1977 BYU Cougars football team

American college football season August 2023 February 2026 1977 BYU Cougars football Western Athletic Conference WAC 16 20 9–2 6–1 LaVell Edwards 6th Doug Scovil 2nd West Coast Dick Felt 6th 4–3 Cougar Stadium WAC co-champion The 1977 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) for the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Cougars were led by sixth-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 the conference title for the second consecutive year, sharing the title with Arizona State with a conference record of 6–1. The previous season, BYU was invited to the Tangerine Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma State. Despite finishing the regular season with a record of 9–2 and ranked 17th in the AP Poll, the Cougars were not invited to a bowl game and dropped to twentieth in the final poll, and tied for sixteenth in the UPI Coaches Poll.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P_hVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6OEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7028%2C772477 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon AP, UPI It might not add up, but Irish are clearly No. 1 January 4, 1978 3Chttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vG1TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sYUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6813%2C741890 Deseret News Salt Lake City, Utah UPI Notre Dame gets No. 1 tag January 4, 1978 F1 Schedule 1977 AP Mountain September 10 7:30 pm w y Kansas State Cougar Stadium Provo, UT 39–0 35,196 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-byu-batters-k-st/157419209/ The Kansas City Star B.Y.U. batters K-State September 11, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com September 24 12:50 pm w y y 20 Utah State Romney Stadium Logan, UT rivalry 65–6 20,103 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-salt-lake-tribune-nielsen-cougars-b/157419259/ The Salt Lake Tribune Nielsen, Cougars bomb Aggies by 65–6 September 25, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com September 30 Friday 7:30 pm w 15 New Mexico Cougar Stadium Provo, UT 54–19 33,352 https://www.newspapers.com/article/tucson-citizen-byu-bombs-lobos/157419290/ Tucson Citizen BYU bombs Lobos October 1, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com October 8 2:30 pm l y y 13 Oregon State Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR 19–24 33,965 https://www.newspapers.com/article/casper-star-tribune-cougars-beaten-by-or/157419322/ Casper Star-Tribune Cougars beaten by Oregon State October 9, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com October 15 1:30 pm w Colorado State Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO 63–17 29,110 https://www.newspapers.com/article/colorado-springs-gazette-telegraph-byus/157419370/ Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph BYU's Wilson climbs in 'Nielsen ratings' October 16, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com October 22 1:30 pm w y 17 Wyoming War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY 10–7 25,398 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115989329/cougars-top/ Casper Star-Tribune Cougars top fumbling Pokes, 10–7 Chuck Harkins October 23, 1977 22 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com October 29 1:30 pm w y 17 Arizona Cougar Stadium Provo, UT 34–14 33,621 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ogden-standard-examiner-cougars-take/157419438/ The Ogden Standard-Examiner Cougars take easy win over Arizona October 30, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com November 5 1:30 pm w 14 Utah Cougar Stadium Provo, UT Holy War 38–8 34,208 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-byus-wilson-passe/157419484/ The Los Angeles Times BYU's Wilson passes record 571 yards November 6, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com November 12 7:30 pm l y 13 Arizona State 17 Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ 13–24 58,295 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-devils-stop-cougar-offe/157419523/ The Daily Herald Devils stop Cougar offensive machine November 13, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com November 19 1:30 pm w y 17 Long Beach State Cougar Stadium Provo, UT 30–27 21,322 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fresno-bee-byu-rallies-for-3027-win/157419562/ The Fresno Bee BYU rallies for 30–27 win over Long Beach