Bosco and Defeat Don’t Mix : BYU Quarterback Fails to Meet the Press After Loss to UCLA

Former Brigham Young quarterback Steve Young stood quietly signing autographs following BYU’s loss to UCLA Saturday night. But Robbie Bosco, the man who replaced Young last season, was nowhere to be found.

For the first time as a starter at BYU, Bosco lost a game. And he didn’t feel much like talking about it.

Actually, Bosco played well enough, completing 29 of 41 passes for 340 yards. But there were, of course, the two interceptions, both of which figured prominently in the Bruin victory.

The first interception came in the first quarter, with the score tied, 3-3, and the Cougars breezing toward the goal line. Instead, UCLA’s Craig Rutledge stepped in front of a Bosco pass and raced 65 yards with the interception to put the Bruins up 10-3.

The other interception came with just over a minute to play and the Cougars scrambling to recover from a 27-24 UCLA lead.

Of course, Bosco had been in similar situations before. Since taking over for Young, Bosco had brought his team from behind six times. In 15 starts, he had managed to escape a loss.

Now, after his first, he slipped out a side door and was gone.

“He’s got to learn to handle defeat,” said Young, who learned his share about losing with the Los Angeles Express during the past USFL season.

Said Young: “It’s got to be tough on him, but hey, you’ve got to face it.

“BYU didn’t play that badly. Sure, they made some mistakes, but they’re playing well. But they are going to lose some games against the better teams.”

In the same breath, Young adds that he, along with the BYU fans in attendance, thought Bosco would somehow pull this one out, as he always had before.

In fact, Bosco led BYU to a go-ahead touchdown with two minutes to play. He scored on a one-yard plunge after he seemingly had been stopped short of the goal line. Amazingly, he squirmed in to put BYU ahead, 24-19. He thought he’d done it again.

When UCLA came back and scored, though, Bosco was out of tricks. The winning streak was gone, and so was he.