13 and 0: Reflections of Champions

by Candace E. Salima with Alvin E. Salima

Preface

It was an early December afternoon, cool and crisp outside, warm and toasty inside. Our house was decorated in all the colors of Christmas, and my first book, Out of the Shadows . . . Into the Light, had hit the shelves. All was well in the Salima Home.

My publisher, Chad Daybell, of Spring Creek Book Co. arrived at our door with posters, bookmarks and other paraphernalia I would need for the myriad of booksignings for which I was scheduled. We welcomed him into our home, and settled into an easy discussion.

I didn’t see it coming. I swear . . . talk about being blind sided. Just out of the blue my husband, Alvin, pitched a book idea to my publisher. Almost as quickly, my publisher jumped all over the idea. So I sat there quietly as they tossed ideas about for a book on BYU’s 1984 National Championship team. They were having a lot of fun. I remember thinking that my husband really didn’t have a firm understanding of the complexities involved in writing a book, especially a nonfiction book. But I decided that was between Alvin and Chad.

"Candace and I will write the book together." I’m not sure, but I think time stood still. The Christmas tree lights stopped in mid-blink. The music froze somewhere in the middle of Donny Osmond’s A Soldier’s King, and my jaw dropped.

"But I’m trying to finish up Dreams Die Hard (the sequel to Out of the Shadows)." My protest was feeble, even I could hear it, and I attempted to salvage the situation. Don’t get me wrong. I love BYU football. Nineteen-Eighty-Four was the dream season, not only for the players, but for the fans as well. I often tell neighborhood kids that, "In 1984 it was never a question of if we were going to win, but simply a question of by how much will we win?" I reminisce with my husband about the miraculous plays. I sit by his side as we watch the old games on BYUTV. Really, I’m a good wife. But the thought of trying to track these players down had me the slightest bit intimidated.

My husband wanted this book so bad. I love my husband . . . so, there it was. I said it.

"Okay, honey. If you’ll call all the players and arrange all the interviews, I’ll do the interviews and write the book. You’ll need to do the research on the season, the plays, the stats, etc."

"Absolutely."

"Chad, you’ll have to put the book on the fast track and be willing to take an unpolished manuscript." What I mean by an unpolished manuscript is that it has not been through my editing team of five people, who are ruthless with me.

Everybody was agreeing, yes, yes, they’d do it. And then Chad hit us with the zinger.

"So, you’ll have this book done by the end of January, we’ll be able to get it in the stores by May and we can have it out before Father’s Day."

Thunk! I didn’t see how it was possible. Christmas and News Years guaranteed no interviews any time soon. That left me two and a half weeks in January because I was leaving January 22^nd for a book tour. But the enthusiasm would not be curtailed. Alvin and Chad were riding high.

Three days later, Chad showed up again with contract in hand. We signed it.

Thus, began four of the most frustrating months of my life. Work situations had made life a little unsteady, my husband’s health dictates 13½ hours, in a dialysis chair, on a weekly basis, and I am possibly one of the most active aunties on the face of the earth. But we forged ahead, straight into a brick wall. Oh yeah, it hurt.

Right off the bat, we approached Louis Wong, Robert Anae and Vai Sikahema. All family friends. They were incredibly gracious in providing timely interviews. But tracking down the players, their phone numbers, their email addresses, etc. made me start feeling a little bit like Mike Hammer. I combed the internet for the latest articles on any players, looking for cities, hometowns, job references, anything that would point in the right direction. Since my working hours are from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., I tried locating email addresses of the players first. I emailed the questions to a few, but received no responses.

In the meantime, Alvin wrote a series of incredibly insightful questions that would provide the framework for the book. He spoke with Shirley Johnson, the football secretary, often. Mark Philbrick (the school photographer) was another on his list, and so on. He really did try hard to get the momentum going. But it rarely works quickly, and he grew discouraged. Every plan put into play was met with failure of one type or another.

I notified Chad. There was no way the book would be completed by January 31^st. He optimistically tried for February 28^th and we forged on, right down into the valley of despair. I’m not really sure how it happened, but suddenly we were looking around at the metaphorical equivalents of bones bleached white by the sun, an endless sea of sand, cacti, and unsavory little creatures. We trudged back up to the mountains (undoubtedly God’s country), settled in and continued on. Some requests for interviews were met with resistance, but most were ignored.

