Five Most Impactful Losses in BYU Football History
#2 – 1996 at Washington
Photo: Seattle Times
The hopes and dreams of an undefeated season were shattered at Husky Stadium in 1996. This game has a personal connection to me and my family. At the ripe young age of 9, I was in attendance at this game with my dad and brother, as we resided in the nearby Portland, Oregon area. Despite this game being 17 years ago, here are a few things I can remember… I remember that it was raining. I remember the loud, scary air-raid siren after every Washington touchdown. I remember how weird BYU looked wearing the all-white uniform combo. I remember seeing my older brother cry after the game was over as we walked back to the car, claiming that our season was now ruined. I also remember that before the game, my dad was very confident that BYU would win. Apparently, so was the BYU football team. Maybe a little too confident.
At the beginning of 1996, BYU stunned the nation by upsetting #12 ranked Texas A&M in the Pigskin Classic. BYU quarterback Steve Sarkisian was putting up Heisman-like numbers. The Cougars entered Seattle following a BYE week and a 2-0 record, ranked #14 in the nation. The game was nationally televised on ABC. Talk about a prime-time matchup. BYU was the favorite, the Huskies were the underdog. From the beginning, BYU looked very lethargic and relaxed. The Huskies took notice and wasted no time punching BYU in the mouth early. Before they knew it, the Cougars trailed 14-0 in the 1st quarter after a pair of touchdown runs by Washington running back Rashaan Shehee. The Husky backfield would dominate the BYU defense on the ground, with Shehee and Corey Dillon combining for 223 yards. Meanwhile, Steve Sarkisian was being punished all game long by the blitzing Husky defense. Led by linebacker Jason Chorak, Washington sacked Sarkisian 8 times, including a safety late in the 4th quarter. By the end of the game, all Sark could see was purple (a la Todd Marinovich). Sarkisian, who is now the head coach at Washington, claimed that Husky Stadium was the loudest venue he had ever played in. Perhaps BYU looked past Washington and the intensity of Husky Stadium, assuming that an undefeated season would come easy after the thrilling victory over Texas A&M. However, the bruised and battered Cougars would exit Seattle with a humbling 29-17 defeat. Goodbye undefeated season and a shot at a National Championship.
What if… After trailing 14-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, BYU would regroup and outscore the Huskies 17-15 for the remaining three quarters. If you go back and watch the game, you will be surprised by how many scoring opportunities BYU had that they just couldn’t capitalize on. This is one of those games where you wish you could just press the “restart” button. Had BYU been awake for the 1st quarter and made adjustments to contain Rashaan Shehee, and then proceeded to capitalize on scoring opportunities, they have a good chance of escaping Husky Stadium with a win. At the end of 1996, there was only one undefeated team remaining (Florida State). If BYU beats Washington and goes undefeated, we would assume they are picked to play in an Alliance Bowl, most likely in the Fiesta Bowl against Penn State. If they win the Fiesta Bowl, they finish at an unprecedented 15-0. Does this warrant at least a share of a national title? This was still an era of college football where a team could potentially share a national title based on pure votes. With how exciting and talented the 1996 BYU football team was, we can’t help but wonder what could have been for BYU had they buckled down and beat the Huskies. The impact of this loss left the BYU football team and its fans sleepless in Seattle.