1966 BYU Cougars football team

1966 BYU Cougars football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	8–2 (3–2 WAC)
Head coach	Tommy Hudspeth (3rd season)
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
Seasons ←  1965 1967  →

1966 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Wyoming $	5	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
BYU	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Arizona State	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Utah	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Arizona	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
New Mexico	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1966 BYU Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Brigham Young University (BYU) as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their third season under head coach Tommy Hudspeth, the Cougars compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 3–2 against conference opponents, tied for second place in the WAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 269 to 163. ^{[1] [2]}

Quarterback Virgil Carter led the country with 2,545 yards of total offense; ^[3] he also led the team with 2,182 passing yards and 56 points scored. ^{[4] [5]} On November 5, 1966, he set new NCAA single-game records with 513 passing yards and 599 yards of total offense against Texas Western. ^{[6] [7]} Carter's totals of 513 passing yards and 599 yards of total offense stood as BYU school records until broken by Ty Detmer in 1991. ^[8]

The team's other statistical leaders included John Ogden with 906 rushing yards and Phil Odle with 920 receiving yards. ^{[4] [5]}

Six BYU players were selected to the all-conference team: wide receiver Phil Odle; guard Grant Wilson; quarterback Virgil Carter; fullback John Ogden; linebacker Curg Belcher; and safety Bobby Roberts. ^[9]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at San Jose State *	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 19–9	17,000	[10]
September 30	Colorado State *	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 27–24	25,023	[11]
October 8	Utah State *	BYU Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)	W 27–7	29,335	[12]
October 14	Arizona State	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 7–10	20,119	[13]
October 22	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 33–6	18,524	[14]
October 29	at Arizona	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 16–14		[15]
November 5	Texas Western *	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 53–33	30,284	[6]
November 12	at Utah	Ute Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)	W 35–13	28,776	[16]
November 19	Wyoming	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 14–47	38,333	[17]
November 26	Pacific (CA) *	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 38–0	14,845	[18]
*Non-conference game

^[19]

Game summaries

At Utah

BYU Cougars (6–1) at Utah Redskins (5–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	7	21	7	0	35
Utah	7	0	6	0	13

at Ute Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

• Date: November 12, 1966
• Game weather: Clear
• Game attendance: 28,776
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter BYU – Kent Oborn 22-yard pass from Virgil Carter (Ben Laverty kick). BYU 7–0. UTAH – Merlin Diggs 15-yard pass from Darrell Bigelow (Jerry Pullman kick). Tie 7–7. Second quarter BYU – Kent Oborn 11-yard pass from Virgil Carter (Ben Laverty kick). BYU 14–7. BYU – Kent Oborn 74-yard punt return (Ben Laverty kick). BYU 21–7. BYU – Casey Boyette 62-yard pass from Virgil Carter (Ben Laverty kick). BYU 28–7. Third quarter UTAH – Ben Woodson 40-yard run (pass failed). BYU 28–13. BYU – Virgil Carter 3-yard run (Ben Laverty kick). BYU 35–13. Fourth quarter No scoring Top passers BYU – Virgil Carter – 18/31, 255 yards, 3 TD, INT UTAH – Darrell Bigelow – 7/25, 65 yards, TD, INT Top rushers BYU – John Ogden – 23 rushes, 101 yards UTAH – Ben Woodson – 19 rushes, 106 yards, TD Top receivers BYU – Casey Boyette – 7 receptions, 131 yards, TD UTAH – Terry Baker – 2 receptions, 26 yards

Personnel

1966 BYU Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Virgil Carter Sr WR 22 Casey Boyett So TB/WB 22 Kent Oborn Sr WR 88 Phil Odle Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Tommy Hudspeth Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1966 BYU Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
2. "BYU Football 2015 Almanac" (PDF). Brigham Young University. 2015. p. 169. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
3. BYU Football 2015 Almanac, pp. 118, 120.
4. "1966 Brigham Young Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
5. BYU Football 2015 Almanac, pp. 162-164.
6. Ray Schwartz (November 6, 1966). "Carter Leads BYU in Romp of TWC 53-33: Sets New NCAA Pass Record". The Sunday Herald (Provo, Utah). p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
7. BYU Football 2015 Almanac, p. 118.
8. BYU Football 2015 Almanac, p. 120.
9. BYU Football 2015 Almanac, p. 128.
10. Nelson Cullenward (September 25, 1966). "BYU Storms Sparta, 19-9". San Francisco Examiner. p. III-7 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Cougars Win, 27-24, On Late Touchdown". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 1, 1966. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Ray Schwartz (October 9, 1966). "Cats Use Air Assault to Rip Aggies 27-7: Carter Fires Four T.D. Passes in BYU Win". The Sunday Herald. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Cougars Fall To ASU, 10-7: Sun Devils Halt Carter's Aerial Game on BYU Field". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 15, 1966. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
14. LeRoy Bearman (October 19, 1966). "Camera-Shy Lobos Lose to BYU, 33-6". Albuquerque Journal. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Abe Chanin (October 30, 1966). "Reed Outpasses Carter, But Cats Lose, 16-14". The Arizona Daily Star. pp. 1A, 1E – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Carter Leads 35-13 Rout of Utah Redskins: History-Making Game Uses Varied Attack". The Sunday Herald. November 13, 1966. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "'Pokes Rip BYU 47-14, Gain Grid Crown: Cowboys Ride to Victory Over Cats On Egloff's Arm, DePoyster's Foot". The Sunday Herald. November 20, 1966. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "More Records Fall as Cats Rip UOP 38-0: Three Cougar Players Rack Up New Marks". The Sunday Herald. November 27, 1966. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "1966 NCAA Football Statistics (BYU)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved September 15, 2024.