Let me say one thing here. People have lives. And trying to mesh the schedules of more than thirty people, and have them fit with my own, was mission impossible. We finally decided we were not explaining well enough, the intent of the book. But even I could not have seen the power and strength that would emerge from the answers of these men.

I searched online websites of The Daily Herald, Deseret News and The Salt Lake Tribune for any articles on the ‘84 team. A retrospective was done by The Daily Herald from August to December of 2004. There was some good information. I found reams of microfiche at the Provo Library. I scoured them for key plays, quotes, and stats, trying to build the background for the book.

January . . . February . . . March. My husband’s sweet mother finally shuffled off this mortal coil and joined her sweetheart on the other side. There were several weeks where numbness was the prevalent emotion in our home. Although we have a complete and firm understanding of the plan of salvation, we simply missed her. I’m afraid the football book took the back seat.

Not only was the football book not done, I was drastically behind on Dreams Die Hard. Feeling discouraged, and okay, I’m a woman—I can say it, weepy, I called my mother. I didn’t know what to do, or where to go. Alvin was having no luck tracking down players, the keeper of the gate wasn’t relenting, and I felt I had let my husband and my publisher down. I like to complete the tasks I take on . . . this was not working for me. I really hate failure.

So, as I whined to my mother on the phone, she spoke perhaps the wisest words to me . . .

"Call the wives."

Three weeks later and the book was done. 13 and 0: Reflection of Champions came into being. I interviewed as many as five players a day, one to three hours at a stretch, typing as they spoke. I edited in between interviews, and sent completed sections to my mother for more in-depth editing. Vai Sikahema and Robert Anae received many phone calls as I needed quick answers to questions.

The written word is powerful. As the men of the 1984 team answered these questions, something became very obvious. There was something different about this team. Who they became, made that very clear. As they discussed their memories, their professions, and their beliefs, the power was undeniable. I knew this book had to be completed, for it would of great value to many.

Come with me, and let’s take a trip back to 1984.

* * *

CHAPTER 1

"Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy."

Mike Ditka

1984, ah yes, the year that lives in the memory of every sports-minded American. Beverly Hills Cop, Footloose and Ghostbusters ruled the box office. The British Invasion was giving American musicians a run for their money and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" charted out at number one. Los Angeles hosted the Summer Olympics with all the razzle dazzle the entertainment world could muster. Mary Lou Retton, the U.S. Mens Gymnastics Team, Carl Lewis, Evelyn Ashford, along with Greg Louganis, brought home Olympic gold in Los Angeles, California. William Johnson, Debbie Armstrong, Philip Mahre and Scott Hamilton won Olympic Gold in Sarajevo. And Brigham Young University launched what was to become the most successful year in football history for the Cougars of Provo, Utah.

When Brigham Young established the Brigham Young Academy on October 16, 1875, little did he know that more than one hundred years later BYU’s legendary gridiron team would emerge as the NCAA’s National Champions of 1984. It was a good year. It was a record-breaking year. It was a year that many a BYU football fan looks back on with fondness and clings to with ferocity. There were many exciting events yet to come in BYU football history. Who can forget the incredible win against Miami in 1990 or Ty Detmer’s win of the Heisman Trophy? But the season of 1984, bred champions who carried that legacy into their personal and professional lives. This book is dedicated to those champions.

*

September 1, 1984, a beautiful fall afternoon, and BYU fans everywhere were sitting down to watch the football game, looking for a twelfth straight win. Because the game was in Pittsburgh, fans gathered in their homes with assorted approved football munchies and settled in for an afternoon of spectacular hits, legendary passing and numerous touchdowns. As Robbie Bosco stepped into the mighty big shoes left by Steve Young, he looked forward to making his mark in football history. Protected by the legendary offensive line, consisting of Robert Anae, Louis Wong, Trevor Matich, Craig Garrick and Dave Wright, Bosco stepped onto that field in Pittsburgh and let the ball fly. As the players prepared themselves to face an extremely tough football team, ranked No. 3 in the preseason polls, Garrick made a prophetic comment overheard by some of the players. "If we win this game, we could win the national championship."

