1984 BYU Cougars football team

1984 BYU Cougars football
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	LaVell Edwards (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Roger French (4th season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Dick Felt (10th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
Seasons ←  1983 1985  →

1984 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
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
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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
September 1	at No. 3 Pittsburgh *		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN	W 20–14	40,263
September 8	Baylor *	No. 13	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 47–13	63,705
September 15	Tulsa *	No. 8	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 38–15	64,237
September 22	at Hawaii	No. 6	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI		W 18–13	50,000
October 6	at Colorado State	No. 7	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO		W 52–9	28,671
October 13	Wyoming	No. 5	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 41–38	64,839
October 20	at Air Force	No. 7	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	ABC	W 30–25	30,469
October 25	at New Mexico	No. 5	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	ESPN	W 48–0	19,227
November 3	UTEP	No. 4	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 42–9	62,530
November 10	San Diego State	No. 4	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 34–3	64,050
November 17	at Utah	No. 3	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Holy War)	KUTV	W 24–14	36,110
November 24	Utah State *	No. 1	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)		W 38–13	65,580
December 21	vs. Michigan *	No. 1	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	ESPN	W 24–17	61,243
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1984 BYU Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G, C 57 Robert Anae  Sr WR 11 Mark Bellini So OL 71 John Borgia Fr QB 6 Robbie Bosco  Jr RB 28 Paul Crawford WR 18 Jim Edwards QB 16 Blaine Fowler OL 75 David Futrell OL 59 Craig Garrick WR 1 Adam Haysbert RB 35 Lakei Heimuli OL 68 John Hunter OL 66 David King WR 7 Glen Kozlowski  Jr TE 90 Lance Lindley QB 8 Steve Lindsley OL 73 Chris Matau C 50 Trevor Matich  Sr OL 67 Keith McCullough WR 26 David Miles TE 12 David Mills TE 94 Trevor Molini WR 85 Scott Norberg OL 75 Sam Oramas WR 19 Richard Orr HB 43 Robert Parker So OL 61 Doug Rawlinson Fr OL 63 Randy Rawlinson OL 69 Scott Robinson OL 55 Brian Rondoni Fr FB 33 Thor Salanoa So OL 56 Jay Shumway HB 23 Vai Sikahema Jr HB 21 Kelly Smith OL 60 David Tidwell HB 46 Tom Tuipulotu TE 89 Brett Varoz RB 33 Fred Whittingham OL 70 Louis Wong OL 78 David Wright QB 12 Mike Young	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 51 Ladd Akeo So DB 22 Mark Allen Sr LB 49 Marv Allen Sr LB 31 John Bechtold So LB 37 Alema Fitisemanu LB 34 Kurt Gouveia Jr DL 78 Larry Hamilton DB 42 Steve Haymond DB 2 Brian Hazelgren DE 92 Jim Herrmann Sr LB 57 Richard Hobbs DL 96 Jay Huckaby DL 77 Shawn Knight DL 76 Tim Knight DB 9 Rob Ledenko DL 80 Ty Mattingly LB 44 Jim McDade LB 96 Jay McDonald DB 5 Kyle Morrell Sr LB 55 David Neff DB 27 Kory Rasmussen So LB 59 Steve Sanders DB 5 Marc Sherman DB 24 Shane Shumway DL 76 Brad Smith DL 65 Ken Smith DB 25 Jeff Sprowls DB 3 Rodney Thomas LB 9 JC VonCollin LB 41 Leon White Jr LB 53 Cary Whittingham Jr DB 14 Jeff Wilcox	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P, PK 10 Lee Johnson Sr PK 3 Pete Rossi PK 15 Gary Webster	Head coach LaVell Edwards Coordinators/assistant coaches Bart Andrus Norm Chow Dick Felt Roger French Mike Holmgren Mel Olson Jim Paronto (Inside linebackers coach) Tom Ramage Lance Reynolds Ken Schmidt Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2017-Jan-01

Rankings

Further information: 1984 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
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

1 2 3 4 Total •Cougars 0 3 6 11 20 No. 3 Panthers 0 0 14 0 14 Date: September 1 Location: Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game attendance: 40,263 Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), Overcast TV announcers (ESPN): Jim Thacker (play-by-play), Irv Brown (analyst)

