1985 BYU Cougars football team

American college football season

1985 BYU Cougars football
WAC co-champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, L 7–10 vs. Ohio State
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 16
Record11–3 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach
  • LaVell Edwards (14th season)
Offensive coordinatorRoger French (5th season)
Offensive schemeWest Coast
Defensive coordinatorDick Felt (11th season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumCougar Stadium
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings
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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. 10RaycomW 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. 13KSL (1 hour tape delay)W 26–24
October 5at Colorado StateNo. 15W 42–7
October 12San Diego StateNo. 11
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
W 28–0
October 19at New MexicoNo. 9
KSLW 45–23
October 26at UTEPNo. 7L 16–23
November 2WyomingNo. 17
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
W 59–0
November 9at Utah State*No. 18KSLW 44–0
November 16No. 4 Air ForceNo. 16
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSLW 28–21
November 23UtahNo. 11
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah (Holy War)
W 38–28
December 7at HawaiiNo. 9W 26–6
December 28vs. No. 17 Ohio State*No. 9NBCL 7–10
  • *Non-conference game
  • 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

Air Force

#4 Air Force Falcons (10–0) at #16 BYU Cougars (8–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Air Force 14 7 0021
BYU 0 7 14728

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

  • Date: November 16, 1985
  • 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). Air Force 7–0.
  • AFA – Tom Rotello 25-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 14–0.

Second quarter

  • BYU – Mark Bellini 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). Air Force 14–7.
  • AFA – Dwan Wilson 58-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 21–7.

Third quarter

  • BYU – Vai Sikahema 72-yard punt return (kick failed). Air Force 21–13.
  • BYU – Mark Bellini 25-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (pass good). Tie 21–21.

Fourth quarter

  • BYU – Vai Sikahema 69-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). BYU 28–21.
Top passers
  • AFA – Bart Weiss – 9/18, 101 yards, TD, INT
  • BYU – Robbie Bosco – 29/49, 343 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Top rushers
  • AFA – Pat Evans – 18 rushes, 65 yards
  • BYU – Tom Tuipulotu – 3 rushes, 15 yards
Top receivers
  • AFA – Randy Jones – 2 receptions, 25 yards, TD
  • BYU – Mark Bellini – 9 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TD

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

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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