1977 BYU Cougars football team

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.

1977 BYU Cougars football
WAC co-champion
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 20
1977 record	9–2 (6–1 WAC)
Head coach	LaVell Edwards (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Doug Scovil
Defensive coordinator	Dick Felt
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium

1977 Western Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 20 BYU +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 18 Arizona State +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Colorado State	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Wyoming	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Arizona	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
New Mexico	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Utah	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UTEP	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

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.[1][2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 10	7:30 pm	Kansas State*		Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah		W 39–0	35,196
September 24	12:50 pm	at Utah State*	No. 20	Romney Stadium Logan, Utah (Old Wagon Wheel)	TV	W 65–6	20,103
September 30	7:30 pm	New Mexico	No. 15	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah		W 54–19	33,352
October 8	2:30 pm	at Oregon State*	No. 13	Parker Stadium Corvallis, Oregon		L 19–24	33,965
October 15	1:30 pm	Colorado State		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, Colorado		W 63–17	29,110
October 22	1:30 pm	at Wyoming	No. 17	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, Wyoming		W 10–7	25,398
October 29	1:30 pm	Arizona	No. 17	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah		W 34–14	33,621
November 5	1:30 pm	Utah	No. 14	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah (Holy War)		W 38–8	34,208
November 12	7:30 pm	at No. 17 Arizona State	No. 13	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona		L 13–24	58,295
November 19	1:30 pm	Long Beach State*	No. 17	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah		W 30–27	21,322
November 26	7:30 pm	at UTEP	No. 18	Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas		W 68–19	7,800
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Source:[3]

Roster

1977 BYU Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 95 Rob Anderson So RB 23 Clay Blackwell So QB 12 Ray Brock So TE 85 Clay Brown So OT 64 Alan Carlile So FB 30 Steve Carlson So FB 33 Todd Christensen Sr WR 29 Mike Chronister Jr OT 63 Calvin Close So WR Bill Davis Fr OT 66 Russ Davis Jr T 72 Nick Eyre Fr QB 17 Mark Flammer Jr OG 58 Clayton Forsythe Jr RB Dave Francis Fr OT 76 Al Gaspard Jr WR 88 Bruce George Jr FB 24 Roger Gourley Sr OG 62 Danny Hansen So TE Brad Hardisty Fr WR 26 George Harris Sr OT 72 Kelly Harris Sr QB 11 Dan Hartwig So QB Mike Heinrich Fr TE 86 Richard Herlin Jr OT Steve Herring Fr OT 70 Jim Jaramillo So WR 87 Lloyd Jones So WR 84 Rick Jones Sr RB 20 Robbie Kahuanui So RB 31 Larry Kemp Jr RB 36 Eric Lane Fr WR Ron Lewis Jr OG 67 Raymond Linford So OT Walt Manwill Fr QB 7 Terry McEwen Sr QB 9 Jim McMahon Fr C 54 Tom Miller Sr QB 14 Gifford Nielsen Sr C 50 Scott Nielson So OT 75 Bart Oates Fr C 55 Corey Pace So OT Nelson Paynter Jr QB Scott Phillips Fr RB Scott Reber Fr OT 78 Lance Reynolds Sr RB 35 Bill Ring Jr FB Kim Stewart Jr OG 59 Gary Stoddard Jr C 52 Brad Sullivan Jr TE Norman Taylor Fr TE 92 Tod Thompson Jr WR 25 Kent Tingey Jr OG 77 Keith Uperesa Sr OT 69 Jan Van de Merwe Sr WR 8 John VanDerWouden Sr FB 34 Roy Ward Sr RB 32 Ken White So FB 44 Vic Whitsett So RB 48 Doug Williams So QB 6 Marc Wilson So RB 43 Casey Wingard Jr WR Stan Younger Fr WR 22 Lynn Zwahlen So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 42 Steve Anderson So DE 90 Kip Apostol Sr DT 65 Craig Barr So LB Russ Beck Jr LB 41 Mark Berntsen Sr LB 53 Gary Bouck Jr S 23 Perry Bradford So DB Mark Brady Fr DE 68 Rob Buchanan Jr LB Mark Campbell Fr DB 10 Dave Campos Sr S 21 Jason Coloma Jr CB 13 Steve Corson Jr LB 45 Tom Enlow Jr LB Danny Frazier Fr LB 56 Brian Hansen So DE 89 Jeff Harris Jr DB 16 Steve Hartmann So DE Greg Head Jr CB 27 Tony Hernandez Sr DT 80 Mekeli Ieremia Sr DE 93 Conrad Jepson So LB 37 Gary Kama Jr CB 15 David McKee So DE 83 Mat Mendenhall So LB 82 Larry Miller Jr S 47 John Neal Jr DT 71 Gary Peterson Sr DE 96 Rick Pinckard So DB 19 Bill Popin Sr CB 5 Bob Prested So LB 49 John Ramage So LB 41 Glen Redd So DB Bill Schoepflin Fr DT 73 Bob Simmerman Jr DT 79 Doug Stromberg So S 46 Mark Swenson Jr DT 60 Jeff Taggart So DB 18 Mark Terranova Sr DE 91 Ross Varner Jr S 9 Ron Velasco Jr DE 94 Dennis Webb So LB 36 Rod Wood Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Dev Duke Sr K 2 Brent Johnson So K Craig Wing So P 9 Jim McMahon Fr	Head coach LaVell Edwards Coordinators/assistant coaches Norm Chow Wide Receivers Dick Felt Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Garth Hall Running Backs Dave Kragthorpe Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Mel Olson Junior Varsity Tom Ramage Defensive Line Doug Scovil Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Fred Whittingham Linebackers Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2018-Dec-25

