1988 HOLIDAY BOWL : THE FIRST 10

1978

Navy 23, Brigham Young 16--Navy rallied from a 16-3 deficit to beat favored BYU. The game turned on a 65-yard fourth-quarter scoring pass from Bob Leszczynski to Phil McConkey with a little more than 11 minutes to go and BYU leading, 16-13. McConkey, the game’s most valuable player, made a leaping catch in the end zone to put the Middies ahead for good, 20-16. “That long pass play was the game,” BYU Coach LaVell Edwards said. “That completely turned the momentum.” BYU’s Jim McMahon, who split time at quarterback with Marc Wilson, completed 9 of 18 passes for 133 yards but threw 3 interceptions. McConkey caught 4 passes for 88 yards and rushed twice for 42 yards.

1979

Indiana 38, Brigham Young 37--Ninth-ranked BYU’s chance for an undefeated season sailed wide as Brent Johnson missed a 27-yard field goal with 7 seconds remaining. Johnson had made field goals of 46, 29 and 28 yards. The teams combined for 874 yards of offense, 520 by BYU. The WAC champion Cougars took a 37-31 fourth-quarter lead on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Marc Wilson to Eric Lane. Indiana scored the eventual winning points when cornerback Tim Wilbur picked up a punt that had been touched by a teammate and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown. Kevin Kellogg’s extra point provided the winning margin. BYU’s final chance came after a 69-yard, 8-play drive to the Indiana 10-yard line. “I’ve never been involved in a better football game in my life,” Indiana Coach Lee Corso said.

1980

Brigham Young 46, Southern Methodist 45--Clay Brown caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jim McMahon as time expired, and Kurt Gunther kicked the extra point as BYU completed a 21-point rally. SMU running back Craig James ran 42 yards for a touchdown that gave SMU a 45-25 lead with 3:57 left. McMahon passed 15 yards to Matt Braga for a touchdown that made it 45-31. After BYU recovered an onside kick, McMahon passed to Bill Davis at the SMU 1. Scott Phillips scored on the next play, and McMahon passed to him for the 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to 45-39 with 1:58 left. The BYU defense held, and cornerback Bill Schoepflin blocked a punt by SMU’s Eric Kaife to give BYU the ball at the SMU 41 with 18 seconds remaining. After 2 incompletions, McMahon lofted his last pass into the end zone. In the midst of three SMU defenders, Brown caught the pass. “It was a Hail Mary,” Brown said. “That’s all right, Jim and I are both Catholics.” McMahon completed 32 of 49 passes for 446 yards and 4 touchdowns. SMU built its lead with its Pony Express running backs--James and Eric Dickerson. James had 225 yards rushing in 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 45 and 42 yards. Dickerson had 110 yards in 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 1 and 15 yards.

1981

Brigham Young 38, Washington State 36--Brigham Young took a 31-7 lead and held off Washington State, which had third-quarter scoring drives of 69, 50 and 39 yards to close within 31-28. BYU countered with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jim McMahon to Scott Pettis on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 10-point cushion. WSU, in its first bowl appearance in 51 years, got its final touchdown with 59 seconds remaining on Mike Martin’s 1-yard run and Ricky Turner’s run for the 2-point conversion. BYU recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock. McMahon, the game’s offensive most valuable player, completed 27 of 43 passes for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns.

1982

Ohio State 47, Brigham Young 17--Tim Spencer, the game’s most valuable offensive player, gained 167 yards in 21 carries, including 2 touchdowns, in little more than 3 quarters to lead the Big Ten runner-up. Spencer scored on runs of 61 and 18 yards, and Ohio State rushed 66 times for 329 yards. Steve Young passed for 347 yards for BYU.

1983

Brigham Young 21, Missouri 17--Trailing, 17-14, with 23 seconds to play, BYU quarterback Steve Young became a receiver in BYU’s desperate bid for a victory. Young, who completed 24 of 36 passes for 314 yards, handed to Eddie Stinnett, who swept right, stopped and passed across his body to Young, who was running in the flat on the left side. Stinnett’s pass barely eluded the right hand of Missouri defensive end Bobby Bell and was caught by Young. It was a 14-yard touchdown pass that culminated a 93-yard drive that began with 3:57 left. “I was shocked when I heard the call,” Stinnett said. “I just hoped I could get the ball to Steve.” Said Young: “We ran the play last week in practice, and I dropped the ball.”

