high-water mark for his team.
Brigham Young University hosted its most consequential football game in Provo on Saturday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It is only the third time a Top 5 team has visited Provo (top-ranked Miami in 1990 and top-ranked USC in 2004) and the first time the Cougars were a Top 10 team themselves. The Cougars entered the game ranked fifth nationally, while the Irish ranked second.
Shoot, ESPN’s traveling circus that is College GameDay stopped in Provo for the first time in 17 years!
Which got me thinking: I wonder if any of the #FanTeaser readers remember that BYU actually won a College Football National Championship?
It was the 1984 season, and the Cougars opened the season with a 20-14 victory at No. 3 Pitt.
And that is the entirety of the list of ranked opponents BYU played that season.
Beyond the Pitt game, the Cougars’ crowning achievement that season was its 24-17 Holiday Bowl win against the University of Michigan (6-5 entering the game).
The quarterback that game? Robbie Bosco, seen in this week’s #FanTeaser under center, facing down the Wolverine defense.
Bosco had quite the season, leading the nation in completion percentage (61.8%), passing yards (3,875 yards), and passing touchdowns (33).
And Bosco was just another in a decade-plus-long line of stellar signal callers in Provo. Check out this list of starting quarterbacks for a 10-plus-season stretch beginning in 1975:
- 1975-77 – Gifford Nielsen (14 NFL starts over six seasons)
- 1978-79 – Marc Wilson (60 NFL starts over 10 seasons)
- 1980-81 – Jim McMahon (97 NFL starts over 15 seasons)
- 1982-83 – Steve Young (143 NFL starts over 15 seasons)
- 1984-85 – Robbie Bosco (No NFL experience)
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning, with the reveal coming to you on Sunday.