1985 BYU Cougars football team

Last updated

1985 BYU Cougars football
WAC co-champion
Conference Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 16
Record11–3 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRoger French (5th season)
Offensive scheme West Coast
Defensive coordinator Dick Felt (11th season)
Base defense 4–3
Home stadium Cougar Stadium
Seasons
  1984
1986  
1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 8 Air Force + 7 1 012 1 0
No. 16 BYU + 7 1 011 3 0
Utah 5 3 08 4 0
Hawaii 4 3 14 6 2
Colorado State 4 4 05 7 0
San Diego State 3 4 15 6 1
New Mexico 2 6 03 8 0
Wyoming 2 6 03 8 0
UTEP 1 7 01 10 0
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 14th-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 a share of their 10th consecutive conference title with a conference record of 71, sharing the title with Air Force. BYU was invited to the 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl, where they lost to Ohio State. The Cougars were ranked 16th in the final AP Poll with an overall record of 113. Their loss to UTEP is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in college football history, with it being tied for the fifth biggest by points spread. [1]

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResult
August 29vs. Boston College *No. 10 Raycom W 28–14
September 7No. 20 UCLA *No. 8 ESPN L 24–27
September 14 Washington *No. 16
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
ABC W 31–3
September 21at Temple *No. 13 KSL (1 hour tape delay)W 26–24
October 5at Colorado State No. 15W 42–7
October 12 San Diego State Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 11
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
W 28–0
October 19at New Mexico No. 9 KSL W 45–23
October 26at UTEP No. 7L 16–23
November 2 Wyoming No. 17
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
W 59–0
November 9at Utah State *No. 18 KSL W 44–0
November 16No. 4 Air Force No. 16
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSL W 28–21
November 23 Utah No. 11
W 38–28
December 7at Hawaii No. 9W 26–6
December 28vs. No. 17 Ohio State *No. 9 NBC L 7–10
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

Personnel

1985 BYU Cougars football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB Robbie Bosco
RB Bruce Hansen Jr
WR 7 Glen Kozlowski
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
OLB 42Darin Nelson
LB 53Cary WhittinghamSr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
    • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Game summaries

Vs. Boston College (Kickoff Classic)

No. 10 BYU Cougars vs. Boston College Eagles (Kickoff Classic) – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
No. 10 Cougars0147728
Eagles077014

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: August 29
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. MDT/8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 80 °F (27 °C)
  • Game attendance: 51,227
  • Box score
Game information
First quarter
  • No scoring plays

Second quarter

  • BYU – Mark Bellini 6-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (kick failed), 13:11. Cougars 6–0.
  • BYU – Lakei Heimuli 1-yard run (Robbie Bosco pass to Kelly Smith), 9:34. Cougars 14–0.
  • BC – John Mihalik 1-yard run (Tim George kick), 5:40. Cougars 14–7.

Third quarter

  • BC – Troy Stradford 5-yard run (Tim George kick), 5:33. Tied 14–14.
  • BYU – Mark Bellini 12-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 3:38. Cougars 21–14.

Fourth quarter

  • BYU – Glen Kozlowski 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 8:32. Cougars 28–14.
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
BYUPassing Robbie Bosco 35/53, 508 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Rushing Vai Sikahema 7 rushes, 27 yards
Receiving Glen Kozlowski 10 receptions, 241 yards, TD
Boston CollegePassing Shawn Halloran 18/37, 159 yards, 3 INT
Rushing Troy Stradford 21 rushes, 101 yards, TD
ReceivingScott Gieselman9 receptions, 78 yards

No. 20 UCLA

No. 20 UCLA Bruins at No. 8 BYU Cougars – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
No. 20 Bruins10331127
No. 8 Cougars3140724

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

  • Date: September 7
  • Game time: 5:45 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,455
  • Box score
Game information
First quarter
  • UCLA – John Lee 25-yard field goal, 8:57. Bruins 3–0.
  • BYU – Gary Webster 24-yard field goal, 3:23. Tied 3–3.
  • UCLA – Craig Rutledge 65-yard interception return (Gary Webster kick), 1:26. Bruins 10–3.

Second quarter

  • BYU – Mark Bellini 10-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 13:47. Tied 10–10.
  • UCLA – John Lee 35-yard field goal, 6:28. Bruins 13–10.
  • BYU – Glen Kozlowski 7-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 3:29. Cougars 17–13.

Third quarter

  • UCLA – John Lee 20-yard field goal, 5:29. Cougars 17–16.