The four quarters that followed launched BYU’s thirteen undefeated games. There were three significant plays: a successful goal-line stand in the second quarter and a subsequent 37-yard field goal, then Mark Allen intercepted two Pittsburgh passes, but the play that saved the day was Bosco to Haysbert for a 50-yard touchdown pass. BYU’s journey to Pittsburgh ended with a 20 to 14 victory against Coach Foge Fazio’s Pittsburgh Panthers.

"There were very low expectations for our team. I think there was still an air of not knowing what to expect. I remember when we got into Pittsburgh, the news media was playing us up like we were a high school team, there seemed to be a lot of negativity toward us, like we weren't any good, a little powder puff football team," said Adam Haysbert.

"We saw some of the news broadcasts the night before the game and that's what I remember from them. And when you see that, it kind of gets you fired up. All I can tell you is that I remember being open, someone had made an observation that I was getting open deep and I did. I ran the pattern and broke out in the open and saw the ball. You know, we practice so much that if you see the ball, you catch the ball, and so it was, like, very natural. I saw the ball, I caught the ball. Sometimes you don't know what the ramifications are, but you just try to catch the ball, then make a TD if you can. And I was able to do that." 4 September, 2004 • The Daily Herald

At the conclusion of this game, with their twelfth win now on the books, BYU entered the rankings for the first time, 11^th in the AP Polls and 12^th in the UPI.

The following week, the 8^th of September 1984, at the first home game for the season, Bosco threw for six touchdown passes to Glen Kozlowski, David Mills and Kelly Smith against the Baylor Bears. Robert Parker pulled in 131 yards, while Lee Johnson’s 23 consecutive PATs ended abruptly. Quarterback, Blaine Fowler, made an entrance in this game and BYU rose to 6^th place in the AP and 8^th in the UPI, the highest rankings ever achieved by a BYU football team. With a 47 to 13 win over Baylor, BYU now held the longest winning streak in the NCAA with 13 wins and would add 11 more games to that streak by season end.

Baylor’s coach, Grant Teaff, said after the game, "I hope you’re really that good or we’re not that bad." 13 September, 2004 • The Daily Herald. At another time, Teaff told the papers they were going to take their 1-1 split with BYU and call it good.

September 15, 1984, BYU vs Tulsa brought the fans out in force. Vai Sikahema opened the first half with an 89-yard punt return touchdown and the Cougars never looked back. Linebacker, Marv Allen, had two interceptions, Mark Bellini had six receptions. Sikahema opened the second half with a 65-yard punt return. Although penalty ridden, the Cougars walked away with a 38 to 15 win, jumping to fourth in the UPI and sixth in the AP.

Tulsa’s coach, John Cooper, stated, "I picked them fifth last week and I don’t know how I’ll vote this week until I see all the college scores, but it won’t be any lower. I come from a school where it’s hard to get recognition. If BYU continues to win, you’re looking at one guy who’ll vote them up there." 18 September, 2004 • The Daily Herald

On September 22, 1984, the BYU Cougars faced off against the Hawaii Rainbows in what Robert Anae called "a dog fight. We had to travel a great distance to play a team on the verge of being very good . . . At any play, at any moment, the tide could have turned and we would have walked away defeated."

BYU’s defense held the Bows on three goal-line situations. Craig Garrick suffered a knee injury. Robert Anae a broken finger, and the hard-fought game ended in a 18 to 13 win for the Cougars. Although now 4 and 0 on the season, the Cougars dropped to 8^th in both the AP and UPI polls.

But the play still clear in the minds of BYU fans everywhere was Kyle Morrell’s miraculous leap. "Free safety Kyle Morrell, anticipating the count on a tense, goal-line stand, dives over the line at the snap, grabs Rainbow quarterback Raphael Cherry and slams him for a loss. Lore. Legend. A play that lives in infamy in Hawaii, and one cherished by Cougar fans [everywhere]. ‘It was no big deal, actually,’ Morrell remembers. Hawaii had blocked a punt for a touchdown and just finished blocking another and looked to score. ‘I was just trying to make a play. I didn't realize at the time how much would be made of it.’" 23 May, 1998 • The Daily Herald

The BYU defense won this game for the Cougars. No question. No doubt. No discussion. The defense delivered.

