1981 BYU Cougars football team

American college football season

1981 BYU Cougars football
WAC champion Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 38–36 vs. Washington State
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 13
Record	11–2 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	LaVell Edwards (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Roger French (1st season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Fred Whittingham (3rd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 13 BYU $	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
Hawaii	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Utah	4	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Wyoming	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	7	–	1
Air Force	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
San Diego State	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
UTEP	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Colorado State	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	12	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 10th-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 their sixth consecutive conference title with a conference record of 7–1. BYU was invited to the 1981 Holiday Bowl, where they defeated Washington State. They were ranked 13th in the final AP Poll with an overall record of 11–2.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	at Long Beach State*	No. 16	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA	W 31–8	20,953	^[1]
September 12	Air Force	No. 15	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 45–21	38,712	^[2]
September 19	at UTEP	No. 13	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 65–8	19,400
September 26	at Colorado*	No. 11	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 41–20	43,259
October 2	Utah State*	No. 10	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)	W 32–26	41,129
October 10	UNLV*	No. 8	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 41–45	39,852	^[3]
October 17	at San Diego State	No. 17	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	W 27–7	41,727
October 24	at Wyoming	No. 13	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	L 20–33	22,745
October 31	New Mexico		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 31–7	36,343
November 7	at Colorado State		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 63–14	17,851
November 14	at No. 19 Hawaii		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 13–3	45,355
November 21	Utah	No. 18	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (Holy War)	W 56–28	47,163
December 18	vs. No. 20 Washington State*	No. 14	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	W 38–36	52,419
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[4]

Personnel

1981 BYU Cougars football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`6`	Robbie Bosco	Fr
RB		Bruce Hansen	So
TE	`95`	Gordon Hudson	So
WR	`7`	Glen Kozlowski	RFr
QB	`9`	Jim McMahon	RSr
C	`50`	Bart Oates	Jr
RB	`23`	Vai Sikahema	So
QB	`8`	Steve Young	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`78`	Chuck Ehin	Jr
DE	`92`	Jim Herrmann	Fr
DB		Tom Holmoe
DE	`77`	Mike Morgan	Jr
LB		Todd Shell
LB	`59`	Kyle Whittingham	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Kurt Gunther
P	`10`	Lee Johnson	Fr

Head coach

LaVell Edwards

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Jim Paronto
(Graduate assistant)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

At Long Beach State

#16 BYU Cougars (0–0) at Long Beach State 49ers (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	7	10	14	0	31
Long Beach St	0	0	0	8	8

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

Date: September 5, 1981
Game weather: Clear, 87 °F (31 °C)
Game attendance: 20,953
TV: ESPN
Box Score

External videos
Full game
BYU highlights

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Jim McMahon	28/45, 403 Yds, 2 INT
	Rushing	Scott Pettis	5 Rush, 37 Yds,TD
	Receiving	Dan Plater	8 Rec, 99 Yds
Long Beach St	Passing	Angelo Gasca	11/24, 73 Yds, 3 INT
	Rushing	Tim Gross	14 Rush, 40 Yds
	Receiving	Louis Leidelmeyer	2 Rec, 43 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	BYU	LBS
1					BYU	Scott Pettis 10-yard touchdown run, Kurt Gunther kick good	7	0
2					BYU	Interception returned 12 yards for touchdown by Todd Shell, Kurt Gunther kick good	14	0
2					BYU	32-yard field goal by Kurt Gunther	17	0
3					BYU	Waymon Hamilton 2-yard touchdown run, Kurt Gunther kick good	24	0
3					BYU	Blocked punt recovered in end zone for touchdown by Tom Holmoe, Kurt Gunther kick good	31	0
4					Long Beach St	Darryl Stokes 11-yard touchdown reception from Doug Disney, 2-point run good	31	8
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							31	8

Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	0	7	7	7	21
• BYU	10	14	7	14	45

Date: September 12
Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah
Game attendance: 38,712

