1985 BYU Cougars football team

1985 BYU Cougars football
WAC co-champion
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 16
Record11–3 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRoger French (5th season)
Offensive schemeWest Coast
Defensive coordinatorDick Felt (11th season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumCougar Stadium
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Air Force + 7 – 1 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
No. 16 BYU + 7 – 1 – 0 11 – 3 – 0
Utah 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Hawaii 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 2
Colorado State 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 7 – 0
San Diego State 3 – 4 – 1 5 – 6 – 1
New Mexico 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Wyoming 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
UTEP 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 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 7–1, 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 11–3. 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]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResult
August 29vs. Boston College*No. 10
RaycomW 28–14
September 7No. 20 UCLA*No. 8
ESPNL 24–27
September 14Washington*No. 16
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
ABCW 31–3
September 21at Temple*No. 13
KSL (1 hour tape delay)W 26–24
October 5at Colorado StateNo. 15
W 42–7
October 12San Diego StatedaggerNo. 11
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
W 28–0
October 19at New MexicoNo. 9
KSLW 45–23
October 26at UTEPNo. 7
L 16–23
November 2WyomingNo. 17
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
W 59–0
November 9at Utah State*No. 18
KSLW 44–0
November 16No. 4 Air ForceNo. 16
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSLW 28–21
November 23UtahNo. 11
W 38–28
December 7at HawaiiNo. 9
W 26–6
December 28vs. No. 17 Ohio State*No. 9
NBCL 7–10
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

Personnel

1985 BYU Cougars football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB Robbie Bosco
RB Bruce Hansen Jr
WR 7 Glen Kozlowski
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
OLB 42 Darin Nelson
LB 53 Cary Whittingham Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Vs. Boston College (Kickoff Classic)

See also: 1985 Boston College Eagles football team
No. 10 BYU Cougars vs. Boston College Eagles (Kickoff Classic) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 10 Cougars 0 14 7728
Eagles 0 7 7014

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.
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing 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 College Passing Shawn Halloran 18/37, 159 yards, 3 INT
Rushing Troy Stradford 21 rushes, 101 yards, TD
Receiving Scott Gieselman 9 receptions, 78 yards

No. 20 UCLA

See also: 1985 UCLA Bruins football team
No. 20 UCLA Bruins at No. 8 BYU Cougars – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 20 Bruins 10 3 31127
No. 8 Cougars 3 14 0724

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.
Team Category Player Statistics
UCLA Passing Matt Stevens 6/11, 113 yards
Rushing Marcus Greenwood 13 rushes, 71 yards
Receiving Mike Sherrard 6 receptions, 98 yards
BYU Passing Robbie Bosco 29/41, 340 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Vai Sikahema 6 rushes, 54 yards
Receiving Vai Sikahema 8 receptions, 129 yards

At UTEP

See also: 1985 UTEP Miners football team
No. 7 BYU Cougars at UTEP Miners – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 7 Cougars 10 0 6016
Miners 10 10 3023

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.
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing Robbie Bosco 15/34, 151 yards, TD, 4 INT
Rushing Lakei Heimuli 30 rushes, 154 yards, TD
Receiving Kelly Smith 7 receptions, 60 yards
UTEP Passing 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

See also: 1985 Air Force Falcons football team
No. 4 Air Force Falcons at No. 16 BYU Cougars – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 4 Falcons 14 7 0021
No. 16 Cougars 0 7 14728

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.
Team Category Player Statistics
Air Force Passing Bart Weiss 9/18, 101 yards, TD, INT
Rushing Pat Evans 18 rushes, 65 yards
Receiving Randy Jones 2 receptions, 25 yards, TD
BYU Passing Robbie Bosco 29/49, 343 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Rushing Tom Tuipulotu 3 rushes, 15 yards
Receiving Mark Bellini 9 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)

See also: 1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team and 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl
1985 Florida Citrus Bowl
No. 9 BYU Cougars vs. No. 17 Ohio State Buckeyes
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 9 Cougars 0 7 007
No. 17 Buckeyes 0 3 7010

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
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing Robbie Bosco 26/50, 261 yards, TD, 4 INT
Rushing Tom Tuipulotu 9 rushes, 43 yards
Receiving Mark Bellini 5 receptions, 87 yards
Ohio State Passing Jim Karsatos 19/35, 196 yards
Rushing John Wooldridge 25 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.
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