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.[4]

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.[5][6][7][8] The struggling Oregon State Beavers were seven-point underdogs,[9][10] and went winless in the Pac-10 Conference.

Utah

Utah Utes at #14 BYU Cougars

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utah	0	2	6	0	8
BYU	17	0	0	21	38

at Cougar Stadium • Provo, Utah

• Date: November 5
• Game time: 1:30 p.m. MST
• Game weather: Overcast • 60 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 33,828
• CougarStats

Game information
Utah Randy Gomez 15/41, 131 Yds, 2 INT Jeffrey Parker 24 Rush, 98 Yds 3 Rec, 28 Yds BYU Marc Wilson 26/41, 571 Yds, 5 TD, 3 INT Todd Christensen 9 Rush, 32 Yds Mike Chronister 4 Rec, 176 Yds, TD

BYU's Marc Wilson threw for 571 yards,[11] breaking the single-game NCAA record set by Utah State's Tony Adams in 1972, also against Utah.[12][13] 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,[11] which drew the ire of Utah head coach Wayne Howard.

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP UTAH BYU 1 BYU 23-yard field goal by Duke 0 3 1 BYU Christensen 11-yard touchdown reception from Wilson, Duke kick good 0 10 1 BYU Chronister 72-yard touchdown reception from Wilson, Duke kick good 0 17 2 Utah Safety, international grounding penalty by Wilson in end zone 2 17 3 Utah Liapis 12-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 8 17 4 BYU VanDerWouden 14-yard touchdown reception from Wilson, Duke kick good 8 24 4 BYU Thompson 26-yard touchdown reception from Wilson, Duke kick good 8 31 4 BYU VanDerWouden 8-yard touchdown reception from Wilson, Duke kick good 8 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 8 38

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

Source:[14]

• Starting quarterback Nielsen was lost for the season late in the fourth game.[5][7]

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

Source:[14]

NFL Draft

Main article: 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

1. "It might not add up, but Irish are clearly No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI. January 4, 1978. p. 3C.
2. "Notre Dame gets No. 1 tag". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. January 4, 1978. p. F1.
3. 1977 BYU Cougars football media guide. Retrieved 2018-Dec-25.
4. Miller, Hack (September 26, 1977). "Cougars' air attack keeps Ags grounded". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 4B.
5. Conrad, John (October 9, 1977). "Beavers put BYU down, and Nielsen out". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
6. "Beavers end BYU win skein". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 9, 1977. p. D3.
7. Benson, Lee (October 10, 1977). "Nielsen out as breaks stun Y." Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 4B.
8. https://byucougars.com/athlete/football/13752/Gifford-Nielsen
9. Conrad, John (October 8, 1977). "Can the Beavers ground Brigham Young's pilot?". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 2B.
10. Benson, Lee (October 8, 1977). "BYU reputation arrives at OSU ahead of Cougars". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 2D.
11. "BYU's Wilson sets pass record". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. November 6, 1977. p. 10C.
12. "Adams sparkles". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 6C.
13. Ferguson, George (November 13, 1972). "Adams' hot hand buries Utah". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 8B.
14. 1977 football season – CougarStats