With the inspiration of the Hype Train Podcast, I decided to compile a list of some of the more interesting box scores in BYU's history. There's a bit of everything here: games with a pile of interesting names doing interesting things, comebacks, sad losses, and plenty of other statistical anomalies. Let's dive in!
- Nov. 10, 1934 - Colorado College
You may wonder what a game from nearly 100 years ago is doing on this list. Well, entering the game the Tigers of Colorado College were 1-3 having lost every game following a season-opening win against Colorado Mines. The Cougars were caught flat-footed as the Tigers had a 19-0 lead one play into the second quarter and held that lead going into the half. Quarterback Jack Woodward led the second-half comeback, starting with a 60-yard pick six. Two touchdown passes by Woodward and touchdown runs by Hunt Sanford and Grant Hutchinson capped what remains the fourth largest halftime deficit overcome by BYU in program history. Cougars won 34-19.
- Sep. 21, 1946 - Western State
In BYU's first game back following the end of World War II they faced their old punching bag Western State (now Western Colorado). Rolling in with a new "T" formation on offense, the Cougars outgained the hapless Westerners 375 to 39 in total offense. However, the Cougars only managed 13 points of offense as they reportedly fumbled 15 times, losing eight of them to the opponent. Not the most exciting game but a good example of wacky old-school football and a game where BYU managed to start the post-war period off with a win.
- Sep. 10, 1971 - North Texas
One of BYU's greatest defensive performances, the Cougars held North Texas under 200 yards of offense, picked off six passes, and blocked a punt for a touchdown. Add on to that Golden Richards setting an NCAA record with 219 yards on punt returns, with two going for scores, and you have one of the more unique box scores in BYU history. BYU's defense and special teams outscored the Mean Green 27-13.
- Oct. 5, 1974 - Colorado State
BYU entered the game a disappointing 0-3 on the season but managed to hold a 33-20 lead with six minutes left in the game after a touchdown pass from Gary Sheide to Tom Toolson. The Rams managed to score to make it 33-27 with three minutes left in the game. Following a failed fourth-down pass by the Rams, the Cougars took the ball at their own 16-yard line with only six seconds left in the game. All Sheide needed to do was take the snap from Orrin Olsen and fall on the ball. Instead, the snap hit his hands and fell to the ground. The Rams recovered the ball at BYU's 15-yard line with three seconds to go. QB Jack Graham threw a touchdown pass with no time remaining to tie the game 33-all. Unfortunately for the Rams, they received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after players rushed the field following the touchdown. This pushed the PAT back and made for a much tougher kick. Once the kick was attempted, it appeared that the referee signaled that the kick was good and pandemonium ensued as fans and players rushed the field. However, after the scoreboard had updated to show 34-33 for the Rams, it quickly switched back to 33-33. It took awhile to sort out but it was eventually determined that the kick had not been good and the referee was simply signaling the end of the game.
- Nov. 16, 1991 - San Diego State
A game where BYU was down 35-17 at the half and 45-17 halfway through the third quarter. Ty Detmer and Jamal Willis rallied BYU back to tie the game 52-all with 30 seconds left in the game. That is the NCAA record for most points scored in a tie and will remain so, unless they decide to bring back ties for some strange reason. Detmer passed for 599 yards and six touchdowns and Jamal Willis caught eight passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Aztec QB David Lowery passed for 569 yards and five touchdowns while Marshall Faulk had 234 yards of total offense (118 rush, 116 receiving) and four total touchdowns. Future NFL receiver had 243 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the Aztecs.
- Oct. 23, 1993 - Fresno State
After winning their first four games of the season, BYU had lost two straight heading into this game: a 68-14 loss to No. 25 UCLA and a 45-20 loss against No. 3 Notre Dame. Starting quarterback John Walsh had left the Notre Dame game with an injury and so the Cougars went with Steve Clements to start. Clements was unable to move BYU's offense and so in came Tom Young, younger brother of Steve Young. Young threw two interceptions in three passes and the Cougars were down 17-3 with 2:38 to go till halftime. BYU replaced Young with John Walsh and Walsh began a furious effort to bring the Cougars back in the game, passing for 439 yards and five touchdowns in little over a half of football. Unfortunately for Walsh and the Cougar offense, the 1993 team featured one of BYU's worst defenses in program history and they could not slow down the Bulldogs' offense. Trent Dilfer passed for 456 yards and four touchdowns as Fresno State managed to answer almost every BYU score with one of their own. The Cougars managed to get it to 48-45 with almost four minutes left in the game but could not get the ball back.