In Fort Collins, Colorado, on October 6, 1984, the Cougars took on the Rams of Colorado State. During the toss, which the Rams won, their quarterback, Tom Thenell, stated, "We want the choice now. We want the ball. And we want you." Bold words. Three drives, three scores and as quick as that, BYU was ahead 21 to zip. Although BYU’s wide receiver, Adam Haysbert, sustained knee and ankle injuries that sidelined him, the Cougars took the game 52 to 9, giving the reserves plenty of time to play. BYU was now 5^th in both AP and UPI polls.

It was Homecoming. Cougar Stadium (now LaVell Edwards Stadium) was packed to the seams with screaming football fans ready and waiting for kickoff. October 13, 1984, the showdown between the Wyoming Cowboys and the BYU Cougars commenced, and what a showdown it was! Long time rivals, the Cowboys and the Cougars fought long and hard, each scoring on the other several times. But when the dust settled, after the teams traded touchdown after touchdown, the Cougars remained undefeated and gloriously victorious, with 41 to 38 on the scoreboard. Six straight wins in the season, and BYU fell in the polls and was now ranked 7^th by the AP and 5^th by the UPI.

Facing the infamous wishbone offense, the Cougars stood strong against the Falcons of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was October 20, 1984 and it was the day that BYU set a new school record for eighteen consecutive victories, right there on ABC television for the entire nation to see. Cold, wet, and snowy, the Cougars traded touchdowns with the Falcons throughout the game with heart stopping defensive stands and offensive clutch receptions by David Mills, who tallied up 225 yards in that game. One pass intended for Kozlowski ended up in the hands of David Mills. Said Kozlowski, "I had eye contact with Robbie, so I knew he was throwing to me. Then I saw Mills. I thought he was an Air Force player, so I ran up to break up the pass. When I was two steps away, I saw it was Mills, so I just got out of the way. We were lucky." The Daily Herald

Vai Sikahema pulled off two huge punt returns, which in the words of linebacker Ladd Akeo, ". . . lifted us up and we went on to win." At the end of the day, the Cougars emerged victorious once more with a score of 30 to 25. They were now 4 and 0 in the WAC, 7 and 0 in all, 4^th in the AP and 5^th in the UPI.

The season was grinding on and, slowly but surely, the most historic days of BYU football were emerging. The following Thursday night, October 25, 1984, the Cougars delivered a shutout against the New Mexico Lobos. Although New Mexico took a chance with their blitzes, the Cougar punt return man, Vai Sikahema, ran for 47 yards and took the wind right out of the opponents’ sails. Kozlowski and Heimuli carried the night with five touchdowns, Lee Johnson completed a 47-yard field goal, and the New Mexico Lobos boarded the plane that night wondering what hit them. The final score . . . a brutal 48 to zero. ESPN announcer, Paul McGuire said "Did you see how far that guy can kick the ball?" Now 8 and 0 in play and 5 and 0 in conference, the Cougars jumped to 3rd in the UPI and 4th in the AP.

Pushing inexorably onward and upward, the Cougars next clash was with the UTEP Miners. November 3, 1984: BYU’s offense was as relentless as ever. Although with less possession time—their longest drive, nine plays, four minutes, Bosco threw for four touchdowns and Kelly Smith rushed for more than 106 yards and one touchdown, rolling over the Miners without even looking back. Lest we forget the defense, Kurt Gouveia had eleven tackles and a Miner interception. When the fourth quarter ended in a 42 to 9 victory for BYU, the Cougars ended the week ranked No. 4 in the AP and No. 3 in the UPI polls. Only 19 minutes of possession, yet the Cougars, in 52 offensive plays, put 42 points on the board. BYU was now 9-0 overall, 6-0 in the WAC and had just completed their 20^th consecutive win. Lee Johnson tied a school record for twenty-seven consecutive PATs in a season. BYU was now ranked 4th in both polls.

