PROVO The dog days of summer are upon us. Flipping through TV channels for any interesting sporting events is a tall order these days. Usually, this time of the offseason is the perfect time to resort to firing up the DVR or YouTube and watch classic games from the past.
For BYU football, there have been many memorable and great games in its 83 year history. To celebrate 50 days till kickoff here is a breakdown of the 50 greatest wins in BYU’s history.
This ranking wasn’t based on one particular metric or variable. It was based on a couple of factors including quality of opponent, impact nationally on BYU, the finish, and venue.
So get your football fix by going over this list and with any great list, let the debate begin. Who doesn’t want to debate football?
50: 2011: BYU 14, Ole Miss 13: The independence era for BYU kicked off in SEC country with a comeback win in a defensive slugfest that saw Cougar LB Kyle Van Noy come through with a scoop and score to get the win in Oxford, Mississippi.
49. 2002: BYU 35, Utah State 34: Down 34 7 at the half, QB Brett Engemann and an unexpected career day from freshman RB Curtis Brown led BYU to the largest comeback win in program history over the rival Aggies.
48. 2012 Poinsettia Bowl: BYU 23, San Diego State 6: Van Noy single handedly sealed the win for BYU by notching two defensive touchdowns in a game that made him a name nationally.
47. 2004: BYU 20, Notre Dame 17: The season opener for what would become the final season in the Gary Crowton era and the debut of WR speedster Todd Watkins.
46. 1996: BYU 37, Utah 17: BYU ended Utah’s three game winning streak in the rivalry with a dominating 338 yards on the ground from running back tandem Ronney Jenkins and Brian McKenzie.
45. 1998: BYU 26, Arizona State 6: The Sun Devils were a top 15 team led by RB JR Redmond, who was stifled by BYU’s defense only rushing for 28 yards.
44. 1985: BYU 31, Washington 3: BYU’s 1984 national championship was disputed by many, including the Chicago Tribune that dubbed Washington the ’84 champs. Early in the 1985 season, BYU silenced any doubters with a dominating victory over Don James’ Huskies.
43. 1994 Copper Bowl: BYU 31, Oklahoma 6: Oklahoma had a lame duck coach in Gary Gibbs and the Cougars rolled to an easy victory over the Sooners, finishing 10th in the final Coaches Poll in 1994.
42. 1988: BYU 47, Texas 6: The Cougars opened the ’88 season in the top 10 and rolled through the Longhorns on a nationally televised ESPN game.
41. 1989: BYU 45, Oregon 41: BYU needed to score 24 unanswered to pull off a comeback win against the Ducks. This is the game where Ty Detmer started to create his legacy at BYU.
40. 1988 Freedom Bowl: BYU 20, Colorado 17: Jason Chaffetz booted a game winning field goal to defeat Eric Bienemy and the high powered Buffs.
39. 2015: BYU 35, Boise State 24: Tanner Mangum pulled out some magic for the second time in as many weeks to begin the 2015 season.
38. 1965: BYU 24, Arizona State 6: The 1965 season was the first year BYU won a conference title, and it was all possible because of an important win in Tempe, Arizona, against the Sun Devils.
37. 1995: BYU 45, Fresno State 28: Many former players and coaches from the 1996 team credit this game as the one that gave BYU the momentum heading into the 1996 season. Steve Sarkisian was at his best by completing 31 of 34 passes for 399 yards.
36. 2009: BYU 26, Utah 23 (OT): Andrew George is still running, and Max Hall let out a rant that will always be classless or revered, depending on what side of the rivalry you fall.
35. 1985: BYU 28, Air Force 21: BYU played spoiler at home against the fourth ranked Falcons. Had Air Force won that game, many believe the Falcons could have been the national champions in 1985.
34. 2000: BYU 33, Virginia 30: The debut of Virginia’s renovated Scott Stadium was a classic as BYU came back from down 21 0 to win in overtime.
33. 2013: BYU 40, Texas 21: Taysom Hill basically ended the Mack Brown era in Austin, Texas, with his record day on the ground with 259 rushing yards.
32. 1998: BYU 26, Utah 24: Doink! Ryan Kaneshiro’s field goal goes off the uprights and BYU wins the WAC Pacific Division crown.
31. 1985 Kickoff Classic: BYU 28, Boston College 14: Riding high as the defending national champions, BYU carried a 24 game winning streak into East Rutherford, New Jersey, to open the college football season and took down the Eagles.
30. 1999: BYU 35, Washington 28: The game that debuted BYU’s “bib” jerseys saw a pair of freshmen making significant contributions in running backs Luke Staley and wide receiver Chris Hale, who hauled in the game winning touchdown from QB Kevin Feterik.
29. 1974: BYU 21, Arizona State 18: BYU head coach LaVell Edwards had his breakthrough by beating WAC powerhouse Arizona State in Provo.
28. 1991: BYU 52, San Diego State 52: It shows up as a tie in the boxscore, but this game was an unlikely comeback that led to BYU winning the outright WAC championship.
27. 1992: BYU 30, Penn State 17: Entering the game as an underdog, the quarterback Ryan Hancock led BYU to a surprising win over the ranked Nittany Lions in Provo.
26. 2006 Vegas Bowl: BYU 38, Oregon 8: Disrespected by Oregon during the Vegas Bowl pep rally, BYU used the lack of respect as motivation and cruised to a dominating win, sending John Beck and the rest of the talented senior class out as winners.
When they sank back and the shadows disappeared, she closed her eyes and gave in “research paper writing service” to her body