November 20, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com November 26 7:30 pm w y 18 UTEP Sun Bowl El Paso, TX 68–19 7,800 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sunday-oregonian-byu-passes-ambush-e/157419632/ The Sunday Oregonian BYU passes ambush El Paso November 27, 1977 October 19, 2024 Newspapers.com 1977 Brigham Young Cougars Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football October 19, 2024 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/brigham-young/1977-schedule.html Game summaries Utah State Senior quarterback Gifford Nielsen completed 30 of 40 passes for 321 yards and six touchdowns. Head coach LaVell Edwards pulled Nielsen with about three minutes left in the first half and again at 3:46 in the third quarter while three more potential touchdown passes were dropped otherwise Nielsen's stats would have been even greater. On the road in Logan, the BYU players were actually cheered by the Utah State fans as they left field.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y7IqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pFsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4273%2C6474231 Deseret News Salt Lake City, Utah Miller Hack Cougars' air attack keeps Ags grounded September 26, 1977 4B Oregon State Starting quarterback Nielsen injured his knee late in the loss at Corvallis on October 8, ending his collegiate career; he was replaced by sophomore Marc Wilson.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7aRVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4403%2C2196666 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Conrad John Beavers put BYU down, and Nielsen out October 9, 1977 1Chttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RPNLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0e0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6628%2C3909570 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Beavers end BYU win skein October 9, 1977 D3https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ojMpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LH4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6837%2C2332994 Deseret News Salt Lake City, Utah Benson Lee Nielsen out as breaks stun Y. October 10, 1977 4B https://byucougars.com/athlete/football/13752/Gifford-Nielsen Gifford Nielsen - Football The struggling Oregon State Beavers were seven-point underdogs,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7KRVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6622%2C1824363 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Conrad John Can the Beavers ground Brigham Young's pilot? October 8, 1977 2Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oDMpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LH4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7008%2C1780619 Deseret News Salt Lake City, Utah Benson Lee BYU reputation arrives at OSU ahead of Cougars October 8, 1977 2D and went winless in the Pac-10 Conference. Utah BYU Cougars 2; text-align:center collapsed Utah Utes at #14 BYU Cougars November 5 1:30 p.m. MST Utah 0 2 6 0 BYU 17 0 0 21 Cougar Stadium • Provo, Utah 33,828 Overcast • 60 F C CougarStats Utah Randy Gomez15/41, 131 Yds, 2 INT Jeffrey Parker24 Rush, 98 Yds3 Rec, 28 Yds BYU Marc Wilson26/41, 571 Yds, 5 TD, 3 INT Todd Christensen9 Rush, 32 Yds Mike Chronister4 Rec, 176 Yds, TD BYU's Marc Wilson threw for 571 yards,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L8ZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LuADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2133%2C1461124 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon wire service reports BYU's Wilson sets pass record November 6, 1977 10C breaking the single-game NCAA record set by Utah State's Tony Adams in 1972, also against Utah.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LgpWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UuEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5320%2C3116213 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Adams sparkles November 12, 1972 6Chttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bNFSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MH8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4853%2C3412885 Deseret News Salt Lake City, Utah Ferguson George Adams' hot hand buries Utah November 13, 1972 8B Wilson was pulled with two minutes left, but returned a minute later and completed three passes, including a touchdown to John VanDerWouden, to