# 1976 BYU Cougars football team

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 |
| September 11 | at Kansas State* | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | L 3–13 | 27,100 |
| September 18 | Colorado State | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 42–18 | 33,013 |
| September 25 | at Arizona | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | W 23–16 | 31,000 |
| October 2 | at San Diego State* | San Diego StadiumSan Diego, CA | W 8–0 | 41,786 |
| October 9 | Wyoming | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | L 29–34 | 35,423 |
| October 10 | Southern Miss* | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 63–19 | 23,029 |
| October 23 | Utah State* | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT (rivalry) | W 45–14 | 24,124 |
| October 30 | Arizona State | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 43–21 | 29,854 |
| November 6 | UTEP | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 40–27 | 24,644 |
| November 13 | at New Mexico | University StadiumAlbuquerque, NM | W 21–8 | 18,038 |
| November 20 | at Utah | Robert Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT (Holy War) | W 34–12 | 30,503 |
| December 18 | vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State* | Citrus BowlOrlando, FL (Tangerine Bowl) | L 21–49 | 37,812 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||

## Game summaries
### Colorado State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colorado State | 0 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 18 |
| • BYU | 7 | 15 | 3 | 17 | 42 |
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.

### At Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • BYU | 13 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 23 |
| Arizona | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 16 |

### Arizona State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arizona St | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| • BYU | 17 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 43 |

### At Utah

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| BYU | 7 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 34 |
| Utah | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
at Rice Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: November 20, 1976
* Game weather: Clear, 56 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 30,503
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
BYU – Gifford Nielsen 6-yard run (Dave Taylor kick). BYU 7–0.
Second quarter
BYU – Mike Chronister 3-yard pass from Gifford Nielsen. BYU 13–0.
UTAH – Steve Peake 3-yard run. BYU 13–6.
BYU – George Harris 25-yard pass from Gifford Nielsen (Dave Taylor kick). BYU 20–6.
Third quarter
BYU – Jeff Blanc 19-yard pass from Gifford Nielsen (Dave Taylor kick). BYU 27–6.
BYU – Dave Lowry 2-yard run (Dave Taylor kick). BYU 34–6.
Fourth quarter
UTAH – Richard Graham 3-yard pass from Patrick Degnan. BYU 34–13.
Top passers
BYU – Gifford Nielsen – 25/35, 415 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
UTAH – Patrick Degnan – 19/42, 270 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
BYU – Todd Christensen – 8 rushes, 53 yards
UTAH – Steve Peake – 13 rushes, 46 yards, TD
Top receivers
BYU – George Harris – 6 receptions, 134 yards, TD
UTAH – Michael Cordy – 6 receptions, 117 yards :