1984

Brigham Young 24, Michigan 17--BYU entered with a 12-0 record and the No. 1 ranking. BYU quarterback Robbie Bosco, hobbled for most of the game on a severely injured ankle, passed 13 yards to Kelly Smith with 1:23 left for a touchdown that broke a 17-17 tie. Bosco, the game’s most valuable offensive player, completed 30 passes for 343 yards. The BYU defense held Michigan (6-6) to a Holiday Bowl record 202 offensive yards and an average of 2.4 yards on 49 rushing attempts. BYU won despite 6 turnovers. “I couldn’t be prouder of any team or any season,” BYU Coach LaVell Edwards said.

1985

Arkansas 18, Arizona State 17--Freshman Kendall Trainor kicked a 37-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining as Arkansas came from behind twice in the fourth quarter. ASU led, 14-7, in the fourth quarter, but Bobby Joe Edmonds ran 17 yards for an Arkansas touchdown, and quarterback Mark Calcagni ran up the middle for the 2-point conversion and a 15-14 lead. ASU came right back when quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst drove the Sun Devils to the Arkansas 1 but settled for a 17-15 lead on Kent Bostrom’s third field goal of the game. Calcagni drove the Razorbacks to the Sun Devil 19 with 21 seconds left to set up Trainor’s winning kick. ASU had one last chance, but Bostrom was short on a 59-yard attempt with 3 seconds left.

1986

Iowa 39, San Diego State 38--Rob Houghtlin kicked a 41-yard field goal with no time left as Iowa snatched the victory from the Aztecs. The favored Hawkeyes trailed, 21-13, at halftime and were still behind, 35-21, with 8 minutes left. Iowa quarterback Mark Vlasic then threw touchdown passes of 29 yards to Marv Cook and 3 yards to Mike Flagg, and Chuck Hartlieb passed to Flagg for a 2-point conversion to give Iowa a 36-35 lead with 4:26 remaining. SDSU quarterback Todd Santos passed 45 yards to Alfred Jackson to set up a 21-yard Kevin Rahill field goal with 47 seconds left to make it 38-36. But Kevin Harmon returned the kickoff to the Aztec 37, and Iowa took three plays to move the ball to the 24 with 4 seconds left. The snap was high and Hartlieb, Houghtlin’s holder, nearly had to come off the ground to catch it. Jackson, flying in from the right side, came so close to blocking the kick that one announcer mistakenly said he had. Santos completed 21 of 33 passes for 298 yards and 3 touchdowns. Vlasic completed 15 of 28 for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns.

1987

Iowa 20, Wyoming 19--Iowa overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter as cornerback Anthony Wright returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 19-14 and with 7:30 left, and fullback David Hudson ended an 10-play, 86-yard drive with a 1-yard run for the winning points on Iowa’s only successful offensive drive. The drive’s key play was a 48-yard pass play from quarterback Chuck Hartlieb to split end Travis Watkins, who fooled defenders with a hook-and-go pattern. “The pass to Watkins was the turning point,” Hartlieb said. “They were gambling all night, and we finally took advantage of it.” To that point, the Iowa offense was stymied. The Hawkeyes turned the ball over on downs at the Wyoming 5, lost another opportunity when tailback Kevin Harmon fumbled out of the end zone for a touchback and another when Rob Houghtlin missed a 30-yard field goal attempt late in the first half. “That was the most frustrating offensive game I’ve ever been associated with,” Hartlieb said. Trailing, 20-19, Wyoming had a shot with 46 seconds left, but Greg Worker’s 52-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Iowa’s Merton Hanks, who had earlier blocked a punt to set up Iowa’s first touchdown. “You know, I haven’t had a kicked blocked all year, not one,” Worker said. Burnett completed 28 of a game-record 51 pass attempts for 332 yards and a touchdown.