1985 BYU Cougars football team

1985 BYU Cougars football
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	4–3
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
	Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	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.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	vs. Boston College*	No. 10	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic)	Raycom	W 28–14	51,227	^[2]
September 7	No. 20 UCLA*	No. 8	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	ESPN	L 24–27	65,455	^[3]
September 14	Washington*	No. 16	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	ABC	W 31–3	65,476	^[4]
September 21	at Temple*	No. 13	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	KSL (1 hour tape delay)	W 26–24	31,085	^[5]
October 5	at Colorado State	No. 15	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO		W 42–7	26,881	^[6]
October 12	San Diego State	No. 11	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 28–0	65,407	^[7]
October 19	at New Mexico	No. 9	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	KSL	W 45–23	20,918	^[8]
October 26	at UTEP	No. 7	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		L 16–23	22,121	^[9]
November 2	Wyoming	No. 17	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT		W 59–0	65,243	^[10]
November 9	at Utah State*	No. 18	Romney Stadium Logan, UT (rivalry)	KSL	W 44–0	29,024	^[11]
November 16	No. 4 Air Force	No. 16	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	KSL	W 28–21	65,393	^[12]
November 23	Utah	No. 11	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (Holy War)		W 38–28	65,473	^[13]
December 7	at Hawaii	No. 9	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI		W 26–6	47,482	^[14]
December 28	vs. No. 17 Ohio State*	No. 9	Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl)	NBC	L 7–10	50,920	^[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[16]

Game summaries

Vs. Boston College (Kickoff Classic)

No. 10 BYU Cougars vs. Boston College Eagles (Kickoff Classic) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Cougars	0	14	7	7	28
Eagles	0	7	7	0	14

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Date: August 29
Game time: 6:00 p.m. MDT/8:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Partly cloudy, 80 °F (27 °C)
Game attendance: 51,227
Box score

Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays

Second quarter

BYU – Mark Bellini 6-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (kick failed), 13:11. Cougars 6–0.
BYU – Lakei Heimuli 1-yard run (Robbie Bosco pass to Kelly Smith), 9:34. Cougars 14–0.
BC – John Mihalik 1-yard run (Tim George kick), 5:40. Cougars 14–7.

Third quarter

BC – Troy Stradford 5-yard run (Tim George kick), 5:33. Tied 14–14.
BYU – Mark Bellini 12-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 3:38. Cougars 21–14.

Fourth quarter

BYU – Glen Kozlowski 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 8:32. Cougars 28–14.

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Robbie Bosco	35/53, 508 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
	Rushing	Vai Sikahema	7 rushes, 27 yards
	Receiving	Glen Kozlowski	10 receptions, 241 yards, TD
Boston College	Passing	Shawn Halloran	18/37, 159 yards, 3 INT
	Rushing	Troy Stradford	21 rushes, 101 yards, TD
	Receiving	Scott Gieselman	9 receptions, 78 yards

No. 20 UCLA

No. 20 UCLA Bruins at No. 8 BYU Cougars – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Bruins	10	3	3	11	27
No. 8 Cougars	3	14	0	7	24

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

Date: September 7
Game time: 5:45 p.m. MDT
Game weather: Partly cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
Game attendance: 65,455
Box score

Game information

First quarter

UCLA – John Lee 25-yard field goal, 8:57. Bruins 3–0.
BYU – Gary Webster 24-yard field goal, 3:23. Tied 3–3.
UCLA – Craig Rutledge 65-yard interception return (Gary Webster kick), 1:26. Bruins 10–3.

Second quarter

BYU – Mark Bellini 10-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 13:47. Tied 10–10.
UCLA – John Lee 35-yard field goal, 6:28. Bruins 13–10.
BYU – Glen Kozlowski 7-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 3:29. Cougars 17–13.

Third quarter

UCLA – John Lee 20-yard field goal, 5:29. Cougars 17–16.

Fourth quarter

UCLA – John Lee 25-yard field goal, 9:01. Bruins 19–17.
BYU – Robbie Bosco 1-yard run (Gary Webster kick), 2:57. Cougars 24–19.
UCLA – Gaston Green 2-yard run (Gaston Green run), 1:02. Bruins 27–24.

