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]
| 1985 BYU Cougars football | |
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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 |
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| Offensive coordinator | Roger French (5th season) |
| Offensive scheme | West Coast |
| Defensive coordinator | Dick Felt (11th season) |
| Base defense | 3–4 |
| Home stadium | Cougar Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 29 | vs. Boston College* | No. 10 | Raycom | W 28–14 | |
| September 7 | No. 20 UCLA* | No. 8 | ESPN | L 24–27 | |
| September 14 | Washington* | No. 16 |
| ABC | W 31–3 |
| September 21 | at Temple* | No. 13 | KSL (1 hour tape delay) | W 26–24 | |
| October 5 | at Colorado State | No. 15 | W 42–7 | ||
| October 12 | San Diego State | No. 11 |
| W 28–0 | |
| October 19 | at New Mexico | No. 9 | KSL | W 45–23 | |
| October 26 | at UTEP | No. 7 | L 16–23 | ||
| November 2 | Wyoming | No. 17 |
| W 59–0 | |
| November 9 | at Utah State* | No. 18 | KSL | W 44–0 | |
| November 16 | No. 4 Air Force | No. 16 |
| KSL | W 28–21 |
| November 23 | Utah | No. 11 |
| W 38–28 | |
| December 7 | at Hawaii | No. 9 | W 26–6 | ||
| December 28 | vs. No. 17 Ohio State* | No. 9 | NBC | L 7–10 | |
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Personnel
| 1985 BYU Cougars football team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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Game summaries
Air Force
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| BYU | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah
- Date: November 16, 1985
- Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
- Game attendance: 65,393
- Box Score
| Game information |
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Robbie Bosco wore number 7 in honor of injured teammate Glen Kozlowski