ten matchups - though the scores have usually been closer than the record would seem to indicate. D uring the 1...

            As the BYU Cougars prepared for the 1978 football season, Head Coach LaVell Edwards had a problem. He had two future College Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks on his roster, and only one spot to play them in. Junior quarterback Marc Wilson had proven himself the previous year, when he took over for an injured Gifford Nielsen and led the Cougars to the WAC championship. However, sophomore QB Jim McMahon was also bristling with talent, and was very vocal about getting more playing time. So Coach Edwards was stuck with the unenviable task of keeping both extremely talented, yet extremely different, quarterbacks happy. He started the year with Wilson; but when Wilson pulled a hamstring in BYU’s 32-6 win over CSU, McMahon came in and took advantage of the situation, completing 7-of-9 passes for 112 yards and a TD. Wilson started the next three games, but was pulled early in games 5 & 6 in favor of McMahon - who led the Cougars to a 17-16 co...