1984 BYU Cougars football team
The 1984 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 13th-year head coach LaVell Edwards and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. The team competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference, winning the conference for the ninth consecutive year. The Cougars finished the regular season as the only undefeated team in Division I-A, and secured their first ever national title by defeating Michigan in the 1984 Holiday Bowl.
1984 BYU Cougars football | |
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Consensus national champion WAC champion Holiday Bowl champion | |
Holiday Bowl, W 24–17 vs. Michigan | |
Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
Record | 13–0 (8–0 WAC) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Roger French (4th season) |
Offensive scheme | West Coast |
Defensive coordinator | Dick Felt (10th season) |
Base defense | 3–4 |
Home stadium | Cougar Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 BYU $ | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 13 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hawaii | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Air Force | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Utah | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
San Diego State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wyoming | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Colorado State | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New Mexico | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UTEP | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A number of pollsters and coaches were reluctant to name the Cougars as national champion, partly because they believed BYU's schedule was too weak. Only two of BYU's opponents won at least seven games. They had played only one ranked opponent all season, preseason #3 Pittsburgh, a team that would finish 3–7–1 and unranked. No other team in the WAC was even close to being their equal; the Cougars were the only team in the league with fewer than four overall losses. In the end, BYU was ranked number one in both major final polls, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.[1] The team was named national champion by NCAA-designated major selectors of AP, Billingsley, Football Research, FW, National Football Foundation, Poling, UPI, and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by both National Championship Foundation and Sagarin (ELO-Chess).[2]
To date, the 1984 Cougars are the last team from outside a "power conference" to win a national title. It is widely believed that the various systems devised over the years with a view toward deciding the national championship on the field, with their emphasis on strength of schedule, make it extremely difficult for a team outside the power conferences to be considered for championship contention.[1]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 1 | at No. 3 Pittsburgh* | ESPN | W 20–14 | 40,263 | ||
September 8 | Baylor* | No. 13 | W 47–13 | 63,705 | ||
September 15 | Tulsa* | No. 8 |
| W 38–15 | 64,237 | |
September 22 | at Hawaii | No. 6 | W 18–13 | 50,000 | ||
October 6 | at Colorado State | No. 7 | W 52–9 | 28,671 | ||
October 13 | Wyoming![]() | No. 5 |
| W 41–38 | 64,839 | |
October 20 | at Air Force | No. 7 | ABC | W 30–25 | 30,469 | |
October 25 | at New Mexico | No. 5 | ESPN | W 48–0 | 19,227 | |
November 3 | UTEP | No. 4 |
| W 42–9 | 62,530 | |
November 10 | San Diego State | No. 4 |
| W 34–3 | 64,050 | |
November 17 | at Utah | No. 3 | KUTV | W 24–14 | 36,110 | |
November 24 | Utah State* | No. 1 |
| W 38–13 | 65,580 | |
December 21 | vs. Michigan* | No. 1 | ESPN | W 24–17 | 61,243 | |
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Personnel
1984 BYU Cougars football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Roster |
Rankings
Week | ||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
AP | — | 13 | 8 (1) | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 (3) | 4 (4) | 4 | 3 (11) | 1 (40) | 1 (34) | 1 (33) | 1 (38) |
Coaches | — | 12 | 6 (1) | 4 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 3 (5) | 4 (4) | 3 (12) | 1 (30) | 1 (21) | 1 (24) | 1 (28) |
Game summaries
At No. 3 Pittsburgh
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Baylor
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- Robbie Bosco 28-43, 363 yards, 6 TD
Tulsa
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At Hawaii
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- Glen Kozlowski 9 Rec, 156 Yds
At Colorado State
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Wyoming
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- Robbie Bosco 29-44, 384 yards, 5 TD
- David Mills 7 receptions, 136 yards, 3 TD
External videos | |
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At Air Force
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- Robbie Bosco 28-41, 484 yards, 4 TD, INT
At New Mexico
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UTEP
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San Diego State
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At Utah
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Utah State
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Vs. Michigan (Holiday Bowl)
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Draft picks
The following were selected in the 1985 NFL Draft.[10]
Player | Position | Round | Overall | NFL Team |
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Trevor Matich | Center | 1 | 28 | New England Patriots |
Kyle Morrell | Cornerback | 4 | 106 | Minnesota Vikings |
Louis Wong | Guard | 5 | 131 | St. Louis Cardinals |
Lee Johnson | Punter | 5 | 138 | Houston Oilers |
Jim Herrmann | Defensive end | 7 | 184 | Dallas Cowboys |
Awards and honors
- Robbie Bosco, Sammy Baugh Trophy[11]
- LaVell Edwards, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
References
- Mandel, Stewart (August 6, 2009). "BYU pulled off a miracle 25 years ago; will it ever happen again?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. pp. 114, 120. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- "Brigham Young 20, No. 3 Pittsburgh 14". UPI Archives. September 1, 1984. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- CougarStats.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-18.
- 1984 BYU vs. Utah – CougarStats CougarStats: BYU Football: BYU vs. Utah 1984 Archived 2010-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
- "B.Y.U. Extends Streak to 23". The New York Times. November 25, 1984. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- "Who's Number One? BYU Gets the Nod, but Others Shake Their Heads". The Washington Post. November 25, 1984. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- "Hobbling Bosco Lifts No. 1 BYU to 13-0 Season". The Washington Post. December 22, 1984. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- "BOSCO PASSES LIFT B.Y.U." The New York Times. December 22, 1984. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- "1985 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
- "Awards". www.touchdownclubofcolumbus.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.