1979 BYU Cougars football team
The 1979 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) for the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by eighth-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 the conference title for the fourth consecutive year with a conference record of 7–0. BYU finished the regular season with an undefeated record of 11–0. BYU was invited to the 1979 Holiday Bowl, where they lost to Indiana. They were ranked 13th in the final AP Poll and 12th in the final Coaches Poll.
| 1979 BYU Cougars football | |
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WAC champion | |
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 12 |
| AP | No. 13 |
| 1979 record | 11–1 (7–0 WAC) |
| Head coach | LaVell Edwards (8th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Fred Whittingham (2nd season) |
| Home stadium | Cougar Stadium |
| 1979 Western Athletic Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 BYU $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 8 | at No. 14 Texas A&M* | W 18–17 | 40,000 | |||
| September 15 | Weber State* |
| W 48–3 | 33,161 | ||
| September 29 | UTEP |
| W 31–7 | 34,724 | ||
| October 5 | Hawaii | No. 20 |
| W 38–15 | 34,741 | |
| October 13 | at Utah State* | No. 16 |
| W 48–24 | 28,094 | |
| October 20 | at Wyoming | No. 13 |
| W 54–14 | 14,723 | |
| October 27 | New Mexico | No. 11 |
| W 59–7 | 33,921 | |
| November 3 | at Colorado State | No. 11 | W 30–7 | 25,612 | ||
| November 9 | at Long Beach State* | No. 11 | W 31–17 | 20,051 | ||
| November 17 | Utah | No. 10 |
| W 27–0 | 40,236 | |
| November 24 | at San Diego State | No. 10 |
| ABC | W 63–14 | 46,121 |
| December 21 | vs. Indiana* | No. 9 |
| L 37–38 | 52,500 | |
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Game summaries
Game 1: Texas A&M
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The game was played at Rice Stadium because Kyle Field was being renovated.
QB Marc Wilson had undergone an emergency appendectomy and had lost weight during the week of the game.
The defense carried the offense that was still finding its rhythm with a blocked punt and a goal line stand. The ailing Wilson drove BYU down the field to score with 52 seconds left to pull within 17-16. Coach Edwards let the team decide whether to go for the tie or the win and they chose the latter. The attempt was converted and BYU put itself in the national spotlight with a major upset.
Utah
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Marc Wilson threw for 374 yards as BYU clinched at least a share of the WAC title and set up a showdown with San Diego State for the following week. Wilson set an NCAA record for the most passing yards against a single opponent in two games and tied Rice's Tommy Kramer 1976 record for 300-yard passing games in a season with seven.
Game 12: Holiday Bowl (vs. Indiana)
Marc Wilson 28/43, 380 yards, 2 TD, TD rushing [5]
Roster
| 1979 BYU Cougars football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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References
- "1979 Football season – CougarStats". Archived from the original on 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
- "Late Pass Enables BYU to Upset A&M." Palm Beach Post. 1979 Sept 9.
- BYU Football Talk
- "BYU stays unbeaten, Wilson breaks records." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Nov 18.
- "1979". Holidaybowl.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2012-11-07.