Five Most Impactful Losses in BYU Football History
#3 – 1983 at Baylor
Lavell Edwards has made a claim that the 1983 BYU football team was the best team he has ever coached. BYU had Steve Young under center, who was the best quarterback in the country in 1983. Young finished second in the Heisman trophy, and led the nation in almost every offensive category. Young was a dual-threat type quarterback that BYU had never seen before, and the Cougar offense was simply explosive—averaging 44 points per game. They had several players who would go on to play in the NFL and win Super Bowls. This team was extremely talented and more than capable of competing for a national championship. Yet, the one blemish of the 1983 season came at the hands of a Baylor team that BYU was simply better than. And it is not even debatable.
The season-opening loss to Baylor was a heartbreaker. BYU led this game 36-33 with just over 3 minutes left and allowed the Bears to drive a full length of the field (mostly on the ground) to score and take the lead with 0:49 left. Steve Young would then march the Cougars down the field to the Baylor 30 yard line with 19 seconds left. After 3 consecutive pass attempts to the end zone, the Baylor defense would hold strong and win the game 40-36. Young would finish the game with 464 yards total offense (351 passing, 113 rushing). Baylor went on to finish the 1983 season with a record of 7-4-1. BYU finished at 11-1, WAC Champions, Holiday Bowl Champions, and a final ranking of #8 in the country.
What if… The impact of this loss is very interesting to think about. Had BYU held on to beat Baylor in 1983, they would have finished the season along with Nebraska as one of the two undefeated teams in the country. Miami would go on to play and beat undefeated Nebraska in the national championship Orange Bowl game. If BYU then wins their Holiday Bowl and finishes undefeated, they would remain the only undefeated team in the country and might be eligible for at least a share of a national championship, similar to 1984. If BYU claims a share of a national title in 1983, there would be no debate to the validity of their national title in 1984. Would a win over Baylor produce a back-to-back national title run for BYU? Again, who knows? We can’t help but wonder the “what-if” when analyzing this loss. If this is the case, I wonder if Steve Young or Lavell Edwards still lose any sleep when they think back to this impactful defeat.