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1974 BYU Cougars football
1974 BYU Cougars football
WAC champion
Fiesta Bowl, L 6–16 vs. Oklahoma State
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	7–4–1 (6–0–1 WAC)
Head coach	LaVell Edwards (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Dave Kragthorpe (5th season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Dick Felt (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
	Seasons ← 1973 1975 →

1974 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
BYU $	6	–	0	–	1	7	–	4	–	1
Arizona	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Arizona State	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
UTEP	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Colorado State	2	–	3	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Utah	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Wyoming	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

The 1974 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. The Cougars were led by third-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 first time since 1965 with an undefeated conference record of 6–0–1. BYU was invited to the 1974 Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma State.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	at Hawaii*		Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	L 13–15	23,000	^[1]
September 21	Utah State*		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 6–9	34,555	^[2]
September 28	at Iowa State*		Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA	L 7–34	29,419–32,000	^[3]
October 5	at Colorado State		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	T 33–33	17,458	^[4]
October 12	Wyoming		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 38–7	29,555	^[5]
October 19	UTEP		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 45–21	19,628	^[6]
October 26	at No. 16 Arizona		Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 37–13	34,116	^[7]
November 2	at Air Force*		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 12–10	24,204	^[8]
November 9	No. 16 Arizona State		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 21–18	26,922	^[9]
November 16	at New Mexico		University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 36–3	12,672	^[10]
November 23	Utah		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (Holy War)	W 48–20	30,978	^[11]
December 28	vs. Oklahoma State*	No. 17	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	L 6–16	50,878	^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Game summaries

At Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	0	7	6	13
Rainbow Warriors	3	3	6	3	15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	13/22, 154 yards, TD, 4 INT
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	31 rushes, 165 yards
	Receiving	Craig Van Leeuwen	3 receptions, 62 yards
Hawaii	Passing	Alex Cloi	13/21, 167 yards, INT
	Rushing	Arnold Morgado	19 rushes, 45 yards
	Receiving	Mel de Lora	10 receptions, 143 yards

Utah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	0	3	6	0	9
Cougars	6	0	0	0	6

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Utah State	Passing	Tom Wilson	10/16, 106 yards
	Rushing	Louie Giammona	21 rushes, 59 yards
	Receiving	Jerry Cox	4 receptions, 44 yards
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	18/28, 170 yards, 4 INT
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	22 rushes, 104 yards
	Receiving	Tom Toolson	5 receptions, 58 yards

At Iowa State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	0	0	7	7
Cyclones	5	10	7	12	34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Mark Giles	2/6, 31 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Mark Giles	6 rushes, 26 yards
	Receiving	John Betham	2 receptions, 31 yards, TD
Iowa State	Passing	Wayne Stanley	4/16, 53 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Steve Wilson	22 rushes, 107 yards
	Receiving	Luther Blue	2 receptions, 26 yards

At Colorado State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	13	6	7	33
Rams	0	6	14	13	33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	10/13, 123 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Charley Ah You	13 rushes, 72 yards, TD
	Receiving	Jeff Blanc	2 receptions, 43 yards
Colorado State	Passing	Jack Graham	22/46, 305 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jim McKenzie	11 rushes, 40 yards
	Receiving	Willie Miller	6 receptions, 157 yards, TD

The game ended in controversy as Colorado State scored on the game's final play but the ensuing extra point from the 35-yard line, due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, was missed although one official ruled that the attempt was good.^[14]

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	7	0	0	7
Cougars	3	14	7	14	38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing	Rick Costello	8/17, 85 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Charlie Shaw	7 rushes, 20 yards
	Receiving	Archie Gray	3 receptions, 55 yards
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	20/27, 263 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	24 rushes, 74 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	John Betham	4 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TD

UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	14	0	0	21
Cougars	21	14	7	3	45

