BYU football: The biggest upsets in Cougar history
To celebrate Independence Day – and arguably the greatest upset in world history – let’s look at some of the biggest upsets in BYU football history.
We take July 4 to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which ushered in the Revolutionary War, which is the greatest upset in the history of the world. A group of rag-tag colonists defeating the vaunted British army. So what better way to celebrate than by reliving some of the biggest upsets in BYU football history?
Oh, what’s that? You’d rather go to the beach, or grill, or ballpark? Okay, well bear with me. This will still be fun (and the beach isn’t going anywhere).
Still here? Perfect. Let’s do this.
Honorable Mention: BYU 37 – UCLA 35, 1983
By the time the 1983 season was over, BYU football would be ranked No. 7 in the nation. Meanwhile, UCLA would stumble early but pick up steam late, winning seven-of-eight games and the Rose Bowl.
Ultimately, that’s why it didn’t make the actual list. It’s tough to pull off an “upset” if you’re one of the best teams in the country. Granted, when the two schools met, they were both unranked with 2-1 records.
BYU football took care of business in Los Angeles, giving UCLA its first home loss in six seasons. Quarterback Steve Young threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns and added 54 rushing yards in the victory. Casey Tiumalu took 17 carries for 137 yards.
The biggest play of the game was a Young to Gordon Hudson touchdown strike in the third quarter. After UCLA scored a touchdown and cut BYU football’s lead to 24-21, the Cougars answered with a 12-yard strike, extending the lead to 10.
The win also began to bring Young some national attention.
Honorable Mention: BYU 30 – No. 14 Penn State 17, 1992
Did you know that BYU defeated Penn State while Ki-Jana Carter and Kerry Collins were on the roster? You do now.
The 1992 season wasn’t a great one for BYU football. The Cougars played four different quarterbacks en route to a 8-5 season.
But on Halloween day 1992, everything was clicking for the Cougars.
Joe Paterno led Penn State into Cougar Stadium just one week after BYU was shellacked in South Bend by Notre Dame. BYU was reeling, but had its own legend at the helm.
LaVell’s Cougars took a 27-3 lead into the locker room and held on to defeat the NIttany Lions 30-17.
Ryan Hancock threw three touchdown passes and Kalin Hall and Jamal Willis combined to take 35 carries for 189 yards and a touchdown.
Oh, and Ki-Jana Carter (still a backup at the time) took three carries for 10 yards.