1980 Holiday Bowl The 1980 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 19 , 1980 in San Diego , California . It was part of the 1980 NCAA Division I - A football season . The game is famous due to a furious fourth quarter rally — including a last - second " miracle " touchdown — that gave the BYU Cougars a 46 - 45 victory over the SMU Mustangs . Thus , the game is known as the “ Miracle Bowl ” , especially among BYU fans . Background . The Holiday Bowl was a young bowl game at the time , in only its third year . The 1980 Holiday Bowl pitted Brigham Young University ( BYU ) against Southern Methodist University ( SMU ) . BYU entered the game with an 11 - 1 record . After losing the first game of the season ( 25 - 21 against ) , the Cougars won 11 straight games to claim the Western Athletic Conference ( WAC ) Championship . BYU had overwhelmed most opponents with a high - powered pass - oriented offense led by future NFL quarterback Jim McMahon . The Cougars led the NCAA in total offense ( 535 . 0 yards per game ) , scoring ( 46 . 7 points per game ) , and passing offense ( 409 . 8 passing yards per game ) during the 1980 regular season . In contrast , SMU entered the game with an explosive run - heavy offense , nicknamed the " Pony Express . " The Mustangs were led by two star running backs , Craig James and Eric Dickerson . Both James and Dickerson went on to careers in the NFL ; Dickerson achieved superstar status with the Los Angeles Rams in the mid - 1980s . The Mustangs entered the game with an 8 - 3 record , impressive considering they played in the tough Southwest Conference ( SWC ) . Game . BYU had never won a bowl game in the entire history of the school , having lost the 1974 Fiesta Bowl and 1976 Tangerine Bowl as well as the first two Holiday Bowls ( in 1978 and ' 79 ) . For the first 56 minutes of the 1980 Holiday Bowl , it seemed the Cougars were destined for another defeat . BYU ' s defense couldn ' t handle SMU ' s offense , as James ran for 225 yards and Dickerson added 110 . With just four minutes left in the game , the Mustangs scored to take a commanding 45 - 25 lead over the Cougars . Many BYU fans started leaving the stadium . McMahon screamed at them , declaring that the game wasn ' t over yet . He promptly threw a touchdown pass to Matt Braga , and BYU recovered an on - side kick . The Cougars quickly marched down the field , ending the drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run by Scott Phillips . SMU ' s lead had now been trimmed to 45 - 39 . The Cougar defense forced the Mustangs to punt on the next possession , and BYU ' s Bill Schoepflin blocked the punt by SMU ' s Eric Kaifes with 13 seconds left in the game . The Cougar offense took over at the 41 - yard line , with a last chance to win the game . After throwing two incomplete passes , McMahon launched a Hail Mary into the end zone as time expired . Smothered by four SMU defenders , BYU tight end Clay Brown somehow managed to leap above them and haul in the football , scoring one of the most miraculous touchdowns in college football history . With the score tied , BYU ' s Kurt Gunther kicked the extra point to give the Cougars a " miracle " 46 - 45 victory . BYU scored 21 points in the last 2 minutes and 33 seconds of the game . McMahon completed 32 of 49 passes for 446 yards to share MVP honors with SMU ' s James . The final statistics were remarkably even : SMU racked up 25 first downs and 446 total yards , while BYU finished with 23 first downs and 444 total yards . Legacy . In 2003 , ESPN ' s " Page 2 " feature listed the 1980 Holiday Bowl as one of the top 10 greatest bowl games ever played . The game was placed in NCAA Football video games as a " College Classic " , challenging players to recreate the ending . The challenge begins with the player as BYU , trailing 45 - 31 .