- Oct. 30, 1993 - Utah State
Another game from the 1993 season and another game where BYU's defense could not get a stop. John Walsh and the offense played catchup most of the game and Walsh wound up setting a program record for passing yards in a game with 619. Receiver Tyler Anderson had a career best game, catching a 93-yard touchdown pass and returning a kick 100 yards for a touchdown. It was all for naught as Anthony Calvillo passed for 472 yards and five touchdowns to power the Aggies to a 58-56 win over BYU.
- Aug. 25, 2001 - Tulane
The Gary Crowton era started off with a bang as both BYU and Tulane were tied at 21 at the end of the first quarter, with Luke Staley scoring all three of those touchdowns for the Cougars. It was all BYU from that point on, however, as they outscored the Green Wave 49-14 in the final three quarters. QB Brandon Doman passed for three touchdowns while adding 115 yards and another touchdown on the ground. In addition to Doman, Luke Staley (142 yards, 3 TD) and Brian McDonald (103 ayrds, 3 TD) also ran for 100+ yards on the day.
- Nov. 22, 2003
A miserable, cold and snowy game where BYU, missing John Beck and losing Matt Berry early in the game, managed to pass for 41 yards for the entirety of the game. Neither team could muster much offense as the Utes outgained BYU 220-156. Utah scored on a 41-yard field goal with 8:43 remaining in the first half and that was all the scoring for the day. The closest BYU came to avoiding the shutout was a 51-yard field goal attempt by Matt Payne right before halftime that went wide right. The shutout loss ended what was then an NCAA record of games without a shutout at 361.
- Nov. 13, 2010 - Colorado State
Though I don't know that this box score is ultimately that crazy or unique, it was the game that the fellas on the Hype Train brought up that started the conversation. And when you dig into it, it is a kinda weird game. It featured two highly touted prospects at QB, Jake Heaps for BYU and Pete Thomas for the Rams. Heaps would have one of the best statistical games of his BYU career, completing 75 percent of his passes for 242 yards and four touchdown passes. All four of those touchdown passes came in the first half to senior receiver Luke Ashworth, a solid player who spent most of his career as a spot-starter for the Cougars. BYU's leading rusher was Ryan Folsom who went for no gain on his first carry and then ran 74 yards on his second touch of the game, nearly scoring before being tripped up at the Rams' five-yard line. The game also featured a scoop and score by a freshman Kyle Van Noy and a one-yard plunge by fullback Zed Mendenahll, first cousin (once-removed) of head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
- Dec. 19, 2015 - Utah
One of the most frustrating games in recent years, BYU entered with hopes of beating the Utes to get to 10 wins on the season. Instead their first six drives of the game went: fumble, pick six, interception, interception, fumble, missed field goal. BYU was down 35-0 after the first quarter. The Cougars would claw back to within a touchdown with 3:23 to go in the game but could not get the ball back and lost 35-28.
- Oct. 30, 2021 - Virginia
This game was former head coach Bronco Mendenhall's first return to Provo after leaving for the head job at Virginia after the 2015 season. BYU jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game but the Cavaliers took the lead with two minutes left in the first half. BYU would take the lead back just over 30 seconds later only to once again lose it with 22 seconds left in the half. The back-and-forth scoring continued until BYU took the lead back for good early in the fourth quarter. Tyler Allgeier ran for 266 yards and five touchdowns and brothers Puka and Samson Nacua each had 100+ receiving yards and a touchdown.
And that's all I've got! I'm sure there are plenty of other worthy games, some better choices than what I used for this post. If you can think of other games that would fit on the list, hit me up on Twitter or in the feedback link below. Thanks for reading!