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Bob McKinley	7/16, 121 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Bob McKinley	15 rushes, 103 yards, TD
	Receiving	Flash Collins	2 receptions, 67 yards, TD
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	27/40, 387 yards, 6 TD, INT
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	22 rushes, 90 yards, TD
	Receiving	Jeff Nilsson	9 receptions, 176 yards, 3 TD

At No. 16 Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	21	7	0	9	37
No. 16 Wildcats	7	0	6	0	13

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	20/35, 268 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	Charley Ah You	22 rushes, 69 yards
	Receiving	John Betham	10 receptions, 144 yards, 3 TD
Arizona	Passing	Bruce Hill	9/29, 200 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT
	Rushing	Jim Upchurch	21 rushes, 108 yards
	Receiving	Willie Hamilton	2 receptions, 83 yards, TD

At Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	6	0	6	0	12
Falcons	0	3	0	7	10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	18/30, 215 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Charley Ah You	30 rushes, 87 yards
	Receiving	Sam LoBue	7 receptions, 109 yards
Air Force	Passing	Rob Shaw	16/28, 226 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ken Wood	15 rushes, 56 yards
	Receiving	Bob Farr	10 receptions, 117 yards, TD

No. 16 Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Sun Devils	6	6	6	0	18
Cougars	2	6	6	7	21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Arizona State	Passing	Ray Alexander	8/20, 148 yards, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Fred Williams	14 rushes, 48 yards
	Receiving	John Washington	7 receptions, 110 yards
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	24/41, 224 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	30 rushes, 77 yards, TD
	Receiving	Jeff Blanc	6 receptions, 61 yards

At New Mexico

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	13	6	10	36
Lobos	3	0	0	0	3

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	15/29, 244 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	24 rushes, 74 yards
	Receiving	Jeff Blanc	3 receptions, 94 yards, TD
New Mexico	Passing	Ken Bryant	9/30, 66 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ken Bryant	20 rushes, 42 yards
	Receiving	Preston Dennard	2 receptions, 20 yards

Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	0	6	0	14	20
Cougars	14	7	14	13	48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Utah	Passing	Homer Warner	7/14, 103 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ike Spencer	6 rushes, 31 yards
	Receiving	Mike Cordy	4 receptions, 60 yards
BYU	Passing	Gary Sheide	11/22, 104 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	20 rushes, 122 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	John Betham	2 receptions, 40 yards

Vs. Oklahoma State (Fiesta Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	7	3	6	16
No. 17 Cougars	6	0	0	0	6

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma State	Passing	Charlie Weatherbie	6/16, 64 yards, TD
	Rushing	Kenny Walker	6 rushes, 34 yards, TD
	Receiving	Leonard Thompson	3 receptions, 42 yards, TD
BYU	Passing	Mark Giles	12/27, 138 yards, 3 INT
	Rushing	Jeff Blanc	19 rushes, 53 yards
	Receiving	Sam LoBue	3 receptions, 50 yards

Roster

1974 BYU Cougars football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
FB	`33`	Todd Christensen	Fr
QB	`14`	Gifford Nielsen	Fr
QB	`12`	Gary Sheide	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

LaVell Edwards

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

References

^ "Hawaii wins 15–13 on five field goals". The Daily Herald. September 15, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Field goals sink BYU". The Arizona Daily Star. September 22, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "ISU rips BYU as Strachan sets career rush record". The Sioux City Journal. September 29, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU, Rams battle to tie". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 6, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU blasts Pokes". Rapid City Journal. October 13, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sheide passes Cougars past Texas–El Paso". The Daily Herald. October 20, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sheide shreds Wildcats 37–13". The Daily Sentinel. October 27, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU grounds Falcons, 12–10". The Sunday Oregonian. November 3, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Cougars edge Arizona State". Albuquerque Journal. November 10, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU nears title after 36–3 romp". The El Paso Times. November 17, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sheide leads BYU to crown". The Billings Gazette. November 24, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Cowboys 'turn over' Cougars, 16–6". The Arizona Republic. December 29, 1974. Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "CougarStats.com. 1974 season". Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1974 Oct 6^{[full citation needed]}