1973 BYU Cougars football team

The 1973 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Cougars were led by second-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, finishing tied for fourth with a conference record of 3–4.

1973 BYU Cougars football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record5–6 (3–4 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDave Kragthorpe (4th season)
Offensive schemeWest Coast
Defensive coordinatorDick Felt (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumCougar Stadium
Seasons
← 1972
1974 →
1973 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Arizona State + 6 1 0 11 1 0
Arizona + 6 1 0 8 3 0
Utah 4 2 0 7 5 0
BYU 3 4 0 5 6 0
New Mexico 3 4 0 4 7 0
Wyoming 3 4 0 4 7 0
Colorado State 2 4 0 5 6 0
UTEP 0 7 0 0 11 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 15Colorado StateL 13–2128,255[1]
September 29Oregon State*
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, UT
W 37–1427,434[2]
October 6at Utah State*L 7–1315,046[3]
October 13Iowa State* 
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, UT
L 24–2625,580[4]
October 20at No. 12 Arizona StateL 12–5247,137[5]
October 27at WyomingL 21–4118,746[6]
November 3New Mexico
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, UT
W 56–2111,412[7]
November 10Arizona
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, UT
L 10–2419,597[8]
November 17Weber State*
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, UT
W 45–1414,548[9]
November 24at UtahW 46–2218,243[10]
December 1at UTEPW 63–06,100[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[12]

Game summaries

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Colorado State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 0 0 7 14 21
Cougars 0 0 7 6 13
Team Category Player Statistics
Colorado State Passing Jan Stuebbe 15/34, 211 yards, INT
Rushing Scot MacLachlan 23 rushes, 54 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Willie Miller 4 receptions, 89 yards
BYU Passing Randy Litchfield 12/22, 135 yards, 3 INT
Rushing Randy Litchfield 11 rushes, 32 yards, TD
Receiving Jay Miller 6 receptions, 63 yards

Oregon State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Beavers 7 7 0 0 14
Cougars 14 7 7 9 37
Team Category Player Statistics
Oregon State Passing Alvin White 15/41, 193 yards, INT
Rushing Ray Taroli 13 rushes, 70 yards
Receiving Dick Maurer 3 receptions, 50 yards
BYU Passing Randy Litchfield 12/23, 118 yards, TD
Rushing Gil Gillenwater 30 rushes, 136 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Sam LoBue 1 reception, 68 yards, TD

At Utah State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 7 0 0 7
Aggies 7 3 0 3 13
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing Randy Litchfield 8/17, 91 yards, 3 INT
Rushing Mark Terranova 15 rushes, 76 yards, TD
Receiving Jay Miller 8 receptions, 99 yards
Utah State Passing Tom Wilson 3/6, 22 yards
Rushing Archie Gibson 22 rushes, 143 yards, TD
Receiving Kelley Deist 1 reception, 12 yards

Iowa State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cyclones 10 10 3 3 26
Cougars 7 0 7 10 24
Team Category Player Statistics
Iowa State Passing Buddy Hardeman 9/18, 123 yards
Rushing Buddy Hardeman 16 rushes, 88 yards
Receiving Keith Krepfle 4 receptions, 95 yards
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 30/47, 445 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Rushing Mark Terranova 20 rushes, 111 yards
Receiving Jay Miller 13 receptions, 193 yards, TD

At No. 12 Arizona State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 0 6 6 12
No. 12 Sun Devils 16 13 16 7 52
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 22/39, 169 yards, TD, INT
Rushing Mark Terranova 13 rushes, 74 yards
Receiving Jay Miller 14 receptions, 95 yards, TD
Arizona State Passing Danny White 17/25, 303 yards, 3 TD
Rushing Woody Green 17 rushes, 128 yards
Receiving Morris Owens 6 receptions, 173 yards, TD

At Wyoming

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 0 0 21 21
Cowboys 0 10 21 10 41
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 18/39, 317 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing David Coon 17 rushes, 51 yards
Receiving Jay Miller 7 receptions, 117 yards
Wyoming Passing Steve Cockreham 13/24, 208 yards, 3 TD
Rushing Bruce Williams 17 rushes, 67 yards, TD
Receiving Archie Gray 6 receptions, 112 yards, TD

