BYU celebrates their 100th football season in 2024. The Cougars are one of the most historic football programs in college football, certainly among programs out west.
With that pile of history, let’s dive into the top 100 games of the BYU football program. The “top” games could mean many things — championship games, bowl games, key wins over rivals, record-setting individual performances, overtime thrillers, and much more.
These games are not ranked chronologically.
You can see other previous lists below
- 100-91
- 90-81
- 80-71
- 70-61
- 60-51
- 50-41
40. Utah State, 2002 (35-34)
2002 was a rough season for the Cougars. They floundered in year two of the Gary Crowton era. It seemed like it was going to get even darker, as Utah State burst out to a big 34-7 lead heading into halftime. Bret Engemann had thrown a 76-yard pick six to the Aggies to add insult to injury. Whatever was said at halftime, it worked. Running back Curtis Brown ran for two touchdowns in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 34-21 heading into the final frame. Brown finished the day with 222 yards rushing and three scores. BYU scored early in the fourth on a trick play where receiver Toby Christensen threw a touchdown to Jason Kukahiko to bring BYU within six points. Engemann found Gabe Reid for the go-ahead score with still over six minutes left in the game. The defense helped seal the win and the largest comeback in program history.
39. Mississippi State, 2016 (28-21, 2OT)
Anytime BYU is locked with a power conference team going into double overtime, it’s going to be high on this list. This game was significant for several reasons. One, is that BYU scored a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter to knot it up at 14 and send it to overtime. In the process, Jamaal Williams rushed for 76 yards in the game and became BYU’s all-time leading rusher at 3,468 yards. He ended his career with 3,901. In overtime, Mississippi State opened up the scoring, taking a 21-14 lead. BYU responded with a Taysom Hill one-yard rushing touchdown to send it to double overtime. Tanner Balderree caught a touchdown pass on the first play for the Cougars, putting the pressure on the Bulldogs. On 4th and 9, BYU stopped MSU and ended the game in double overtime, causing the fans to rush the field.
38. San Diego State, 2012 (23-6, Poinsettia Bowl)
The Kyle Van Noy Game. If you asked a BYU fan what that is, most, if not all, will immediately point to the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl. BYU’s offense was struggling mightily with backup quarterback James Lark. They needed a spark elsewhere, badly. Kyle Van Noy offered his services with a defensive game for the ages. It started early in the third quarter with a blocked punt to give BYU good field position, trailing 6-3. However, the offense squandered that golden chance. Van Noy took the game over after that. Early in the fourth quarter, with BYU still trailing 6-3, Van Noy strip-sacked Aztec QB Adam Dingwell and recovered it in the endzone for a touchdown, giving BYU a 10-6 lead. SDSU fumbled on the next drive and Jamaal Williams rushed for a score to increase the lead to 16-6. Van Noy sealed the win for BYU and his legend status with a pick-six late in the fourth quarter, giving BYU the 23-6 lead. The score would hold there, giving BYU a bowl win and Van Noy exploded onto the national scene as an NFL prospect.
37. Virginia, 2000 (38-35)
LaVell Edwards announced ahead of the 2000 season and he would retire after that year. The Cougars started his farewell tour by getting trounced by Florida State 29-3. They traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia to play the Cavaliers. The offense was sputtering after the FSU game and through the first half of this game, trailing 21-0. The offense finally clicked in the second half, with two rushing scores from Brian McDonald to cut the deficit to 21-14. Bret Engemann ended up passing for 447 yards and leading three more scoring drives, including finding Margin Hooks in the endzone to tie it at 35-35 to send it to overtime. After scoreless possessions, BYU got the ball in OT needing just a field goal to win. They drove it down close to give kicker Owen Pochman a chip-shot look. He slipped it inside the left upright and BYU completed the 21-point comeback to win 38-35 in overtime.
36. Tulsa, 2011 (24-21, Armed Forces Bowl)
BYU looked to complete their first season in independence on a happy note with a bowl win. Tulsa saw to it that BYU earned it the hard way. The Golden Hurricanes built a 14-3 lead early. BYU QB Riley Nelson struggled with accuracy early, throwing two interceptions. With the seconds winding down in the first half, Nelson scrambled around in one of the most heroic efforts from a BYU quarterback in recent memory. It even involved a key block from Matt Reynolds after he lost his helmet. Nelson found Cody Hoffman for the last-second touchdown to pull BYU within four at the half. Trailing 21-17 late in the fourth quarter, Nelson had BYU on the move again. BYU was tackled two yards short of the endzone inside 20 seconds left with no timeouts. Nelson faked the spike and found Cody Hoffman for the game-winning touchdown. It gave BYU the bowl win and 10 wins in their opening season of independence.