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UCLA	Passing	Matt Stevens	6/11, 113 yards
	Rushing	Marcus Greenwood	13 rushes, 71 yards
	Receiving	Mike Sherrard	6 receptions, 98 yards
BYU	Passing	Robbie Bosco	29/41, 340 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Vai Sikahema	6 rushes, 54 yards
	Receiving	Vai Sikahema	8 receptions, 129 yards

At UTEP

No. 7 BYU Cougars at UTEP Miners – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Cougars	10	0	6	0	16
Miners	10	10	3	0	23

at Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Date: October 26
Game weather: Clear, 75 °F (24 °C)
Game attendance: 22,121
Box score

Game information

First quarter

BYU – Scott Norberg 11-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 11:29. Cougars 7–0.
UTEP – Clarence Seay 52-yard pass from Sammy Garza (Hugo Castellanos kick), 9:33. Tied 7–7.
BYU – Gary Webster 45-yard field goal, 6:03. Cougars 10–7.
UTEP – Hugo Castellanos 50-yard field goal, 1:08. Tied 10–10.

Second quarter

UTEP – Danny Taylor 100-yard interception return (Hugo Castellanos kick), 5:52. Miners 17–10.
UTEP – Hugo Castellanos 31-yard field goal, 0:13. Miners 20–10.

Third quarter

BYU – Lakei Heimuli 1-yard run (kick failed), 9:44. Miners 20–16.
UTEP – Hugo Castellanos 29-yard field goal, 6:00. Miners 23–16.

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Robbie Bosco	15/34, 151 yards, TD, 4 INT
	Rushing	Lakei Heimuli	30 rushes, 154 yards, TD
	Receiving	Kelly Smith	7 receptions, 60 yards
UTEP	Passing	Sammy Garza	8/16, 147 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	John Harvey	25 rushes, 112 yards
	Receiving	Larry Linne	3 receptions, 56 yards

No. 4 Air Force

No. 4 Air Force Falcons at No. 16 BYU Cougars – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Falcons	14	7	0	0	21
No. 16 Cougars	0	7	14	7	28

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

Date: November 16
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), 12:29. Falcons 7–0.
AFA – Tom Rotello 25-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick), 12:09. Falcons 14–0.

Second quarter

BYU – Mark Bellini 22-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 12:46. Falcons 14–7.
AFA – Dwan Wilson 58-yard interception return (Tom Ruby kick), 8:36. Falcons 21–7.

Third quarter

BYU – Vai Sikahema 72-yard punt return (kick failed), 12:47. Falcons 21–13.
BYU – Mark Bellini 25-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Robbie Bosco pass to Lance Lindley), 4:42. Tied 21–21.

Fourth quarter

BYU – Vai Sikahema 69-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 5:41. Cougars 28–21.

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing	Bart Weiss	9/18, 101 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Pat Evans	18 rushes, 65 yards
	Receiving	Randy Jones	2 receptions, 25 yards, TD
BYU	Passing	Robbie Bosco	29/49, 343 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
	Rushing	Tom Tuipulotu	3 rushes, 15 yards
	Receiving	Mark Bellini	9 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TD

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

Vs. No. 17 Ohio State (Florida Citrus Bowl)

1985 Florida Citrus Bowl
No. 9 BYU Cougars vs. No. 17 Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Cougars	0	7	0	0	7
No. 17 Buckeyes	0	3	7	0	10

at Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

Date: December 28
Game time: 12:30 p.m. MST/10:30 p.m. EST
Game weather: Clear, 63 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 50,920
Referee: Vincent Price
TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph, Dave Rowe, and Tom Hammond
Box score

Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays

Second quarter

OSU – Rich Spangler 47-yard field goal, 10:32. Buckeyes 3–0.
BYU – David Miles 38-yard pass from Robbie Bosco (Gary Webster kick), 0:52. Cougars 7–3.

Third quarter

OSU – Larry Kolic 14-yard interception return (Rich Spangler kick), 13:52. Buckeyes 10–7.

