1979 BYU Cougars football team

1979 BYU Cougars football
WAC champion
Holiday Bowl, L 37–38 vs. Indiana
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 13
Record	11–1 (7–0 WAC)
Head coach	LaVell Edwards (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Doug Scovil (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Fred Whittingham (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

1979 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 BYU $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Utah	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
San Diego State	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Hawaii	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Colorado State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	1
Wyoming	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	8	–	0
UTEP	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) for the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by eighth-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 title for the fourth consecutive year with a conference record of 7–0. BYU finished the regular season with an undefeated record of 11–0. BYU was invited to the 1979 Holiday Bowl, where they lost to Indiana. They were ranked 13th in the final AP Poll and 12th in the final Coaches Poll.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at No. 14 Texas A&M *		Rice Stadium Houston, TX		W 18–17	40,000	[1]
September 15	Weber State *		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 48–3	33,161	[2]
September 29	UTEP		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 31–7	34,724	[3]
October 5	Hawaii	No. 20	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 38–15	34,741	[4]
October 13	at Utah State *	No. 16	Romney Stadium Logan, UT		W 48–24	28,094	[5]
October 20	at Wyoming	No. 13	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		W 54–14	14,723	[6]
October 27	New Mexico	No. 11	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 59–7	33,921	[7]
November 3	at Colorado State	No. 11	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO		W 30–7	25,612	[8]
November 9	at Long Beach State *	No. 11	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA		W 31–17	20,051	[9]
November 17	Utah	No. 10	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 27–0	40,236	[10]
November 24	at San Diego State	No. 10	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	ABC	W 63–14	46,121	[11]
December 21	vs. Indiana *	No. 9	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)		L 37–38	52,500	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Game summaries

Vs. Texas A&M

BYU Cougars (0–0) at #14 Texas A&M Aggies (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	0	3	7	8	18
Texas A&M	7	0	7	3	17

at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas

• Date: September 8, 1979
• Game attendance: 40,000
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter A&M – David Brothers 1-yard run (David Hardy kick). Texas A&M 7–0. Second quarter BYU – Brent Johnson 27-yard field goal. Texas A&M 7–3. Third quarter A&M – Mike Mosley 7-yard run (David Hardy kick). Texas A&M 14–3. BYU – Dan Plater 20-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Brent Johnson kick). Texas A&M 14–10. Fourth quarter A&M – David Hardy 37-yard field goal. Texas A&M 17–16. BYU – Clay Brown 3-yard pass from Marc Wilson (pass good), 0:52. BYU 18–17. Top passers BYU – Marc Wilson – 17/35, 165 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT A&M – Mike Mosley – 9/13, 125 yards Top rushers BYU – Homer Jones – 7 rushes, 53 yards A&M – Curtis Dickey – 28 rushes, 148 yards Top receivers BYU – Dan Plater – 3 receptions, 49 yards, TD A&M – Gerald Carter – 6 receptions, 104 yards

The game was played at Rice Stadium because Kyle Field was being renovated.

QB Marc Wilson had undergone an emergency appendectomy and had lost weight during the week of the game.

The defense carried the offense that was still finding its rhythm with a blocked punt and a goal line stand. The ailing Wilson drove BYU down the field to score with 52 seconds left to pull within 17–16. Coach Edwards let the team decide whether to go for the tie or the win and they chose the latter. The attempt was converted and BYU put itself in the national spotlight with a major upset.

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External videos
1979 vs. Texas A&M – Game-winning touchdown & two-point conversion

Utah

1 2 3 4 Total Utah 0 0 0 0 0 •BYU 17 3 7 0 27 Date: November 18 Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah Game attendance: 40,236

Scoring summary 1 BYU Matt Braga 14-yard run (Johnson kick) BYU 7-0 1 BYU H. Jones 5-yard run (Johnson kick) BYU 14-0 1 BYU Johnson 39-yard field goal BYU 17-0 2 BYU Johnson 44-yard field goal BYU 20-0 3 BYU Matt Braga 18-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Johnson kick) BYU 27-0

Marc Wilson threw for 374 yards as BYU clinched at least a share of the WAC title and set up a showdown with San Diego State for the following week. Wilson set an NCAA record for the most passing yards against a single opponent in two games and tied Rice's Tommy Kramer 1976 record for 300-yard passing games in a season with seven.

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Game 12: Holiday Bowl (vs. Indiana)

Marc Wilson 28/43, 380 yards, 2 TD, TD rushing ^[17]

Personnel

1979 BYU Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 85 Clay Brown Jr WR 3 Scott Collie  Fr OT 72 Nick Eyre Jr WR 87 Lloyd Jones Jr RB 36 Eric Lane Jr QB 9 Jim McMahon    Jr OT 64 Andy Reid Jr QB 6 Marc Wilson Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 78 Chuck Ehin Fr LB 48 Scott Garrett Jr DE 83 Mat Mendenhall Sr DE 77 Mike Morgan Fr LB 41 Glen Redd Jr LB 59 Kyle Whittingham So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 2 Brent Johnson Sr	Head coach LaVell Edwards Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "Brigham Young comeback gives Texas A&M 18–17 shock". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Weber State is no match for Cougars". The El Paso Times. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "BYU bombs Texas–El Paso 31–7". San Angelo Standard-Times. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "BYU humbles Hawaii". South Idaho Press. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Marc Wilson hurls BYU past Utah St". The Idaho Statesman. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "BYU crushes Wyoming, 54–14". The Daily Spectrum. October 21, 1979. p. 7. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Ambitious BYU zaps New Mexico, 59–7". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "BYU rolls as Wilson sets mark". The Tulsa World. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Wilson (and BYU) make points as 49ers lose, 31–17". The Los Angeles Times. November 10, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "BYU blanks Utes 27–0". The Daily Herald. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "BYU batters Aztecs to win WAC title". The Salt Lake Tribune. November 25, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Indiana shocks BYU 38–37". The Sacramento Bee. December 22, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1979 Brigham Young Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
14. BYU Football Talk
15. "Late Pass Enables BYU to Upset A&M." Palm Beach Post. 1979 Sept 9.
16. "BYU stays unbeaten, Wilson breaks records." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Nov 18.
17. "1979". Holidaybowl.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.