Centennial Cougars: The 100 Greatest BYU Cougar Football Games

The BYU Cougars ( 2-2 ) began conference play against the #1 7  TCU  Horned Frogs (3-0) . The Horned Frogs were riding a 13-game winning streak and were heavily favored to repeat as  Mountain West Conference  champions .  The Cougars, meanwhile, hadn’t won the conference championship since 2001. Furthermore, they hadn’t beaten a nationally ranked team since 1999. Although the Cougars held a 3-2 advantage all-time against TCU, the Horned Frogs had hopped out of Provo with a 51-50 OT win the previous year and the Cougars were out for revenge. After going 3-and-out on their first drive, BYU QB John Beck directed a 15-play, 76-yard drive to the TCU 4, where Jared McLaughlin booted a 21-yard FG to give BYU the early 3-0 lead. As the first quarter drew to a close, the Frogs leaped into Cougar territory, reaching the Cougar 10 when the clock signaled the end of the first. As the second quarter started, an incomplete pass set up a third-and-seven. *With the Frogs looking to score, BYU LB David

               The BYU Cougars ( 9-2; 6-1 ) faced their rivals, the Utah Utes  (8-1-1; 4-0-1) , in the final game of the season with the WAC title on the line. Although the Utes had finished as runner-ups for the conference title (to BYU) in both 1978 & 1979, the last time they’d even earned a share of the conference championship was 1964. This would mark the first time in the rivalry’s history in which the winner would win the championship outright - mano-a-mano . With so much riding on the outcome, 47,163 fans crammed into Cougar Stadium , recording the largest crowd ever to witness a sporting event in the state of Utah. It took only 15 seconds for the Utes to give the red contingent in Cougar Stadium something to cheer about. On first down, Del Rodgers took the hand-off and broke free for an 87-yard TD rush. BYU’s brash quarterback, Jim McMahon, swaggered onto the field as if the Cougars already had the game in the bag. He then proceeded to direct an 84-yard scoring drive, handi

                 The BYU Cougars ( 7-3 )  traveled up I-15 to the state capitol to finish out their regular season against their biggest rivals, the Utah Utes (5-5). Once again, the two teams faced off with the conference championship on the line. The Cougars held a half game lead over the New Mexico Lobos, who were playing Hawaii. Since it was the final game of the season for both teams, a win would clinch the title outright. Of course, the Utes would like nothing better than to stymie the Cougars’ quest to win a seventh consecutive WAC title. After losing yards on their initial drive, the Cougar offense, led by junior QB Steve Young, methodically advanced 79 yards in 12 plays. From the Ute 6, Young lofted a 6-yard TD pass over the defender and into Mike Eddo’s arms to register the game’s first points. The Utes tried to respond, invading Cougar territory with a 62-yard rush by Hilria Johnson. One foot away from the Cougar goal line, QB Ken Vierra mishandled the snap. The Cougars pounc

                 As was often the case when the Cougars and Utes played in the same conference, t he BYU Cougars ( 7-3-1 ) faced the Utah Utes (7-4) in their final regular season game with a chance to secure the undisputed conference title. Although the Cougars had already secured the Holiday Bowl bid with their 52-52 tie in San Diego, a loss to the Utes would place them in another tie with SDSU - this one for the conference title. The Utes were even more motivated. An 8-4 record, including a victory over the WAC champs, would look much more attractive to bowl game organizers looking for an at-large team than a record of 7-5. Furthermore, with BYU holding an 11-1 record over the Utes in recent years, most Ute fans would have considered a win over the Cougars even sweeter than a bowl game invite. The Utes kicked off, and then knocked the ball free from the returner, recovering it inside the Cougar 20. Then, on the first play from scrimmage, while many fans were still streaming into the

            As BYU prepared for its regular season finale, the Cougars (8-2) were still in the mix for the WAC title. However, if they wanted to earn a share of the conference championship, they needed to get by the Utah Utes (3-6). Although the Utes were finishing out a disappointing year, their season would earn some measure of redemption if they could knock off their rivals and keep them from earning their third conference championship.           The first quarter was a defensive battle. After only gaining 18 yards on their first possession, the Cougar offense got a boost when a lousy Utah punt set them up at the Ute 39. They advanced 33 yards to the Ute 6, where QB Gifford Nielsen bootlegged it in for the first score of the game. Dave Taylor’s extra point kick gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead.           Early in the second quarter, the Cougars marched 68 yards into Ute territory. Unfortunately, the drive came to an abrupt end when Nielsen’s pass was picked off at the Ute 2. Fortunat

            When BYU’s All-American QB Gifford Nielsen went down with a season-ending injury against Oregon State on Oct. 8, it felt like a death knell to Cougar fans. The “Mormon Rifle” had led the Cougars to their third WAC title by leading the nation in TD passes, and finishing second in total offense. With Nielsen at the helm, the Cougars began the 1977 season with a 3-0 record, and had jumped up to #13 in the AP poll; and Gifford became the early favorite to win the coveted Heisman Trophy. BYU’s fourth game was on the road at Oregon State. Sports Illustrated wanted to put Nielsen on the cover of their magazine, and flew a team to Oregon to cover the game. Although the Cougars took an early 19-0, the Beavers came back with a run-heavy offense and a hard-hitting defense that knocked Nielsen out of the game. Nielsen tried to play injured, but was ineffective. The Cougars lost the game, their starting quarterback, the Heisman, their Top 20 ranking and their dreams of winning another c

  The Cougars were swamped in their season opener against the Crimson Tide. As the Cougars (0-1) prepared for game 2 against the #14 Arizona State Sun Devils (0-1), things weren’t looking any brighter. Despite beating the Sun Devils the previous year, 13-10, the Cougars were only 6-20 all-time against their former conference rivals. This year’s Sun Devils were led by RB JR Redmond, who had racked up 1,051 yards from scrimmage in 1997. ASU received the kickoff. On the first play from scrimmage, the Cougars appeared to strip the ball away from the defender, but the play was called dead. After an ASU punt, the Cougars drove 52 yards on their initial possession, penetrating the Blue Zone on a 25-yard completion from QB Kevin Feterik to RB Kalani Sitake. Owen Pochman booted a 34-yard field goal to give BYU a 3-0 lead. The Cougar D did the rest, forcing punts on each of the Sun Devils’ first four possessions. Unfortunately, the ASU Defense perked up, forcing the Cougars to punt on each of th