Fourth quarter

No scoring plays

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Robbie Bosco	26/50, 261 yards, TD, 4 INT
	Rushing	Tom Tuipulotu	9 rushes, 43 yards
	Receiving	Mark Bellini	5 receptions, 87 yards
Ohio State	Passing	Jim Karsatos	19/35, 196 yards
	Rushing	John Wooldridge	25 rushes, 109 yards
	Receiving	Cris Carter	6 receptions, 85 yards

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

References

^ "The 30 Biggest College Football Point Spread Upsets Since 1980 | The Action Network". Action Network. November 14, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ "BYU wins a showcase for QB star". The Record. August 30, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UCLA beats BYU, ending Cougars' win streak at 25". Lexington Herald-Leader. September 8, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU 'embarrasses' Huskies". The Columbian. September 15, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU foils Owls' upset bid 26–24". Sunday News Journal. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bosco, BYU tear apart Colorado State, 42–7". The Des Moines Register. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bosco leads Cougars over Aztecs 28–0". The Sacramento Bee. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Lobos give BYU tough time in 45–23 loss". Albuquerque Journal. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Miners close down BYU offense". The Daily Herald. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bosco bombs Wyoming". The Greenville News. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU beats Utah St. 44–0 in snow storm". South Idaho Press. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU stuns No. 4 Air Force". Courier-Post. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU beats state rival Utah". The Times-News. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU wins another WAC title with win in Hawaii". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 8, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Ohio State defense peels Brigham Young in Citrus". The Charlotte Observer. December 29, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-24.

This college football 1985 season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "The 30 Biggest College Football Point Spread Upsets Since 1980 | The Action Network". Action Network. November 14, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2023.

[2] "BYU wins a showcase for QB star". The Record. August 30, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "UCLA beats BYU, ending Cougars' win streak at 25". Lexington Herald-Leader. September 8, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "BYU 'embarrasses' Huskies". The Columbian. September 15, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "BYU foils Owls' upset bid 26–24". Sunday News Journal. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Bosco, BYU tear apart Colorado State, 42–7". The Des Moines Register. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Bosco leads Cougars over Aztecs 28–0". The Sacramento Bee. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Lobos give BYU tough time in 45–23 loss". Albuquerque Journal. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Miners close down BYU offense". The Daily Herald. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "Bosco bombs Wyoming". The Greenville News. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "BYU beats Utah St. 44–0 in snow storm". South Idaho Press. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "BYU stuns No. 4 Air Force". Courier-Post. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] "BYU beats state rival Utah". The Times-News. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[14] "BYU wins another WAC title with win in Hawaii". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 8, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[15] "Ohio State defense peels Brigham Young in Citrus". The Charlotte Observer. December 29, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[16] College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-24.

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v t e BYU Cougars football
Venues	LaVell Edwards Stadium (1964–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Utah: Holy War (Beehive Boot) Utah State (Beehive Boot, The Old Wagon Wheel)
Culture & lore	Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Cougar Marching Band Mormons vs. Mullets
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Western Athletic Conference football champions
I-A/FBS	New Mexico (1962) Arizona State (1963) Arizona, New Mexico & Utah (1964) BYU (1965) Wyoming (1966) Wyoming (1967) Wyoming (1968) Arizona State (1969) Arizona State (1970) Arizona State (1971) Arizona State (1972) Arizona & Arizona State (1973) BYU (1974) Arizona State (1975) BYU & Wyoming (1976) Arizona State & BYU (1977) BYU (1978) BYU (1979) BYU (1980) BYU (1981) BYU (1982) BYU (1983) BYU (1984) Air Force & BYU (1985) San Diego State (1986) Wyoming (1987) Wyoming (1988) BYU (1989) BYU (1990) BYU (1991) BYU, Fresno State & Hawaii (1992) BYU, Fresno State & Wyoming (1993) Colorado State (1994) Air Force, BYU, Colorado State & Utah (1995) BYU (1996) Colorado State (1997) Air Force (1998) Fresno State, Hawaii & TCU (1999) TCU & UTEP (2000) Louisiana Tech (2001) Boise State (2002) Boise State (2003) Boise State (2004) Boise State & Nevada (2005) Boise State (2006) Hawaii (2007) Boise State (2008) Boise State (2009) Boise State, Hawaii & Nevada (2010) Louisiana Tech (2011) Utah State (2012)
I-AA/FCS	Sam Houston (2021) Abilene Christian & Stephen F. Austin (2022)
National championships in bold