35. Boise State, 2019 (28-25)
Boise State came to Provo as favorites, at No. 14 and 6-0. BYU had lost three in a row and now were faced with playing third string quarterback Baylor Romney against the Broncos. The odds were stacked against the Cougars. Someone forgot to tell Romney and the Cougars that. They jumped out to a 28-10 lead after three quarters. Romney connected with tight end Matt Bushman for two scores in the third quarter. BYU had to weather a storm in the fourth quarter, as Boise mounted a desperate comeback attempt. They scored 15 unanswered points to cut the lead to three. However, BYU hung on for the win. The win is significant for multiple reasons. One, it snapped the three-game losing streak. Two, it was a win over a top-15 opponent at home, a rare occasion. Plus, this was an excellent Boise State team that finished the regular season 12-1 with a Mountain West title, the lone loss being to BYU.
34. Iowa, 1991 (13-13, Holiday Bowl)
Sure, BYU didn’t win this game. Iowa came in at 10-1, ranked No. 7 in the country. They were fresh off of a Big 10 co-championship and Rose Bowl berth the year before. Iowa jumped out to a 13-0 lead early. Ty Detmer, in his final collegiate game, led a touchdown drive right before the half, making it 13-6 in San Diego at the break. Early in the fourth quarter, Detmer tossed another touchdown pass to tie the game at 13. Detmer ended with a very Detmer-esque stat line, 350 passing yards and those two scores. However, the Cougars had a chance to win in the game in the end but Detmer threw an interception in field goal range to end the threat and the game remained tied. That marked the second tie of that season (more on the first tie later). But given that they tied with a top-10 team while unranked is notable.
33. Houston, 2013 (47-46)
BYU fans will forever wonder what it would’ve been like had Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams been able to stay healthy with multiple years of the Robert Anae offense. Against Houston in 2013 at Reliant Stadium in Texas, they got a glimpse of the perfect game for those two BYU stars. In one of the most memorable shootouts in BYU history, the Cougars of Houston and BYU combined for 92 points and 1,164 yards. Houston led 38-34 at halftime, with Jamaal Williams already having tallied two rushing scores and Taysom Hill two through the air. Trailing 46-41 with less than two minutes left, Hill led BYU on a drive to decide the game. With just over a minute left, Hill found Skyler Ridley for the go-ahead touchdown. Alani Fua then sealed the win with an interception as Houston tried to drive into field goal range.
32. Utah, 2021 (26-17)
BYU fans had heard it for over a decade. The Utes had owned the Holy War since 2009, having won nine straight. The Utes came into this matchup ranked 21st. The Cougars were determined to finally get the monkey off of their collective back. They built a 16-7 lead with Samson Nacua pulling in a touchdown grab with four seconds left in the half. Jaren Hall found Gunner Romney in the third quarter to build the lead further, at 23-7. But BYU fans had PTSD from 2018, when they had lead 20-0 and 27-7 in Salt Lake before squandering the lead late. Fans nervously awaited their fate in the fourth quarter, especially after Utah scored 10 points on two drives, sandwiched by a BYU three-and-out. With the score 23-17, BYU needed a score in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Thanks in part to 28 rushing yards from quarterback Jaren Hall on the drive, BYU was able to get in field goal range for Jake Oldroyd to nail a 21-yarder. That put BYU’s lead back up to two scores with just over three minutes. BYU’s defense forced a turnover on downs against Utah QB Charlie Brewer, which sent LaVell Edwards Stadium into a frenzy. The fans stormed the field as the drought against Utah was finally over.
31. Baylor, 2022 (26-20)
Not a lot of top 10 teams come to Provo. Granted, in hindsight, this was not a top-10 caliber team, as this Baylor squad finished 6-7. But at the time, they arrived into town at No. 9 and the defending Big 12 and Sugar Bowl champs. BYU led 20-13 late, until Baylor tied it in the fourth quarter. The two teams swapped ineffective drives late in the fourth quarter, with BYU missing a 35-yard field goal to win the game with eight seconds left. That sent the game to overtime. Baylor missed a field goal to open the overtime period, giving BYU a golden opportunity to win with any score. However, Jake Oldroyd missed a second straight field goal which allowed the game to go to a second overtime. BYU started the second overtime with a touchdown drive, punctuated by Lopini Katoa running it in from three yards out. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the door open for Baylor to win with a score and a conversion. BYU’s defense stepped up and prevented the Bears from scoring and the turnover on downs clinched the win as the fans stormed the field. This, despite two straight game-winning field goal attempts. For the first time since the 1990 Miami game, BYU had beaten a top 10 team in Provo.
