Centennial Cougars: The 100 Greatest BYU Cougar Football Games

                 In 1988, t he BYU Cougars ( 8-4 ) failed to win the WAC, but were invited to the Freedom Bowl to play the Colorado Buffaloes (8-3) of the Big 8 .   The two teams used to play each other occasionally as members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and annually as members of the Mountain States Conference until the University of Colorado joined the Big Eight Conference for the 1948 season. Although the Buffaloes dominated those early contests (8-1-1), the Cougars had defeated the Buffs in their only recent showdown - a 41-20 victory in Boulder in 1981. Junior QB Sean Covey had been the Cougars starting QB for most of the season, but more and more Coach Edwards was turning to Freshman QB Ty Detmer to provide a spark whenever the offense was running flat. Although Covey was tabbed as the starter, no one knew which QB would get more playing time. On their initial drive, the Cougars raced to midfield thanks to a 24-yard sprint by tailback Matt Bellini. Unfortunately, t

                 After a disappointing  beginning to the season  (1-3) , first-year head coach Kalani Sitake took the BYU Cougars (8-4) to San Diego to play their former conference rival s, the  Wyoming Cowboys (8-5), in the Poinsettia Bowl. In addition to trying to get Coach Sitake his first bowl victory, the Cougars were trying to end a 3-game losing streak in bowl games. Ironically, their last bowl victory, had come in their only previous Poinsettia Bowl appearance - a 23-6 win over the SDSU. Unfortunately, star QB Taysom Hill was injured against Utah State in the last game of the regular season. Taking his place would be sophomore QB Tanner Mangum. Although Mangum had an excellent freshman season, he hadn’t started a game all year. The Cowboys, meanwhile, were trying to end a 7-game skid against the team they considered one of their biggest rivals - a rivalry that began in 1922 and would now span 78 contests. On the initial kickoff, Aleva Hifo found a seam, and returned the ball 39

                 The BYU Cougars (2-2) went to Logan to play their in-state rivals, the Utah St. Aggies (1-4), in what would be their last meeting until 2006. The two teams had faced each other every season except for two (1995 & 1998; and of course during WWII when three seasons were canceled ) since BYU’s first game (against Utah St.) in 1922. BYU owned a 39-33-3 record in the series, and hadn’t lost to the Aggies since 1993. However, the Cougars were reeling after losing two straight, and the Aggies had one of the best receivers in the nation, Kevin Curtis, who had finished with the second most receptions (100) in Division I the previous year.                Things got off to a great start for the Cougars when Paul Walkenhorst intercepted Jose Fuentes on the Aggies’ initial series. The Cougars started their first drive at the Aggie 34, but a sack on first down put them in a hole they couldn’t break out of, turning the ball over on downs. On Utah State’s second possession, the

               Twenty years after jump-starting their football program, the BYU Cougars (1-1) squared off against their in-state rivals, the Utah Utes (0-2), in one of the most lopsided rivalries in college football. Over the previous twenty seasons, the Cougars were 0-17-3 against their northern neighbors - and most of the contests weren’t even close. At least in the previous season, the Cougars had escaped SLC with a 6-6 draw, and Cougar fans wondered if this would be the year they would finally earn a W. Interestingly, according to Ute fans, their first loss to the Y had already happened - thrice! The Utah Ute football program counts the six games they played against Brigham Young Academy between 1896-1898, in which each team went 3-3, as part of the official record between the two schools. Regardless of the discrepancies espoused by each university, the Cougars were win less against the Utes in the 20th century, and their fans were hungry for a victory.                 The Cougar

               In a make-up game , originally scheduled for 9/15/01, but postponed due to 9/11, the Cougars ( 11--0 ) traveled to Mississippi State to face the Bulldogs  (3-7) .  The Cougars had already clinched the Mountain West Conference with an undefeated record (7-0), and had received an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl. However, with two games remaining on their schedule, the Cougars were hoping to receive a coveted invite to play in a BCS Bowl. And although Mississippi State had a pitiful record, they played in the highly lauded SEC, and four of those losses had been by seven points or less. MSU had beaten the Cougars in Provo in their only previous meeting (9/14/00), and the Cougs were committed to paying them back in kind. BYU got off on the right foot, with Isaac Kelley intercepting a Bulldog pass in the first minute of play. The Cougars capitalized on the short field by driving to the 7-yard line, where senior QB Brandon Doman scrambled right and zipped a pass past 3 B

               The BYU Cougars (2-4) had already managed two upset victories over big name teams (#24 USC & Tennessee) when they hosted #14 Boise State (6-0). However, they also had humiliating losses to Toledo and South Florida. The injury-plagued Cougars were also without starting QB Zach Wilson. In his place, freshman Baylor Romney made his first career start against the vaunted Broncos. Boise started their opening drive on their own 30, and galloped up the field. CT Thomas completed the drive with a 12-yard TD rush. The Cougars responded, stalking 78 yards on a 16-play drive that was kept alive when Romney escaped the grasp of one defender, scrambled out of the pocket and heaved a 22-yard pass to Talon Shumway for a first down. After reaching the Blue Zone, Romney and Shumway completed another first down on third-and-12, setting up a first-and-goal. On second down, Lopini Katoa took the handoff and threaded his way through the fray for a 4-yard TD rush, knotting up the score at

                 When the BYU Cougars (1-0) hosted the #21 Utah Utes (1-0) for their home opener, more lay on the line than bragging rights for the next year; for Cougar Nation, a victory was essential to maintain a healthy psych. During their first century of existence, the Cougars had played the Utes 94 times - more than any other program . Utah held a 59-31-4 all-time series lead, and had dominated the rivalry in the early years. When LaVell Edwards took over the program in 1972, the Cougars became the Alpha program during the 70’s and 80’s. However, during the 1990’s and the first decade of the 21st  century, the rivalry became one of the most competitive rivalries in the NCAA. Unfortunately, when the Utes left for the PAC-12, and the Cougars became independent, the rivalry took a turn for the worse. Although most of the competitions were close, the Utes strung together 9 straight wins. Neither team had ever won ten games in a row against the other, and these Cougars were determine