set the record, which drew the ire of Utah head coach Wayne Howard. UTAH BYU collapsed 1 BYU FG 23 Duke 0 3 1 BYU RecTD Christensen Wilson 11 good Duke run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 10 1 BYU RecTD Chronister Wilson 72 good Duke run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 17 2 Utah SafetyOther Safety, international grounding penalty by Wilson in end zone 2 17 3 Utah RushTD Liapis 12 pass failed 8 17 4 BYU RecTD VanDerWouden Wilson 14 good Duke run/pass good/failed/incomplete 8 24 4 BYU RecTD Thompson Wilson 26 good Duke run/pass good/failed/incomplete 8 31 4 BYU RecTD VanDerWouden Wilson 8 good Duke run/pass good/failed/incomplete 8 38 8 38 Roster 1977 BYU Cougars f 95 So Rob Anderson TE 23 So Clay Blackwell RB 12 So Ray Brock QB 85 So Clay Brown Clay Brown (American football) TE y 64 So Alan Carlile OT 30 So Steve Carlson FB 33 Sr Todd Christensen FB y 29 Jr Mike Chronister WR 63 So Calvin Close OT Fr Bill Davis WR 66 Jr Russ Davis OT 72 Fr Nick Eyre T y 17 Jr Mark Flammer QB 58 Jr Clayton Forsythe OG Fr Dave Francis RB 76 Jr Al Gaspard OT 88 Jr Bruce George WR 24 Sr Roger Gourley FB 62 So Danny Hansen OG Fr Brad Hardisty TE 26 Sr George Harris WR 72 Sr Kelly Harris OT 11 So Dan Hartwig QB Fr Mike Heinrich QB 86 Jr Richard Herlin TE Fr Steve Herring OT 70 So Jim Jaramillo OT 87 So Lloyd Jones WR 84 Sr Rick Jones WR 20 So Robbie Kahuanui RB 31 Jr Larry Kemp RB 36 Fr Eric Lane Eric Lane (American football) RB y Jr Ron Lewis WR 67 So Raymond Linford OG Fr Walt Manwill OT 7 Sr Terry McEwen QB 9 Fr Jim McMahon QB y 54 Sr Tom Miller C 14 Sr Gifford Nielsen QB y 50 So Scott Nielson C 75 Fr Bart Oates OT 55 So Corey Pace C Jr Nelson Paynter OT Fr Scott Phillips QB Fr Scott Reber RB 78 Sr Lance Reynolds OT 35 Jr Bill Ring RB Jr Kim Stewart FB 59 Jr Gary Stoddard OG 52 Jr Brad Sullivan C Fr Norman Taylor TE 92 Jr Tod Thompson TE 25 Jr Kent Tingey WR 77 Sr Keith Uperesa OG 69 Sr Jan Van de Merwe OT 8 Sr John VanDerWouden WR 34 Sr Roy Ward FB 32 So Ken White RB 44 So Vic Whitsett FB 48 So Doug Williams RB 6 So Marc Wilson Marc Wilson (American football) QB y 43 Jr Casey Wingard RB Fr Stan Younger WR 22 So Lynn Zwahlen WR 42 So Steve Anderson DB 90 Sr Kip Apostol DE 65 So Craig Barr DT Jr Russ Beck LB 41 Sr Mark Berntsen LB 53 Jr Gary Bouck LB 23 So Perry Bradford S Fr Mark Brady DB 68 Jr Rob Buchanan DE 48 So Scott Garrett LB 10 Sr Dave Campos DB 21 Jr Jason Coloma S 13 Jr Steve Corson CB 45 Jr Tom Enlow LB Fr Danny Frazier LB 56 So Brian Hansen LB 89 Jr Jeff Harris DE 16 So Steve Hartmann DB Jr Greg Head DE 27 Sr Tony Hernandez CB 80 Sr Mekeli Ieremia DT 93 So Conrad Jepson DE 37 Jr Gary Kama LB 15 So David McKee CB 83 So Mat Mendenhall DE y 82 Jr Larry Miller LB 47 Jr John Neal S 71 Sr Gary Peterson DT 96 So Rick Pinckard DE 19 Sr Bill Popin DB 5 So Bob Prested CB 49 So John Ramage LB 41 So Glen Redd LB y Fr Bill Schoepflin DB 73 Jr Bob Simmerman DT 79 So Doug Stromberg DT 46 Jr Mark Swenson S 60 So Jeff Taggart DT 18 Sr Mark Terranova DB 91 Jr Ross Varner DE 9 Jr Ron Velasco S 94 So Dennis Webb DE 36 Jr Rod Wood LB 3 Sr Dev Duke K 2 So Brent Johnson K So Craig Wing K 9 Fr Jim McMahon P y https://byucougars.com/dl/sites/default/files/files/media_guides/m-football/pdf/MG_FB_1977.pdf *LaVell Edwards Norm ChowWide receivers Dick FeltDefensive coordinator/defensive backs Garth HallRunning backs Dave KragthorpeAssistant head coach/offensive line Mel OlsonJunior Varsity Tom RamageDefensive line Doug Scovil Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Fred WhittinghamLinebackers 2018-Dec-25 Statistics Passing Player Comp Att Yards TD INT Marc Wilson 164 277 2,418 24 18 Gifford Nielsen 98 156 1,167 16 3 Jim McMahon 10 16 103 1 1 Terry McEwen 3 3 32 0 0 Scott Phillips 1 2 29 0 1 Dan Hartwig 1 2 9 0 0 John VanDerWouden 0 1 0 0 0 1977 football season – CougarStats Starting quarterback Nielsen was lost for the season late in the fourth game. Awards WAC Offensive Player of the Year: QB Marc Wilson All-WAC: LB Mark Berntsen, RB Todd Christensen, WR Mike Chronister, OL Jason Coloma, DL Mekeli Ieremia, OL Lance Reynolds NFL draft 1978 NFL draft Player Position Round Pick NFL club Todd Christensen Tight end 2 56 Dallas Cowboys Gifford Nielsen Quarterback 3 73 Houston Oilers Mekeli Ieremia Defensive end 6 158 Chicago Bears Lance Reynolds Tackle 9 241 Pittsburgh Steelers References BYU Category:BYU Cougars football seasons Category:Western Athletic Conference football champion seasons BYU Cougars football