Plays To Remember

As a lifelong Cougar football fan there have been been numerous phenomenal games to watch over the years. Found amongst each of the those memorable matchups there are typically defining moments or specific plays that an individual can always look back on. Listed below in historical order are ten dates singled out with absolutely amazing defining plays that a Cougar fan will always be immensely proud of.


19 Dec 1980 This was the tale of two ball games seperated by nearly four quarters and the other one of four minutes. The Mustang Express dominated the first portion led by Eric Dickerson and Craig James leaving the Cougs down by 20 with only minutes remaining. At this point most had already tuned out or left the stadium. From a 45-25 deficit the Cougs found a TD pass, recovered an onside kick, scored on a one yard run and blocked a punt. With only three seconds remaining in this wild ride Jim McMahon connected on a "Hail Mary" pass of 41 yards to Clay Brown for the touchdown. With the score tied Kurt Gunther kicked the winning PAT giving the the victory to the Cougars as the fans stormed the field.
23 Dec 1983 Another great page of Cougar history was about to be added in a matchup of a stingy Missouri defense against the explosive Cougar offense led by Steve Young. Something had to give somewhere but neither was willing to back down. BYU had the ball on the 6 yard line with 3:57 left in the game down 17-14. The blue jerseys were able to march down to the Missouri 15 with under a minute to play. On first and 10 Young handed off to Eddie Stinnett who faked a sweep to the right throwing back across the field to Young over the outstretched arms of Mizzo's Bobby Bell. Stinnett's pass allowed Young to scamper in for the six (PAT good) securing the 1983 Holiday Bowl victory.
22 Sep 1984 This night would showcase one of the most spectacular plays ever in Cougar history. Leading 12-10 the Cougar defense was pinned in a first and goal on the BYU 2 yard line. Scouting reports showed Hawaii QB Raphel Cherry loved the QB sneak when possible. First attempt was unsuccessful and proved correct for only a few inches. Second down held the same results. On third and inches Cougar free safety Kyle Morrell crept near the line of scrimmage listening intently on the audibles. Knowing Cherry's cadence Morrell leaped clearing the line simultaneously as the ball was snapped. Kyle hurdled over the Rainbow (Raphel Cherry) catching him by the collar pulling him down. The timing was unquestionably perfect. Not a single official reached for a yellow flag.
21 Dec 1984 At the end of half the Michigan Wolverine's led 14-10. Bob Bergeron hit a 32 yard FG adding to the Wolverine lead (17-10). The Cougar offense led by Robbie Bosco then gutted out a 80 yard drive with a pass to Glen Kozlowski to tie the game at 17 with 10:51 remaining. Finally Boscoe hit a 13 yard TD toss to Kelly Smith with 1:23 remaining putting the Cougs up 24-17. Two plays later Marv Allen intercepted a pass clinching not only an undefeated season but also national championship.
8 Sep 1990 Over 60,000 Cougar fans witnessed first hand an upset of then #1 nationally ranked Miami Hurricanes led by Ty Detmer. In the process Detmer received 6 stitches to the chin yet effectively and efficiently carved up the Hurricane defense on 38 of 54 precision lasered throws for over 400 yards. At the end of the evening Matt Bellini voiced his own thoughts on the subject between the two matched up QBs "There's no doubt in my mind who's better. All you had to do was listen to the crowd" (Bellini snagged 10 recepts for 111 yards). Ervin Lee picked off Craig Erickson's last heave in the end zone as time clicked off the click.
1 Jan 1997 Over seventy thousand fans (more than 40,000 of those were dressed in wildcat purple) were on hand to witness the fifth ranked Cougs come from behind victory in the 61st annual Cotton Bowl. At the end of three quarters Kansas State was up 15-5. Steve Sarkisian engineered two fourth quarter drives capped with TD passes to James Dye (wish he was still roaming the sidelines) and K.O. Kealualuhi. Cougar fans were on edge as the Wildcats drove the length of the field before Omarr Morgan finally took care of business with an INT at the 12 yard line.
24 Nov 2000 Both the yewts (4-6) and Cougars (5-6) were attempting to finish off less than desired seasons. Coach Lavell Edwards was coaching the last game of the season before retirement. At the end of three quarters BYU was up 26-10. However, the yewts began working on their own home field scoring 17. Up by one the yewts had the Cougars pinned on 4th and 13 at their own 17. With about a minute remaining Brandon Doman connected with Jonathan Pittman for 34 yards keeping the drive alive. On the very next play Pittman struck again with a 36 yard completion from Doman. Two plays later with 13 seconds left Brandon ran in the winning TD sending out Lavell Edwards victorious.
17 Nov 2001 Coming into the contest the Cougs at home were ranked #8 and undefeated. With 3:30 left all that was in jeopardy down 21-10. Brandon Doman assembled yet another dramatic comeback in Cougar history. Leading the Cougs on a 92 yard drive Doman found Luke Staley on a 7 yard TD pass. Luke added a 2 point conversion run. The BYU defense held strong against the yewt three and out. At the yewt 30 with 1:16 left Luke took the Doman pitch along the sideline for the winning touchdown.
25 Nov 2006 Undefeated in conference play John Beck was up for a challenge. Both the local media and fans wanted to know. Could he win the big one? Things looked rather dark with 1:19 left and the yewts holding onto a 31-27 lead. Needing an answered prayer Beck was able to engineer an impressive 70 yard drive down to the yewts 14. However, now facing fourth and only seconds remaining in the play that lasted forever Beck was able to find Jonny Harline wide open in the end zone for the touchdown and victory. Yes, Harline is STILL open!
25 Nov 2007 For the screaming fans in Provo the scoreboard read fourth and 18. In the hearts of fans it might have been fourth and probably not gonna happen. Trailing the yewts 10-9 with a little over a minute remaining on your own 12 could be painted as pretty dark. Cougar QB Max Hall was confident stating "I knew something magical was going to happen". And it did. As Max rolled right (still nursing a shoulder sprain) he found Austin Collie wide open for a 49 yard completion keeping hopes alive. A few plays later with 38 ticks on the clock Harvey Unga steamrolled 11 yards into the end zone to lift the Cougars to victory and a second consecutive outright MWC championship. As Austin Collie would say if you work hard on the fundamentals, execution and do the right things on and off the field certain things happen that allow you to win football games. Two words tell it all: magic happens.