Scoring summary

Q1	BYU	Hudson 10 yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 7–0

Q1	BYU	Gunther 32 yard field goal	BYU 10–0

Q2	BYU	Hamilton 1 yard run (Gunther kick)	BYU 17–0

Q2	AFA	Kirby 75 yard punt return (Pavlich kick)	BYU 17–7

Q2	BYU	Kozlowski 12 yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 24–7

Q3	BYU	Hamilton 4 yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 31–7

Q3	AFA	Sundquist 1 yard run (Pavlich kick)	BYU 31–14

Q4	AFA	James 13 yard run (Pavlich kick)	BYU 31–21

Q4	BYU	Hamilton 12 yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 38–21

Q4	BYU	Sikahema 8 yard run (Gunther kick)	BYU 45–21

^[5]

At UTEP

At Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
• BYU	14	3	14	10	41
Colorado	0	0	6	14	20

Date: September 26
Location: Folsom Field • Boulder, Colorado
Game attendance: 43,259

Scoring summary

1	BYU	Plater 44-yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 7-0

1	BYU	Pettis 7-yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 14-0

2	BYU	Gunther 40-yard field goal	BYU 17-0

3	BYU	Kozlowski 3-yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 24-0

3	COL	James 33-yard pass from Essington (pass failed)	BYU 24-6

3	BYU	Hudson 11-yard pass from Young (Gunther kick)	BYU 31-6

4	COL	Rouson 7-yard run (pass failed)	BYU 31-12

4	BYU	Plater 22-yard pass from Young (Gunther kick)	BYU 38-12

4	BYU	Gunther 32-yard field goal	BYU 41-12

4	COL	Beebe 1-yard pass from Essington (Johnson pass from Essington)	BYU 41-20

^[6]

Utah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utah St	0	7	7	12	26
• BYU	0	7	6	19	32

Date: October 2
Location: Cougar Stadium • Provo, Utah

Scoring summary

2	USU	Jones 8-yard pass from Canales (Money kick)	Utah St 7-0

2	BYU	Pettis 6-yard run (Gunther kick)	Tie 7-7

3	USU	McPherson 4-yard pass from Canales (Money kick)	Utah St 14-7

3	BYU	Hamilton 1-yard run (kick failed)	Utah St 14-13

4	USU	McPherson 5-yard pass from Canales (kick failed)	Utah St 20-13

4	BYU	Collie 8-yard pass from Young (Gunther kick)	Tie 20-20

4	USU	Turner 6-yard run (kick failed)	Utah St 26-20

4	BYU	Hamilton 42-yard run (kick failed)	Tie 26-26

4	BYU	Shell 19-yard interception return (kick failed)	BYU 32-26

^[7]

UNLV

At San Diego State

At Wyoming

#13 BYU Cougars (6–1) at Wyoming Cowboys (4–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	14	0	0	6	20
Wyoming	0	14	7	12	33

at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyoming

Date: October 24, 1981
Game weather: Snow, 32 °F (0 °C)
Game attendance: 22,745
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

BYU – Waymon Hamilton 2-yard run (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 7–0.
BYU – Scott Collie 63-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Lee Johnson kick). BYU 14–0.

Second quarter

WYO – Phil Davis 30-yard run (kick failed). BYU 14–6.
WYO – Charles Moore 25-yard run (run good). Tie 14–14.

Third quarter

WYO – Phil Davis 32-yard run (Steve Tobin kick). Wyoming 21–14.

Fourth quarter

WYO – James Williams 81-yard pass from Phil Davis (two-point conversion failed). Wyoming 27–14.
WYO – Phil Davis 28-yard run (two-point conversion failed). Wyoming 33–14.
BYU – David Mills 5-yard pass from Jim McMahon (kick failed). Wyoming 33–20.

Top passers

BYU – Jim McMahon – 29/47, 393 yards, 2 TD, INT
WYO – Phil Davis – 5/11, 124 yards, TD

Top rushers

BYU – Scott Pettis – 9 rushes, 58 yards
WYO – Phil Davis – 16 rushes, 140 yards, 3 TD

Top receivers

BYU – Scott Collie – 5 receptions, 123 yards, TD
WYO – James Williams – 4 receptions, 114 yards, TD

I'd rather lose and live in Provo than win and live in Wyoming.