Scoring summary 2 BYU Lee Johnson 37-yard field goal BYU 3–0 3 Pitt Bill Callahan 78-yard interception return (kick) Pitt 7–3 11:35 Pitt Marc Bailey 1-yard run (kick) Pitt 14–3 BYU Lakai Heimuli 12-yard run (pass failed) Pitt 14–9 4 BYU Lee Johnson 23-yard field goal Pitt 14–12 1:37 BYU Adam Haysbert 50-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Bosco run) BYU 20–14

See also: 1984 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

^[3]

Baylor

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 0 0 6 13 •No. 13 Cougars 21 13 7 6 47 Date: September 8 Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah Game attendance: 63,705 Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C), Clear

Scoring summary 1 BYU Glen Kozlowski 2-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (kick blocked) BYU 6–0 BYU David Mills 39-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Glen Kozlowski pass from Robbie Bosco) BYU 14–0 Baylor Glenn Pruitt 28-yard pass from Tom Muecke (Jim Mueller kick) BYU 14–7 BYU Glen Kozlowski 10-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 21–7 2 BYU Kelly Smith 2-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 28–7 BYU Kelly Smith 23-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (kick blocked) BYU 34–7 3 BYU David Mills 15-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 41–7 4 Baylor Ralph Stockemer 1-yard run (pass failed) BYU 41–13 BYU Fred Whittingham 1-yard run (kick failed) BYU 47–13

See also: 1984 Baylor Bears football team

• Robbie Bosco 28-43, 363 yards, 6 TD

Tulsa

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Hurricane 0 6 3 6 15 •No. 8 Cougars 14 7 3 14 38 Date: September 15 Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah Game attendance: 64,327 Game weather: 85 °F (29 °C), Clear

Scoring summary 1 BYU Vai Sikahema 89-yard punt return (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 7–0 BYU David Mills 7-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 14–0 2 BYU Lakei Heimuli (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 21–0 Tulsa Jason Staurovsky 32-yard field goal BYU 21–3 Tulsa Jason Staurovsky 30-yard field goal BYU 21–6 3 BYU Lee Johnson 25-yard field goal BYU 24–6 Tulsa Jason Staurovsky 46-yard field goal BYU 24–9 4 BYU Robbie Bosco 33-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 31–9 Tulsa Ronnie Kelley 4-yard pass from Steve Gage (pass failed) BYU 31–15 BYU Robbie Parker 3-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 38–15

See also: 1984 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

At Hawaii

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 6 Cougars 3 9 0 6 18 Rainbows 0 10 0 3 13 Date: September 22 Location: Aloha Stadium Game weather: Clear; 78 °F (26 °C)

Scoring summary Q1 BYU Johnson 46 yard field goal BYU 3–0 Q2 BYU Johnson 36 yard field goal BYU 6–0 Q2 BYU Kel. Smith 4 yard run (pass failed) BYU 12–0 Q2 HAW Aguiar recovered blocked punt in end zone (Spelman kick) BYU 12–7 Q2 HAW Spelman 33 yard field goal BYU 12–10 Q4 HAW Spelman 17 yard field goal HAW 13–12 Q4 BYU Kozlowski 25 yard pass from Bosco (pass failed) BYU 18–13

• Glen Kozlowski 9 Rec, 156 Yds

^[4]

At Colorado State

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 7 Cougars 21 17 7 7 52 Rams 3 0 0 6 9 Date: October 6 Location: Hughes Stadium Game attendance: 28,671 Game weather: Sunny; 64 °F (18 °C)

Scoring summary 1 BYU Lakei Leimuli 7-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 7–0 BYU Kelly Smith 40-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 14–0 BYU Kelly Smith 41-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 21–0 CSU Steve DeLine 32-yard field goal BYU 21–3 2 BYU Robbie Bosco 2-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 28–3 BYU Kelly Smith 8-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 35–3 BYU Lee Johnson 38-yard field goal BYU 38–3 3 BYU Robert Parker 28-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 45–3 4 BYU Richard Orr 17-yard pass from Blaine Fowler BYU 52–3 CSU Bill Sherman 5-yard pass from Rod Trumper (pass failed) BYU 52–9

See also: 1984 Colorado State Rams football team

Wyoming

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 7 13 18 0 38 •No. 5 Cougars 14 7 12 8 41 Date: October 13 Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah Game attendance: 64,839 Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), Cloudy

