1985 BYU Cougars football team

1985 BYU Cougars football
WAC co-champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, L 7–10 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 16
Record	11–3 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	LaVell Edwards (14th season)
Offensive coordinator	Roger French (5th season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Dick Felt (11th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium

1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Air Force +	7	–	1	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
No. 16 BYU +	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	3	–	0
Utah	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Hawaii	4	–	3	–	1			4	–	6	–	2
Colorado State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
San Diego State	3	–	4	–	1			5	–	6	–	1
New Mexico	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Wyoming	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UTEP	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 14th-year head coach LaVell Edwards and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. The team competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference, winning a share of their 10th consecutive conference title with a conference record of 7–1, sharing the title with Air Force. BYU was invited to the 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl, where they lost to Ohio State. The Cougars were ranked 16th in the final AP Poll with an overall record of 11–3. Their loss to UTEP is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in college football history, with it being tied for the fifth biggest by points spread.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result
August 29	vs. Boston College*	No. 10	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey (Kickoff Classic)	Raycom	W 28–14
September 7	No. 20 UCLA*	No. 8	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah	ESPN	L 24–27
September 14	Washington*	No. 16	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah	ABC	W 31–3
September 21	at Temple*	No. 13	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia	KSL (1 hour tape delay)	W 26–24
October 5	at Colorado State	No. 15	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, Colorado		W 42–7
October 12	San Diego State	No. 11	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah		W 28–0
October 19	at New Mexico	No. 9	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	KSL	W 45–23
October 26	at UTEP	No. 7	Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas		L 16–23
November 2	Wyoming	No. 17	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah		W 59–0
November 9	at Utah State*	No. 18	Romney Stadium Logan, Utah (The Old Wagon Wheel)	KSL	W 44–0
November 16	No. 4 Air Force	No. 16	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah	KSL	W 28–21
November 23	Utah	No. 11	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah (Holy War)		W 38–28
December 7	at Hawaii	No. 9	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI		W 26–6
December 28	vs. No. 17 Ohio State*	No. 9	Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida (Florida Citrus Bowl)	NBC	L 7–10
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1985 BYU Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Robbie Bosco RB Bruce Hansen Jr WR 7 Glen Kozlowski	Defense Pos. # Name Class OLB 42 Darin Nelson LB 53 Cary Whittingham Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach LaVell Edwards Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Air Force

#4 Air Force Falcons (10–0) at #16 BYU Cougars (8–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	14	7	0	0	21
BYU	0	7	14	7	28

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

• Date: November 16, 1985
• Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
• Game attendance: 65,393
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter AFA – Randy Jones 22-yard pass from Bart Weiss (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 7–0. AFA – Tom Rotello 25-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 14–0. Second quarter BYU – Mark Bellini 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). Air Force 14–7. AFA – Dwan Wilson 58-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick). Air Force 21–7. Third quarter BYU – Vai Sikahema 72-yard punt return (kick failed). Air Force 21–13. BYU – Mark Bellini 25-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (pass good). Tie 21–21. Fourth quarter BYU – Vai Sikahema 69-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick). BYU 28–21. Top passers AFA – Bart Weiss – 9/18, 101 yards, TD, INT BYU – Robbie Bosco – 29/49, 343 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT Top rushers AFA – Pat Evans – 18 rushes, 65 yards BYU – Tom Tuipulotu – 3 rushes, 15 yards Top receivers AFA – Randy Jones – 2 receptions, 25 yards, TD BYU – Mark Bellini – 9 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TD

Robbie Bosco wore number 7 in honor of injured teammate Glen Kozlowski