# 1978 BYU Cougars football team

The 1978 BYU Cougars football team represented the Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The team was led by head coach LaVell Edwards, in his seventh year, and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and four losses (9–4, 5–1 WAC), as WAC champions and with a loss against Navy in the Holiday Bowl.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 9 | at Oregon State* | Parker StadiumCorvallis, OR | W 10–6 | 19,651 |
| September 16 | at Arizona State* | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | L 17–24 | 70,311 |
| September 23 | Colorado State | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 32–6 | 31,052 |
| September 30 | at New Mexico | University StadiumAlbuquerque, NM | W 27–23 | 24,892 |
| October 7 | Utah State* | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT (rivalry) | L 7–24 | 32,668 |
| October 14 | at Oregon* | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | W 17–16 | 24,500 |
| October 21 | UTEP | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 44–0 | 23,335 |
| November 4 | Wyoming | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 48–14 | 30,415 |
| November 11 | San Diego State | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 21–3 | 22,682 |
| November 18 | at Utah | Robert Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT (Holy War) | L 22–23 | 29,326 |
| November 25 | at Hawaii* | Aloha StadiumHonolulu, HI | W 31–13 | 35,678 |
| December 1 | vs. UNLV* | Yokohama StadiumYokohama, Japan (Yokohama Bowl) | W 28–24 | 27,500 |
| December 22 | vs. Navy* | San Diego StadiumSan Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl) | L 16–23 | 52,500 |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

## Game summaries
### At Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Beavers | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |

### Colorado State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| • Cougars | 7 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 32 |
Jim McMahon, the backup quarterback and normally handles the punting duties, came off the bench to pass for one score and run for another when Marc Wilson was injured early in the second quarter with a bruised hamstring. "It's nice to have quarterbacks like those two, isn't it", head coach LaVell Edwards said after the game.

### At Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Ducks | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 |

### Wyoming

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Cougars | 10 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 48 |

### At Utah

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cougars | 10 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 22 |
| Utes | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 23 |
at Robert Rice Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: November 18, 1978
* Game weather: Sunny, 43 °F (6 °C)
* Game attendance: 29,326
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
BYU – Brent Johnson 20-yard field goal. BYU 3–0.
BYU – Lloyd Jones 37-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Brent Johnson kick). BYU 10–0.
Second quarter
BYU – Brent Johnson 52-yard field goal. BYU 13–0.
BYU – Brent Johnson 21-yard field goal. BYU 16–0.
Third quarter
UTAH – James Teahan 25-yard pass from Randy Gomez (Jeff Hucko kick). BYU 16–7.
BYU – Dave Francis 20-yard interception return (kick failed). BYU 22–7.
Fourth quarter
UTAH – Jeff Hucko 37-yard field goal. BYU 22–10.
UTAH – Tony Lindsay 42-yard pass from Randy Gomez (Jeff Hucko kick). BYU 22-17.
UTAH – Frank Henry 19-yard pass from Randy Gomez (pass failed), 2:15. Utah 23-22.
Top passers
BYU – Jim McMahon – 15/38, 249 yards, TD
UTAH – Randy Gomez – 20/31, 265 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
BYU – Lloyd Jones – 1 rush, 32 yards
UTAH – Tony Lindsay – 30 rushes, 104 yards
Top receivers
BYU – Lloyd Jones – 4 receptions, 67 yards
UTAH – James Teahan – 5 receptions, 85 yards, TD :