BYU Football: Top 10 Cougar wins of all time

No. 7

2006 – No. 19 BYU 33, Utah 31

This game is the outlier in this Top 10. The rest of the games either had historical significance or came against a top-tier team. Or both.

This one was neither.

But it did feature one of the two most memorable plays in BYU history.

A good percentage of Cougar Nation can still quote the call on the final play of the game, when John Beck hit Johnny Harline in the endzone for the 33-31 win.

It snapped Utah’s four-game winning streak in the Holy War, and capped off a 10-2 regular season that announced that BYU Football was back.

No. 6

1984 – BYU 20, No. 3 Pittsburgh 14

1984 was supposed to be a bit of a rebuilding season for BYU. They finished 1983 at No. 7 in the nation, but lost star quarterback Steve Young.

To open the 1984 season, the Cougars traveled back east to take on No. 3 Pittsburgh. The Panthers were preseason national nhampionship contenders, but unranked BYU stood toe-to-toe with Pitt and finished with almost 100 more total yards.

More importantly, the Cougars scored the last 17 points of the game, shocking the nation with a 20-14 win.

The upset propelled the Cougars to No. 13 in the nation, giving them the jumpstart they needed to eventually climb to No. 1 and with the consensus national championship.

This game would have been even bigger had Pitt not completely fallen apart, finishing the season with a 3-7-1 record.