Scoring summary 1 BYU David Mills 44-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 7–0 BYU Kelly Smith 6-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 14–0 Wyo Allyn Griffin 64-yard pass from Kevin Lowe (Andrew Cottingham kick) BYU 14–7 2 BYU Mark Bellini 9-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 21–7 Wyo Allyn Griffin 37-yard pass from Scott Runyan (Andrew Cottingham kick) BYU 21–14 Wyo Oliver Davis 77-yard punt return (kick failed) BYU 21–20 3 Wyo Dave Evans 14-yard run (pass failed) Wyo 26–21 BYU Lakei Heimuli 8-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (pass failed) BYU 27–26 Wyo Jeff Westphal 1-yard run (pass failed) Wyo 32–27 BYU David Mills 31-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (pass failed) BYU 33–32 Wyo Kevin Lowe 61-yard run (pass failed) Wyo 38–33 4 BYU David Mills 14-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (David Mills pass from Robbie Bosco) BYU 41–38

See also: 1984 Wyoming Cowboys football team

• Robbie Bosco 29-44, 384 yards, 5 TD
• David Mills 7 receptions, 136 yards, 3 TD

External videos
Second half broadcast (partial)

At Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 7 Cougars 7 7 13 3 30 Falcons 7 2 10 6 25 Date: October 20 Location: Falcon Stadium Game attendance: 30,469 Game weather: Overcast, periods of snow; 36 °F (2 °C) Television network: ABC

Scoring summary 1 AF Jody Simmons 2-yard run (Carlos Mateos kick) Air Force 7–0 BYU Mark Bellini 52-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) Tied 7–7 2 AF Safety, Mike Chandler tackled Robbie Bosco in end zone Air Force 9–7 BYU Glen Kozlowski 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 14–9 3 BYU Kelly Smith 56-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 21–9 AF Kevin Fleming 57-yard pass from Bart Weiss (Carlos Mateos kick) BYU 21–16 AF Carlos Mateos 46-yard field goal BYU 21–19 BYU David Mills 54-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (kick failed) BYU 27–19 4 AF Bart Weiss 2-yard run (run failed) BYU 27–25 BYU Lee Johnson 27-yard field goal BYU 30–25

See also: 1984 Air Force Falcons football team

• Robbie Bosco 28-41, 484 yards, 4 TD, INT

At New Mexico

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 5 Cougars 7 17 24 0 48 Lobos 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 25 Location: University Stadium Game attendance: 19,277 Game weather: Mostly cloudy; 50 °F (10 °C) Television network: ESPN

Scoring summary 1 BYU Glen Kozlowski 7-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 7–0 2 BYU Lee Johnson 17-yard field goal BYU 10–0 BYU Vai Sikahema 47-yard punt return (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 17–0 BYU Lakei Heimuli 2-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 24–0 3 BYU Lakei Heimuli 33-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 31–0 BYU Lee Johnson 47-yard field goal BYU 34–0 BYU Glen Kozlowski 10-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 41–0 BYU Glen Kozlowski 3-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Pete Rossi kick) BYU 48–0

See also: 1984 New Mexico Lobos football team

UTEP

1 2 3 4 Total Miners 0 3 0 6 9 •No. 4 Cougars 14 7 21 0 42 Date: November 3 Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah Game attendance: 62,350 Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), Mostly cloudy

Scoring summary 1 BYU Glen Kozlowski 24-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 7–0 BYU Adam Haysbert 4-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 14–0 2 BYU Mark Bellini 11-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 21–0 UTEP Hugo Castellanos 27-yard field goal BYU 21–3 3 BYU Lakei Heimuli 13-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 28–3 BYU Kelly Smith 12-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 35–3 BYU Adam Haysbert 6-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 42–3 4 UTEP Robert Moore 3-yard run (pass failed) BYU 42–9

See also: 1984 UTEP Miners football team

San Diego State

1 2 3 4 Total Aztecs 3 0 0 0 3 •No. 4 Cougars 14 10 3 7 34 Date: November 3 Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah Game attendance: 64,050 Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), Overcast

