Would Stanford have spoiled BYU’s 1984 national championship season?
This coming Saturday, Stanford football will play at BYU. While both teams are located out West, they rarely have faced each other on the gridiron due to not being in the same conference. The most famous of all BYU football teams is the 1984 team that finished the season undefeated and ranked number one in the nation. After receiving a copy of the Deseret News’ 40th anniversary edition to commemorate that 1984 BYU team following my participation in this year’s Deseret News Half Marathon, it got me to thinking about what Stanford looked like back then and whether or not they could have possibly pulled off an upset against the Cougars. Especially given the fact that they will both be playing each other this season.
BYU’s football team finished the 1984 season 13-0 with a 24-17 Holiday Bowl victory over Michigan. As a result, they were named national champions by finishing No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. Led by head coach LaVell Edwards and quarterback Robbie Bosco, who threw for 3,875 yards, 33 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for a 151.8 passer rating, the Cougars found a way to not drop a game all season, making them the greatest team in program history.
That said, there have been some debates about the legitimacy of BYU’s national title due to the schedule they played. Michigan finished the season 6-6 and outside the top 25 and BYU’s huge 20-14 win over No. 3 Pittsburgh to open the season in hindsight doesn’t look all that impressive given Pittsburgh finished the season 3-7-1. Not to mention the narrow 41-38 home victory over 6-6 Wyoming. Not a single team they beat that season finished ranked in either the AP Top 25 or Coaches Poll.
Switching gears to the 1984 Stanford football team, they finished the season 5-6 in year one of Jack Elway‘s five-year tenure as head coach. On the surface, that doesn’t look like a team that would have had any chance to knock off the Cougars. However, given the narrow wins BYU had over Pittsburgh and Wyoming, one can’t help but wonder if the Cougars would have fallen to the Cardinal had they met.
Stanford running back Kevin R. Scott rushed for 375 yards and three touchdowns for an average of 5.4 yards per carry, making him a tough back to slow down. The top receiver for Stanford was Emile Harry, who had 25 receptions for 482 yards and four touchdowns. Harry would go on to get drafted in the 4th round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams from 1986-92 following the ’85 season on the practice squad. With a strong one-two punch in Scott and Harry, Stanford was capable of holding their own against some good teams.
The most notable win Stanford had in 1984 was their 23-21 win over No. 17 UCLA on the road on October 6th. That loss for UCLA knocked them out of the AP Top 25, but they would finish the season 9-3, ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. The fact that Stanford knocked off a team that went on to finish the season ranked in the top ten is pretty impressive. As I mentioned earlier, BYU in contrast did not defeat a single team that finished the season ranked in either poll.
If there is any reason to doubt that Stanford would have defeated BYU in 1984, it’s quarterback play. Bosco had a phenomenal season under center for the Cougars, finishing third in the Heisman voting. Stanford in contrast had Fred Buckley (940 yards, five touchdowns, & 17 interceptions for an 85.8 passing efficiency rating) take over for the injured John Paye (848 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions for a 105.7 passing efficiency rating). BYU had the clear advantage in quarterback play. It’s not even close.
Of course, Buckley was the quarterback for Stanford in their win over UCLA, earning himself Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week honors. On that day against UCLA anyways, Buckley held his own and had a strong performance.
If there was any week that would have been most optimal for an upset, it would have been the week after Stanford’s win at UCLA. BYU narrowly defeated Wyoming 41-38 that week and if a Stanford team fresh off a huge win over UCLA had been coming to town instead, perhaps BYU would never have won their national championship.
Given October 13th was smack dab in the middle of league play for both the Pac-10 and WAC, I think the weekend of September 15th would have been interesting. Stanford played Big Ten foe Illinois that weekend at home, defeating them 34-19. Illinois would finish the season 7-4, just outside of being ranked. Stanford demonstrated that they could play with strong teams in the Big Ten, too. Michigan in contrast, whom BYU narrowly beat 24-17 in the Holiday Bowl, beat Illinois by a narrower margin than Stanford (26-18). And that game was at the Big House.
Ultimately, had the Cougars and Cardinal met in 1984, odds are really good (80-85%) the Cougars would have found a way to win as they did in every other game they played. There’s a reason they finished the season ranked number one in the nation and Stanford finished the season with a losing record. That all being said, Stanford’s wins over UCLA and Illinois have to make one wonder if maybe, just maybe the Cardinal would have ended BYU’s perfect season.
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