Centennial Cougars: The 100 Greatest BYU Cougar Football Games

                 The opening game of the 1999 season pitted the BYU Cougars against the Washington Huskies. Although the Cougars defeated the Huskies in their initial meeting in 1985 (less than a year after beating them out for the national championship), the Huskies had defeated the Cougars in their next four match-ups , including in each of the previous three seasons. Donning their newly designed, tan-accented “bib” uniforms, the Cougars took to field hoping to start the new season, as members of the newly formed Mountain West Conference, with a win over a quality non-conference opponent. The Cougars seemed to get off to a great start, with QB Kevin Feterik directing a 14-play, 73-yard drive deep into Husky territory, extended by a “running into the kicker” call and a 29-yard third down completion to Margin Hooks. Unfortunately, the drive stalled at the Husky 10, where the Cougars’ FGA went wide left. The Cougar D, led by Rob “Freight Train” Morris, then did its job, forcing a second

               Although a disproportionate  amount of BYU’s most memorable games have come against the Utah Utes, t he Cougars have also collected a scrapbook full of memorable games against their other in-state rivals - the Utah State Aggies . In 1948, BYU and Utah State boosters decided to add fuel to the rivalry by awarding a trophy to the annual winner, deciding upon an Old Wagon Wheel - commemorating the schools’ Pioneer roots. After each contest, a small plaque is affixed to the rim of the wheel, paying homage to the victor with the date and the final score of the game. One of the most exciting matchups between the Cougars and Aggies took place in  1983 , when the #15 Cougars (6-1) hosted the Aggies (3-4) . Although the Aggies held a 20-15 advantage over the Cougars in Wagon Wheel contests, the Cougars had been gaining traction in the annual rivalry of late, and were hoping to avenge their 20-17 loss to the Aggies the year before. The Old Wagon Wheel Courtesy of BYU Photo The Cou

                 The BYU Cougars (6-6) had a roller-coaster season, highlighted with a huge win at #6 Wisconsin, and disgraced by a loss to relatively unknown Northern Illinois. Senior QB Tanner Mangum was replaced mid-season by freshman QB Zach Wilson to mixed results. For an encore, the Cougars were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (formerly known as the Humanitarian Bowl) to face Western Michigan (7-5). Although the Cougars and Broncos had faced off five times previously, their last matchup was back in 1970. After having their streak of 13 straight bowl games snapped in 2017, the Cougars were expecting to start their new streak with a win. In fact, head coach Kalani Sitake stated that he expected freshman QB Zach Wilson to “play perfectly” in his first bowl game. How would the young QB respond to such high expectations? Western Michigan started the game with a controlled drive, gaining 61 yards in 14 plays, and burning 7:36 off the game clock. On fourth-and-2 at the BYU 21, t

                 Following a moderately successful season, t he BYU Cougars (7-5) accepted an invitation to play  the SDSU Aztecs  (9-3) in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. Although this was their first Poinsettia Bowl, the city played host to the Cougars for many of their previous postseason heroics back when BYU ruled the WAC . The Cougar D (ranked  #3 in the nation) got off to a good start, with Ezekiel Ansah snagging a deflected pass to cut short the Aztecs’ first drive. However, the offense couldn’t get anything going, punting on each of its first four possessions. San Diego State, meanwhile overcame their early miscue with a scoring drive on their very next possession. Chance Marden booted a 27-yard FG to give SDSU a 3-0 lead. Early in the second quarter, Marden popped a 23-yarder through the uprights to double the Aztec lead. When the Aztecs intercepted an errant pass, and advanced to the Cougar 29, it appeared as if they would quickly add to their lead. However, the Cougar D,

                 After Covid-19 wiped out the Cougars’ formidable 2020 regular season schedule, athletic director Tom Holmoe pieced together a respectable schedule against any team that would agree to play them. Despite starting the season 9-0, including a thrilling win over #21 Boise State in Boise, the Cougars were being overlooked in their quest for a major bowl game. In a last ditch effort to boost their rankings, the #8 Cougars jetted off to South Carolina to face the undefeated #14 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers with no advance preparation. Facing the combined forces of Coastal Carolina and their home town refs, the Cougars came with half a yard of an undefeated regular season, and finished the regular season with a 10-1 record after defeating San Diego St. in their season finale. Rather than a New Years Day bowl game, the #13 Cougars flew to Boca Raton to face the University of Central Florida (6-3). In their two previous match-ups, each team was 1-1. Junior QB Zach Wilson led th

                 The #1 9  BYU Cougars (1 0 -2) won the 2006 MWC crown, going undefeated (8-0) in conference play. In 2005, the Cougars had represented the MWC in the Las Vegas Bowl as the conference’s second place team. However, starting in 2006, the Las Vegas Bowl pitted the MWC champion against a qualifying team from the PAC-10 . That year, the Cougars were matched up against the O regon Ducks (7-5) .   Oregon was 3-2 against BYU in their 5 previous meetings, but the Cougars hadn’t played the Ducks since they’d beaten the Cougars in 1990, when they ruined #4 BYU’s national championship aspirations. As an added pinch of intrigue, Oregon’s offensive coordinator was Gary Crowton, who had been BYU’s head coach before being replaced by Bronco Mendenhall.   The Cougars were languishing in a 10-year drought since their last bowl game victory. Meanwhile, the Ducks’ hadn’t won a bowl game in 5 seasons. Both teams were determined to end those streaks on this December evening. It was obvious f

               The BYU Cougars ( 6-6 ) barely qualified for a bowl game after a difficult year that saw them lose to both of their in-state rivals and finish their final MWC season with a 5-3 record . As a result, they faced former WAC rival U TEP (6-6) in the New Mexico Bowl. It would be the Cougars’ sixth straight bowl game under Coach Bronco Mendenhall. Meanwhile, it was the Miners’ first bowl game since 2005. Although the Cougars had dominated their all-time series against the Miners (28-7-1), the two teams hadn’t faced off in 12 years. After the Cougar Defense forced a punt in UTEP’s opening possession, the Offense took over at the UTEP 37 following a 43-yard punt return by J.D. Falslev. Four plays later, following a 31-yard reception by Cody Hoffman, Bryan Kariya pounded up the middle for 4 yards and the game’s first score. On their second possession, Freshman QB Jake Heaps directed a 12-play, 78-yard drive that culminated with a 9-yard TD pass to Luke Ashworth. A 72-yard kickoff