Both coaches, LaVell Edwards and Bill Yung had thoughts about the weeks ahead. "At this point, we will start rethinking our goals, then begin zeroing in on possibilities down the road. We are in a position to vie for a national title or certainly have the highest ranking we've ever had . . . Others will have to lose, but we definitely have a shot at the national title. We're in a good spot now," said Edwards

And what did Bill Yung have to say after a sound BYU induced trouncing? "BYU ought to go to the Pac-10 like Arizona and Arizona State did a few years back. BYU is really good. I hope they have a 13-0 season." Prophetic words indeed.

The Aztecs of San Diego were next on the chopping block. November 10, 1984, and the national championship was now looming on the horizon. Glen Kozlowski and the BYU Cougars took on the Aztecs. "It was a tough week to prepare. We'd clinched the WAC title the week before and even though we were going for a national championship and all, there was kind of a little letdown. We had a bad week of practice, and LaVell kind of scolded us on Thursday, he said we were ripe for a fall. You know, with Doug Scovill coaching San Diego State, after he was such a great (offensive coordinator) for BYU, there was a lot of, well, I don't want to say bad feelings, but there was a lot of competition in this game, both side[s] really wanted to win.

"I was from San Diego, and a lot of the guys on San Diego's team were guys I'd grown up playing with and against and it's always important to play when you play your hometown team. I'd have played against San Diego State with a broken leg. I always enjoyed beating up on my friends." 15 November, 2004 • The Daily Herald

And beat up his friends, he did. Glen Kozlowski received the first pass in the offensive series, thrown by Blaine Fowler with a hand off from Robbie Bosco. Before the game ended, Kozlowski caught five more passes for 108 yard total and added two touchdowns to his bragging rights. BYU’s defense kept the Aztecs to a total of 165 of total offense, 76 of those rushing. After BYU ran 34 points on the board to San Diego’s 3, Scovill mentioned, "This is the best balance between offense and defense I’ve seen at BYU." When all was said and done, BYU was 10 and 0, 7 and 0 and ranked third in both polls. Sports Illustrated ranked BYU number one.

The University of Utah: Need I say more? Well, yeah! This rivalry, which goes back decades, is bitter, intense and unmatched across the nation. More than two universities going against each other, in the words of one Ute fan "if you asked a Utah fan if they would rather go 10-1 and lose to BYU or 1-10 and beat BYU, it would be a tough decision." Nicknamed "The Holy War" by some, Utah leads in this contest 48-28-4 as of December 2004. How do Cougar fans answer that? 1984!

ESPN’s take on the rivalry? "This rivalry doesn't get enough national publicity. But there is more dislike for each school than most would even know. BYU is owned and operated by the Mormon Church. Utah is the state school. [Guess he doesn’t know that the church used to own the University of Utah too.] This adds to the rivalry more than people would admit. But more than anything, these two programs have traditionally been two of the best in their conferences -- from the WAC to the MWC. Listen to talk radio in Salt Lake City and BYU fans want Utah to lose, even when the Utes aren't playing BYU, and the feeling is mutual from Utah fans." Sunday, 2 February 2003 ESPN.COM.

I have to admit. I was cheering hard for the Utes in 2004 when they were playing in the Fiesta Bowl. Rivalry or not, it was a Mountain West team busting into the BCS bowl monopoly. How could we not cheer?

Any way you look at it, in Utah it is the rivalry to end all rivalries. Saturday, November 17, 1984, dawned bright and early with the Utes looking to ruin a 21-game winning streak, that was now a NCAA record. BYU went into that game to win. Regardless of how any of the players felt prior to this game, this was a game that must be won and the national championship was on the line. BYU’s defense stood strong against a relentless Ute offense. BYU’s offense turned the ball over five times, but the defense held the Utes to just seven points during those turnovers. With diving catches by Kozlowski and Haysbert in the closing seconds of the half, Lee Johnson was able to kick a field goal to put the Cougars in the lead 10 to 7. Kozlowski had eight catches in this game, totaling 162 yards and a touchdown. Heimuli ran for 117 on the ground, Brad Smith had thirteen tackles, Kurt Gouveia had eleven, and Cary Whittingham walked off the field with eleven as well. Kyle Morrell had ten, Mark Allen had seven, Marv Allen (now my cardiologist) had nine tackles and a pass breakup, Dave Neff had eight tackles and Leon White had six. The defense was brutally unstoppable. The Cougars emerged from this bloody battle victorious at 24 to 14.