New Mexico

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1 2 3 4 Total
Lobos 7 0 0 14 21
Cougars 12 21 0 23 56
Team Category Player Statistics
New Mexico Passing Troy Williams 8/21, 142 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Cliff Crenshaw 12 rushes, 34 yards
Receiving Paul Labarrere 2 receptions, 80 yards, TD
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 32/50, 402 yards, 6 TD, INT
Rushing Mark Terranova 14 rushes, 46 yards
Receiving Jay Miller 22 receptions, 263 yards, 3 TD

Arizona

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 10 7 7 24
Cougars 0 10 0 0 10
Team Category Player Statistics
Arizona Passing Bruce Hill 5/17, 72 yards, INT
Rushing Jim Upchurch 17 rushes, 146 yards, TD
Receiving Mark Neal 2 receptions, 50 yards
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 10/19, 82 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Mark Terranova 12 rushes, 55 yards
Receiving Jay Miller 7 receptions, 50 yards

Weber State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 6 0 8 14
Cougars 14 10 14 7 45
Team Category Player Statistics
Weber State Passing Rob Bockwoldt 4/14, 62 yards
Rushing Blaine Church 12 rushes, 51 yards
Receiving Gary Childress 6 receptions, 126 yards, TD
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 20/32, 244 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Jeff Blanc 17 rushes, 90 yards
Receiving Jay Miller 10 receptions, 155 yards, 3 TD

At Utah

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1 234Total
Cougars 3 27160 46
Utes 0 3613 22
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 22/34, 349 yards, 4 TD
Rushing Steve Stratton 18 rushes, 121 yards
Receiving John Betham 3 receptions, 126 yards, 2 TD
Utah Passing Don Van Galder 12/38, 224 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Hutch Roosevelt 10 rushes, 69 yards
Receiving Hutch Roosevelt 3 receptions, 77 yards, TD

The first half was played in a blinding snowstorm. Gary Sheide tied the WAC single-season touchdown record of 21 in the third quarter shared by Virgil Carter (1966) and Danny White (1972). It was the most points BYU had scored against Utah to date. [13]

At UTEP

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 6 30 7 20 63
Miners 0 0 0 0 0
Team Category Player Statistics
BYU Passing Gary Sheide 17/28, 219 yards, TD, INT
Rushing Jeff Blanc 17 rushes, 96 yards, TD
Receiving Mike Pistorius 5 receptions, 68 yards
UTEP Passing Frank Duncan 3/10, 51 yards, 4 INT
Rushing Don Willis 15 rushes, 93 yards
Receiving Lonn Crittenden 2 receptions, 32 yards

Personnel

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Coaching staff

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[14]

Awards

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  • All-WAC: DT Paul Linford (1st), SE Jay Miller (1st)

[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Colorado State captures 21–13 upset over BYU". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. September 16, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Brigham Young rips winless OSU, 37–14". The Sunday Oregonian. September 30, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Utags upset Cougars, 13–7". Albuquerque Journal. October 7, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Cyclones escape scrappy BYU". The Des Moines Register. October 14, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Devils thump Cougars, 52–12". The Sunday Oregonian. October 21, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Wyoming upends fumbling BYU". The Arizona Daily Star. October 28, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Sheide passes Cougars past New Mexico, 56–21". Fort Collins Coloradoan. November 4, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Wildcats rake Cougars". The El Paso Times. November 11, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "BYU blasts Weber State". The Daily Herald. November 18, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "BYU gives Utes 46–22 snow job". The El Paso Times. November 25, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Cougars shut out UTEP". The Arizona Daily Star. December 2, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "1973 NCAA Football Statistics (BYU)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  13. ^ "BYU stops Utah in blinding snow." Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Nov 25.
  14. ^ CougarStats.com Archived 2011-10-11 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  15. ^ CougarStats.com Archived 2011-10-11 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 4, 2011.