LaVell Edwards, following the loss

New Mexico

At Colorado State

At Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
• BYU	0	6	7	0	13
Hawaii	0	0	0	3	3

Date: November 16
Location: Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, Hawaii

Scoring summary

2	BYU	Gunther 19-yard field goal	BYU 3-0

2	BYU	Gunther 45-yard field goal	BYU 6-0

3	BYU	Balholm recovered fumble in end zone (Gunther kick)	BYU 13-0

4	HAW	Larsen 40-yard field goal	BYU 13-3

^[8]

Utah

Utah at #18 BYU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utah	10	11	7	0	28
• BYU	14	21	14	7	56

Date: Saturday, November 21
Location: Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah
Game attendance: 47,163

Source: Eugene Register-Guard

Scoring summary

1	UTAH	Rodgers 87-yard run (Alvarez kick)	Utah 7-0

1	BYU	Pettis 6-yard run (Gunther kick)	Tied 7-7

1	UTAH	Alvarez 43-yard field goal	Utah 10-7

1	BYU	Hudson 8-yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 14-10

2	UTAH	Alvarez 27-yard field goal	BYU 14-13

2	BYU	Hamilton 1-yard run (Gunther kick)	BYU 21-13

2	BYU	Mills 6-yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 28-13

2	BYU	McKee 18-yard interception return (Gunther kick)	BYU 35-13

2	UTAH	Rodgers 1-yard run (Ferguson to Rodgers pass)	BYU 35-21

3	UTAH	Rodgers 8-yard run (Alvarez kick)	BYU 35-28

3	BYU	Hamilton 1-yard run (Gunther kick)	BYU 42-28

3	BYU	Plater 27-yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 49-28

4	BYU	Hudson 37-yard pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)	BYU 56-28

Jim McMahon passes for 565 yards and becomes the NCAA's career leader in the category.

Holiday Bowl (vs Washington State)

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Jim McMahon	Quarterback	1	5	Chicago Bears
Dan Plater	Wide receiver	4	106	Denver Broncos

^[9]

Awards and honors

Jim McMahon – Sammy Baugh Trophy,^[10] Davey O'Brien Award^[11]

References

^ "Long Beach: BYU Defense Is Too Much". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 6, 1981. p. III-7. Retrieved February 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Dunn, Marion (September 13, 1981). "Bottom Line: BYU 45, AFA 21". Daily Herald. p. 6. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Vegas shocks BYU, 45-41". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 11, 1981. p. 6B.
^ "BYU '82 Football" (PDF). BYU Athletics. p. 2. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
^ "BYU Thumps Air Force." Gainesville Sun. 1981 Sept 13.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1981 Sept 27.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1981 Oct 3.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1981 Nov 17.
^ "1982 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
^ "Awards". www.touchdownclubofcolumbus.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
^ "College Football Awards - ESPN". Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2007.

v t e BYU Cougars football
Venues	LaVell Edwards Stadium (1964–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Utah: Holy War (Beehive Boot) Utah State (Beehive Boot, The Old Wagon Wheel)
Culture & lore	Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Cougar Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Western Athletic Conference football champions
I-A/FBS	New Mexico (1962) Arizona State (1963) Arizona, New Mexico & Utah (1964) BYU (1965) Wyoming (1966) Wyoming (1967) Wyoming (1968) Arizona State (1969) Arizona State (1970) Arizona State (1971) Arizona State (1972) Arizona & Arizona State (1973) BYU (1974) Arizona State (1975) BYU & Wyoming (1976) Arizona State & BYU (1977) BYU (1978) BYU (1979) BYU (1980) BYU (1981) BYU (1982) BYU (1983) BYU (1984) Air Force & BYU (1985) San Diego State (1986) Wyoming (1987) Wyoming (1988) BYU (1989) BYU (1990) BYU (1991) BYU, Fresno State & Hawaii (1992) BYU, Fresno State & Wyoming (1993) Colorado State (1994) Air Force, BYU, Colorado State & Utah (1995) BYU (1996) Colorado State (1997) Air Force (1998) Fresno State, Hawaii & TCU (1999) TCU & UTEP (2000) Louisiana Tech (2001) Boise State (2002) Boise State (2003) Boise State (2004) Boise State & Nevada (2005) Boise State (2006) Hawaii (2007) Boise State (2008) Boise State (2009) Boise State, Hawaii & Nevada (2010) Louisiana Tech (2011) Utah State (2012)
I-AA/FCS	Sam Houston (2021) Abilene Christian & Stephen F. Austin (2022)
National championships in bold