When the time finally ran out on the clock, No. 1 Nebraska's 17-7 loss to Oklahoma, and No. 2 South Carolina's 38-21 loss to Navy, vaulted BYU, the only undefeated team left in the polls, to the No. 1 ranking. The AP poll had BYU with 40 first-place votes and 1,124 points, followed by Oklahoma (8-1-1, seven first-place votes, 1,053 points), Oklahoma State (9-1, three, 1,042), Florida (6-1-1, seven, 1,042) and Washington (10-1, one, 874) as its top five, and UPI had BYU with 30 first-place votes and 581 points, followed by Oklahoma (two, 509), Texas (two, 495) and Washington (one, 394). For the first time in the history of BYU football, BYU was ranked Number 1 in both the AP and UPI polls. An historic event, indeed!

Kozlowski remembers, "I think they announced the South Carolina score during the game -- well, no, we were at Utah, they wouldn't have announced it, but they did flash it up on the scoreboard about the third or fourth quarter and the BYU fans there in the end zone just went nuts and we saw it. And we just said to each other, "OK, let's take care of our own business. And you know, it was very close at the time, but I never felt we would lose that game. The whole season, never, ever, did I think we would lose.

"We didn't know the Nebraska score until after the game. We were on the bus coming home, I was up near the front, falling asleep, and suddenly everyone started yelling and I woke up and said, 'What's going on?' Everyone was saying, 'We're No. 1, we're gonna' have to be No. 1, Nebraska lost.'" 20 November, 2004 - The Daily Herald

There are three teams BYU plays where it is guaranteed to be a down and dirty, no holds barred, contest. University of Utah, Wyoming, and Utah State. Guaranteed, every single time those teams meet. Two down, and one to go. November 24, 1984, the Cougars faced off against the Utah State Aggies on a cold winter day at Cougar Stadium. This was the last home game for the seventeen seniors playing for the Cougars. Kelly Smith was injured and Vai Sikahema stepped in to fill that role. Two touchdowns and a punt return which set up another touchdown, were Vai’s last contributions to the Cougar Legacy. Leon White thrilled the home crowd with five of BYU’s twelve pass deflections, two sacks and two quarterback hurries. He was a force to be reckoned with that day. Punter, Lee Johnson, averaged more than fifty yards on his punts and Robbie Bosco set NCAA records for most games and most consecutive games passing over two hundred yards in a season. When it was all said and done, and BYU’s regular season had ended, the Cougars walked away with a 38 to 13 victory. They were ranked number one again in both polls and were looking forward to the Holiday Bowl. The national championship was now their’s to lose.

Holiday Bowl VII - Brigham Young University vs. Michigan, a contest that sparked a controversy which raged across the nation. With NBC’s Bryant Gumble whining about "Bo Diddly Tech" and "BY Who?" Oh yeah, Mr. Gumble, BYU fans will never forget the slight given our legendary team. The hearts of BYU fans everywhere were filled with anticipation as December 21, 1984, approached. The national championship was on the line. Oklahoma would still have to lose to Washington, but it was now a viable possibility.

Papers, magazines, radios, and televisions blared with broadcasts such as this one from ABC Sports. "So among those people who have called in – over 357,000 of them – our viewers believe that by a majority of 24,000 votes, BYU should not be ranked No.1 . . . We recognize that BYU has been singled out for special treatment here. We ask them to greet it with humor as we have tried to all day long. We didn’t decide a national champion here. This is not a scientific sampling of the entire nation’s college football fans," said Jim Lampley.

But it really didn’t matter what the polls stated, what the other football teams thought, what fans across the nation—with a bone to pick—thought . . . BYU stood as the only undefeated team in the nation, no ties, no losses. We beat Pittsburgh and Baylor that year, the same as Oklahoma. And yes, Barry Switzer, Oklahoma’s coach, joined Gumble in the whining, wailing and gnashing of teeth, as fate lay in wait for Michigan in San Diego, California.

