American college football season
1976 BYU Cougars football Conference Western Athletic 1976 record 9–3 (6–1 WAC) Head coach Offensive coordinator Doug Scovil Defensive coordinator Dick Felt Home stadium Cougar Stadium Seasons
The 1976 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season . The Cougars were led by fifth-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 with Wyoming with a conference record of 6–1. BYU was invited to the 1976 Tangerine Bowl , where they lost to Oklahoma State .
Schedule [ ] Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 11 at Kansas State * L 3–1327,100 September 18 Colorado State W 42–1833,013 September 25 at Arizona W 23–1631,000 October 2 at San Diego State Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA W 8–041,786 October 9 Wyoming L 29–3435,423 October 10 Southern Miss * W 63–1923,029 [1] October 23 Utah State * Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (Old Wagon Wheel ) W 45–1424,074 October 30 Arizona State W 43–2129,854 November 6 UTEP W 40–2724,644 November 13 at New Mexico W 21–818,038 November 20 at Utah Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Holy War )W 34–1230,503 December 18 vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State * L 21–4937,812 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[2] [3]
Game summaries [ ] Colorado State [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Colorado State
0
8 7 3
18
• BYU
7
15 3 17
42
Date: September 18Location: Cougar Stadium , Provo, UT Game attendance: 33,013 show 1 BYU Jeff Nilsson 9-yard pass from Gifford Nielsen (Taylor kick) BYU 7-0 2 CSU Davis 5-yard run (Graham run) Colorado St 8-7 2 BYU John VanDerWouden 35-yard pass from Gifford Nielsen (Gifford Nielsen to Chronister pass) BYU 15-8 2 BYU John VanDerWouden 26-yard pass from Gifford Nielsen (Taylor kick) BYU 22-8 3 CSU Harris 1-yard run (Drake kick) BYU 22-15 3 BYU Taylor 38-yard field goal BYU 25-15 4 CSU Drake 42-yard field goal BYU 25-18 4 BYU John VanDerWouden 13-yard pass from Gifford Nielsen (Taylor kick) BYU 32-18 4 BYU Taylor 21-yard field goal BYU 35-18 4 BYU John VanDerWouden 12-yard pass from Terry McEwen (Taylor kick) BYU 42-18
Gifford Nielsen completed 13 of 32 passes for 174 yards before leaving late in the final quarter while John VanDerWouden set a single-game conference record with four touchdown receptions. LaVell Edwards beat Colorado State for the first time since taking over BYU in 1972.[4]
Arizona [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• BYU
13
3 0 7
23
Arizona
3
7 3 3
16
show Q1 BYU Taylor 36 yard field goal BYU 3–0 Q1 BYU Taylor 38 yard field goal BYU 6–0 Q1 ARIZ Pistor 52 yard field goal BYU 6–3 Q1 BYU Billick 20 yard pass from Nielsen (Taylor kick)BYU 13–3 Q2 ARIZ Nash 31 yard pass from Krohn (Pistor kick) BYU 13–10 Q2 BYU Taylor 39 yard field goal BYU 16–10 Q3 ARIZ Pistor 20 yard field goal BYU 16–13 Q4 ARIZ Pistor 39 yard field goal Tie 16–16 Q4 BYU Harris 43 yard pass from Nielsen (Taylor kick) BYU 23–16
[5]
Arizona State [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Arizona St
21
0 0 0
21
• BYU
17
7 16 3
43
Date: October 30Location: Cougar Stadium • Provo, Utah show 1 BYU VanDerWouden 3-yard run (Taylor kick) BYU 7-0 1 ASU Mucker 80-yard pass from Sproul (Kush kick) Tie 7-7 1 BYU Taylor 21-yard field goal BYU 10-7 1 ASU Mucker 43-yard pass from Sproul (Kush kick) Arizona St 14-10 1 BYU Harris 35-yard pass from Nielsen (Taylor kick) BYU 17-14 1 ASU Sproul 1-yard run (Kush kick) Arizona St 21-17 2 BYU Lowry 2-yard run (Taylor kick) BYU 24-21 3 BYU Chronister 81-yard pass from Nielsen (Taylor kick) BYU 31-21 3 BYU Taylor 40-yard field goal BYU 34-21 3 BYU Christensen 2-yard run (pass failed) BYU 40-21 4 BYU Taylor 44-yard field goal BYU 43-21
[6]
References [ ] show Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
