Top 100 games in 100 years of BYU football: 100-91

BYU will celebrate their 100th football season in 2024. The Cougars are one of the most historic football programs in college football, especially among programs in the West.

With that pile of history, let's dive into the top 100 games of the BYU football program. The top games can mean many things: championship games, bowl games, important victories over rivals, record-breaking individual performances, overtime thrillers and much more.

These games are not arranged chronologically.

Let's take a look at games 100 through 91.

100. Syracuse, 2002 (42-21)

This is certainly an unorthodox place to start. In the midst of the beleaguered Gary Crowton years, the Cougars opened up against major eastern foe Syracuse. The Dutch were coming off a 10-3 season and a top 15 ranking the season before. There were still doubts about the issue until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Cougars QB Bret Engemann threw three touchdowns for 386 yards and also ran for a score. Running back Marcus Whalen added 152 on the ground. The Cougars defeated the Dutch 21-7 in the second half.

99. Tulane, 2001 (70-35)

The Cougars have scored over 70 only a handful of times in program history. In 2001, one of their most productive offenses in school history came on the legs of Luke Staley. The Cougars scored a whopping seven rushing touchdowns as a team: three from Staley, three from Brian McDonald and one from quarterback Brandon Doman. The Cougars rushed the Green Wave for a total of 734 yards.

98. Utah, 1942 (12-7)

Yes, you read that score correctly. BYU had not defeated Utah since it became BYU, formerly known as Brigham Young Academy, in 1922. In 1942, they finally broke the two-decade losing streak by upsetting Utah 12 to 7 before the school took a break from football prior to World War II. . This would be BYU's only victory against the Utes until 1958 and their first victory in the Holy War as officially Brigham Young University.

97. Georgia Tech2003 (24-13)

We return to the Crowton era. BYU opened the 2003 season against the Yellow Jackets of the ACC. QB Matt Berry went all over the yard for BYU with 31 completions and three touchdowns. Daniel Coats caught two of those scores, including both touchdowns, to give BYU the lead in this game. The Cougars shutout the Jackets 17-0 in the second half.

96. Hawaii, 2012 (47-0)

This was the day BYU fans were introduced to a boy named Taysom Hill. Although he had made a few brief appearances before this match, this was when people started to know Hill as the dominant athlete he became. In his first career start under center, he ran for 141 yards and a touchdown while throwing for two more scores. Jamaal Williams came into action with 155 yards on the ground. The defense pitched their first shutout since 2009.

95. Boise State, 2013 (37-20)

The Broncos have been a thorn in BYU's side for a decade. Prior to this game, BYU had been 0-3 against Boise State. The Broncos seemed ripe for the taking in a bad season of sorts. BYU took advantage, thanks to one of Taysom Hill's best days of his BYU career. He threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. He also ran for a score, in classic Hill fashion.

94. New Mexico, 1988 (65-0)

Even though the opponent wasn't exactly remarkable, BYU still pulled off one of their most complete and dominant wins in program history against the Lobos. A young Ty Detmer threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns. The defense tallied five sacks and two interceptions, giving New Mexico a meager 131 yards in the shutout.

93. Georgia Tech, 2012 (41-17)

The Yellow Jackets are already making their second appearance in this list's short life. Any time BYU beats a power conference program on the road by 24 points, it's worth watching. Jamaal Williams ran for three touchdowns. They held Paul Johnson's offense at bay, allowing just 157 yards.

92. Colorado State, 1977 (63-17)

Whenever you see a ho-hum opponent throw a punch here, know that it’s probably because a Cougar player was absolutely going nuts over the stat sheet. This time, it was quarterback Marc Wilson. He needed just 15 completions for 332 total yards and seven touchdowns. Yes, nearly half of his completions went for touchdowns. Not to mention, it was Wilson’s first career start. No collegiate QB had ever thrown for seven touchdowns in their first career start. He added a rushing score to a total of eight touchdowns against the Rams, which ties the most touchdowns accounted for in a single game by a Cougar.

91. Wyoming, 2016 (Poinsettia Scale, 24-21)

It certainly wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing game. The Cougars and Cowboys faced off on a soggy field amid wet conditions in San Diego at the former Jack Murphy Stadium. BYU led 10-0 at halftime, with minimal fouls on either side. Josh Allen was a quarterback at Wyoming, but had little help. Tanner Mangum threw for less than 100 yards for BYU. Their saving grace was Jamaal Williams, who ran for 210 yards and a touchdown. Wyoming got the ball back with just under two minutes left. Kai Nacua ended the comeback attempt and intercepted Josh Allen to seal the win.