Interestingly enough, Baylor’s coach, Grant Teaff, said "BYU was voted No.1 and they are a No.1 team. They don’t have to apologize for their schedule or campaign or their ranking. Oklahoma is a fine football team and it is too bad the two schools can’t play each other. BYU would definitely hold it’s own against Oklahoma." Coach Fazio, of Pittsburgh, said he would rank BYU No.1 and Oklahoma No. 1a. BYU entered the Holiday Bowl with a 23 and 0 record, including victories over UCLA, Missouri, Baylor and Pittsburgh.

Bo Schembechler was quoted in The Daily Herald as saying "In playing a team like Brigham Young, who is ranked number one and the most prolific passing team in the nation, I think we are pretty well schooled to handle that kind of assignment. When you play against Miami of Florida, Illinois, Iowa and Purdue, you’re playing against nationally-ranked passing teams. Our record against them is 2-2 and we’ve been able to play all of them very, very tough.

"I think this is going to be a great challenge for our team and one we look forward to. We think we have something special to offer in this game and that is that we feel we have the chance to beat BYU.

"We would not have accepted this assignment if we didn’t feel that way. We think it is a great challenge to play the number one team in the country and a great passing team because we like that kind of challenge.

"We’ll call on all our Michigan tradition to play hard and play to win. We’re not going out there with the idea we are cannon fodder for Brigham Young. We’re going out there with the idea we are going to beat them. Yes, we are looking forward to this game. Yes, our team is looking forward to this game. We’re pleased as the dickens that the Holiday Bowl saw fit to pit us against Brigham Young." Famous last words, most of which, he had to eat.

What did Coach Edwards have to say at the opening press conference upon their arrival in San Diego? "Obviously, we’re pleased to be here. It has been a remarkable year so far. I do believe if we win the ball game, we deserve to be and should be No. 1. Our preparation has been good. We are ready. I believe Michigan is as good as any team in a bowl game this year. There are thirty teams who can beat each other on any given day. We belong in that category and Michigan is another one."

Regardless of everybody’s opinion, BYU’s 12 and 0 record was challenging Michigan’s 6 and 5 record, with the contest being decided at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The only team left in the nation to decide its own destiny, Brigham Young jogged out onto the field . . . and so it began.

A scoreless first quarter left BYU’s detractors panting with anticipation. But Bosco to Kelly Smith late in the second quarter put paid to that. Michigan tied it and BYU, with less than a minute left, settled for a Lee Johnson field goal to end the half at 10 to 7. The third quarter was slow, but the action really started to pick up in the fourth quarter. Too many turnovers and fumbles brought the Cougars to the position where, as usual, they did their best work. The defense had kept them in the game until this point, now it was time for Bosco and Company to work their magic. Fourteen minutes left in the game, and they dusted off their hands and got busy. First Bosco connected with Kozlowski. With a leaping catch, surrounded by defenders, Kozlowski sent BYU fans into a frenzy. Johnson’s PAT tied the score. With a minute, twenty-three left in the game, Bosco connected with Kelly Smith, which brought the score to 23-17. Lee Johnson brought it to 24, and Michigan had the ball once again, but not for long. Marv Allen intercepted the second pass of the series, and BYU walked off that field, somewhat dazed, but certainly elated. Unless they were thoroughly robbed, BYU had won the national championship.

Michigan quarterback, Ivan Hicks, grabbed by a reporter at the end of the game, said that BYU was better at passing than other Big 10 teams, but not at running. When asked if he thought BYU deserved to be No. 1, The Daily Herald reported him saying, "Yes, and I’ll tell you why. We played our hearts out in this game and they still beat us."

The paper also reported Coach Edwards’ post game comments, "I couldn’t be prouder of this team. There’s no question we deserve No. 1. Anytime you can give up that many turnovers and beat a team like Michigan, you deserve to be No. 1. Our defense was tremendous in spots, but I can’t give enough credit to Bosco. Every time I think I’ve seen it all by BYU quarterbacks, something else happens. I can’t think of a better performance than Bosco’s tonight . . . My feeling tonight is of total elation, even better."

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