Scoring summary 1 SDSU Chris O'Brien 27-yard field goal SDSU 3–0 BYU Glen Kozlowski 17-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 7–3 BYU Kelly Smith 40-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 14–3 2 BYU Lakei Heimuli 2-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 21–3 BYU Lee Johnson 42-yard field goal BYU 24–3 3 BYU Lee Johnson 32-yard field goal BYU 27–3 4 BYU Glen Kozlowski 9-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 34–3

See also: 1984 San Diego State Aztecs football team

At Utah

BYU at Utah

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 3 Cougars 7 3 7 7 24 Utes 7 0 7 0 14 Date: November 17 Location: Rice Stadium, Salt Lake City Game attendance: 36,110 Game weather: Clear; 47 °F (8 °C)

Scoring summary 1 8:54 UTAH Moloani Hola 1 yard run (Andre Guardi kick) Utah 7–0 1 2:41 BYU Adam Haysbert 11 yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) Tied 7–7 2 0:02 BYU Lee Johnson 19 yard field goal BYU 10–7 3 8:11 BYU Glen Kozlowski 19 yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 17–7 3 1:35 UTAH Thomas Beard 11 yard pass from Mark Stevens (Andre Guardi kick) BYU 17–14 4 7:26 BYU Kelly Smith 4 yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 24–14

See also: 1984 Utah Utes football team

^[5]

Utah State

1 2 3 4 Total Aggies 0 7 6 0 13 •No. 1 Cougars 10 7 7 14 38 Date: November 24 Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah Game attendance: 65,508 Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), Partly cloudy

Scoring summary 1 BYU Lakei Heimuli 8-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 7–0 BYU Lee Johnson 22-yard field goal BYU 10–0 2 BYU Vai Sikahema 2-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 17–0 USU Tracy Duckworth 3-yard pass from Gym Kimball (Willie Beecher kick) BYU 17–7 3 USU Willie Beecher 26-yard field goal BYU 17–10 BYU Mark Bellini 19-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 24–10 USU Willie Beecher 46-yard field goal BYU 24–13 4 BYU Lakei Heimuli 4-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 31–13 BYU Vai Sikahema 26-yard run (Lee Johnson kick) BYU 38–13

See also: 1984 Utah State Aggies football team

^{[6] [7]}

Vs. Michigan (Holiday Bowl)

1 2 3 4 Total Wolverines 0 7 7 3 17 •No. 1 Cougars 0 10 0 14 24 Date: December 21 Location: Jack Murphy Stadium Game attendance: 61,243 Game weather: Clear; 51 °F (11 °C) Television network: ESPN Source: CougarStats.com

Scoring summary 2 BYU Kel. Smith 5 yard run (Johnson kick) BYU 7–0 MICH Rogers 5 yard run (Bergeron kick) Tied 7–7 BYU Johnson 31 yard field goal BYU 10–7 3 MICH Perryman 10 yard pass from Zurbrugg (Bergeron kick) MICH 14–10 4 MICH Bergeron 32 yard field goal MICH 17–10 BYU Kozlowski 7 yard pass from Bosco (Johnson kick) Tie 17–17 BYU Kel. Smith 13 yard pass from Bosco (Johnson kick) BYU 24–17

Main article: 1984 Holiday Bowl

See also: 1984 Michigan Wolverines football team

^{[8] [9]}

Draft picks

The following were selected in the 1985 NFL draft. ^[10]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
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

1. Mandel, Stewart (August 6, 2009). "BYU pulled off a miracle 25 years ago; will it ever happen again?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
2. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. pp. 114, 120. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
3. "Brigham Young 20, No. 3 Pittsburgh 14". UPI Archives . September 1, 1984. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
4. CougarStats.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-18.
5. 1984 BYU vs. Utah – CougarStats CougarStats: BYU Football: BYU vs. Utah 1984 Archived 2010-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
6. "B.Y.U. Extends Streak to 23". The New York Times . November 25, 1984. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
7. "Who's Number One? BYU Gets the Nod, but Others Shake Their Heads". The Washington Post . November 25, 1984. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
8. "Hobbling Bosco Lifts No. 1 BYU to 13-0 Season". The Washington Post . December 22, 1984. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
9. "BOSCO PASSES LIFT B.Y.U." The New York Times . December 22, 1984. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
10. "1985 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
11. "Awards". www.touchdownclubofcolumbus.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.