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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.

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.

Schedule

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.

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. The struggling Oregon State Beavers were seven-point underdogs, and went winless in the Pac-10 Conference.

Utah

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

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

Roster

Statistics

Passing

• Starting quarterback Nielsen was lost for the season late in the fourth game.

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

NFL draft

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. "B.Y.U. batters K-State". The Kansas City Star. September 11, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Nielsen, Cougars bomb Aggies by 65–6". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 25, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "BYU bombs Lobos". Tucson Citizen. October 1, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Cougars beaten by Oregon State". Casper Star-Tribune. October 9, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "BYU's Wilson climbs in 'Nielsen ratings'". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. October 16, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Chuck Harkins (October 23, 1977). "Cougars top fumbling Pokes, 10–7". Casper Star-Tribune. p. 22. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Cougars take easy win over Arizona". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 30, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "BYU's Wilson passes record 571 yards". The Los Angeles Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Devils stop Cougar offensive machine". The Daily Herald. November 13, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "BYU rallies for 30–27 win over Long Beach". The Fresno Bee. November 20, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "BYU passes ambush El Paso". The Sunday Oregonian. November 27, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "1977 Brigham Young Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
15. Miller, Hack (September 26, 1977). "Cougars' air attack keeps Ags grounded". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 4B.
16. ^ Conrad, John (October 9, 1977). "Beavers put BYU down, and Nielsen out". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
17. "Beavers end BYU win skein". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 9, 1977. p. D3.
18. ^ Benson, Lee (October 10, 1977). "Nielsen out as breaks stun Y." Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 4B.
19. "Gifford Nielsen - Football".
20. Conrad, John (October 8, 1977). "Can the Beavers ground Brigham Young's pilot?". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 2B.
21. Benson, Lee (October 8, 1977). "BYU reputation arrives at OSU ahead of Cougars". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 2D.
22. ^ "BYU's Wilson sets pass record". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. November 6, 1977. p. 10C.
23. "Adams sparkles". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 6C.
24. Ferguson, George (November 13, 1972). "Adams' hot hand buries Utah". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 8B.
25. ^ 1977 football season – CougarStats

• 1977 Western Athletic Conference football season
• BYU Cougars football seasons
• Western Athletic Conference football champion seasons
• 1977 in sports in Utah