Fourth quarter

  • UCLA – John Lee 25-yard field goal, 9:01. Bruins 19–17.
  • BYU – Robbie Bosco 1-yard run (Gary Webster kick), 2:57. Cougars 24–19.
  • UCLA – Gaston Green 2-yard run (Gaston Green run), 1:02. Bruins 27–24.
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
UCLAPassing Matt Stevens 6/11, 113 yards
RushingMarcus Greenwood13 rushes, 71 yards
Receiving Mike Sherrard 6 receptions, 98 yards
BYUPassingRobbie Bosco29/41, 340 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
RushingVai Sikahema6 rushes, 54 yards
ReceivingVai Sikahema8 receptions, 129 yards

At UTEP

No. 7 BYU Cougars at UTEP Miners – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
No. 7 Cougars1006016
Miners10103023

at Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

  • Date: October 26
  • Game weather: Clear, 75 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 22,121
  • Box score
Game information
First quarter
  • BYU – Scott Norberg 11-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 11:29. Cougars 7–0.
  • UTEP – Clarence Seay 52-yard pass from Sammy Garza (Hugo Castellanos kick), 9:33. Tied 7–7.
  • BYU – Gary Webster 45-yard field goal, 6:03. Cougars 10–7.
  • UTEP – Hugo Castellanos 50-yard field goal, 1:08. Tied 10–10.

Second quarter

  • UTEP – Danny Taylor 100-yard interception return (Hugo Castellanos kick), 5:52. Miners 17–10.
  • UTEP – Hugo Castellanos 31-yard field goal, 0:13. Miners 20–10.

Third quarter

  • BYU – Lakei Heimuli 1-yard run (kick failed), 9:44. Miners 20–16.
  • UTEP – Hugo Castellanos 29-yard field goal, 6:00. Miners 23–16.
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
BYUPassingRobbie Bosco15/34, 151 yards, TD, 4 INT
RushingLakei Heimuli30 rushes, 154 yards, TD
ReceivingKelly Smith7 receptions, 60 yards
UTEPPassing Sammy Garza 8/16, 147 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing John Harvey 25 rushes, 112 yards
Receiving Larry Linne 3 receptions, 56 yards

No. 4 Air Force

No. 4 Air Force Falcons at No. 16 BYU Cougars – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
No. 4 Falcons1470021
No. 16 Cougars0714728

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

  • Date: November 16
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,393
  • Box score
Game information
First quarter
  • AFA – Randy Jones 22-yard pass from Bart Weiss (Tom Ruby kick), 12:29. Falcons 7–0.
  • AFA – Tom Rotello 25-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick), 12:09. Falcons 14–0.

Second quarter

  • BYU – Mark Bellini 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 12:46. Falcons 14–7.
  • AFA – Dwan Wilson 58-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick), 8:36. Falcons 21–7.

Third quarter

  • BYU – Vai Sikahema 72-yard punt return (kick failed), 12:47. Falcons 21–13.
  • BYU – Mark Bellini 25-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Robbie Bosco pass to Lance Lindley), 4:42. Tied 21–21.

Fourth quarter

  • BYU – Vai Sikahema 69-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 5:41. Cougars 28–21.
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Air ForcePassingBart Weiss9/18, 101 yards, TD, INT
RushingPat Evans18 rushes, 65 yards
ReceivingRandy Jones2 receptions, 25 yards, TD
BYUPassingRobbie Bosco29/49, 343 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
RushingTom Tuipulotu3 rushes, 15 yards
ReceivingMark Bellini9 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TD

Robbie Bosco wore number 7 in honor of injured teammate Glen Kozlowski.

Vs. No. 17 Ohio State (Florida Citrus Bowl)

1985 Florida Citrus Bowl
No. 9 BYU Cougars vs. No. 17 Ohio State Buckeyes
Quarter1234Total
No. 9 Cougars07007
No. 17 Buckeyes037010

at Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

Game information
First quarter
  • No scoring plays

Second quarter

  • OSU – Rich Spangler 47-yard field goal, 10:32. Buckeyes 3–0.
  • BYU – David Miles 38-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 0:52. Cougars 7–3.

Third quarter

  • OSU – Larry Kolic 14-yard interception return (Rich Spangler kick), 13:52. Buckeyes 10–7.

Fourth quarter

  • No scoring plays
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
BYUPassingRobbie Bosco26/50, 261 yards, TD, 4 INT
RushingTom Tuipulotu9 rushes, 43 yards
ReceivingMark Bellini5 receptions, 87 yards
Ohio StatePassing Jim Karsatos 19/35, 196 yards
RushingJohn Wooldridge25 rushes, 109 yards
Receiving Cris Carter 6 receptions, 85 yards

References

  1. "The 30 Biggest College Football Point Spread Upsets Since 1980 | The Action Network". Action Network. November 14, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  2. College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-24.