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1981 Holiday Bowl

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MVPJim McMahon      (QB, BYU)
Kyle Whittingham (LB, BYU)

The 1981 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18 in San Diego, California. It was part of the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season, and was the fourth edition of the Holiday Bowl.[3] The Friday night game was the third of sixteen games in this bowl season and featured the 14th-ranked BYU Cougars, champions of the Western Athletic Conference, and the #20 Washington State Cougars of the Pac-10 Conference.[4][5][6][7][8]

It was the fourth straight year in the Holiday Bowl for BYU, but the first bowl appearance in 51 years for Washington State,[9] who used a two-quarterback system: junior Clete Casper was the passer and sophomore Ricky Turner the runner.[10] BYU's quarterback was consensus All-American and future Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon, the fifth overall pick of the 1982 NFL Draft. He was backed up by sophomore Steve Young, a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and also a Super Bowl champion.

Game summary

Favored BYU scored first on a 35-yard pass from McMahon to Dan Plater, the only scoring of the first quarter. McMahon threw a 7-yard pass to Gordon Hudson to increase BYU's lead to 14–0. Washington State got on the board after quarterback Turner scored on a two-yard run. BYU's Kurt Gunther kicked a 20-yard field goal and Waymon Hamilton ran in from a yard out to give BYU a 24–7 lead at halftime.[5][6][7]

Early in the third quarter, BYU cornerback Tom Holmoe intercepted a Casper pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown, but WSU scored three unanswered touchdowns. Running back Matt LaBonne scored on an 18-yard run, Robert Williams scored on a 5-yard run, and Turner scored again on a 13-yard run to close the BYU lead to three points (31–28) at the end of the third quarter.[5][6][7]

McMahon fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Scott Pettis to take the lead back to ten points at 38–28. WSU fullback Mike Martin scored from a yard out and Turner added a 2-point conversion to close the gap to two points (38–36) with five minutes remaining. Late in the game, McMahon fumbled a third-down snap but picked up the ball and ran for a first down that helped to clinch the victory for BYU. [11][12]

The players of the game, both from BYU, were McMahon and middle linebacker Kyle Whittingham,[6] the future head coach at Utah. BYU evened its record in the bowl at 2–2,[3][8] and played in the next three.

BYU moved up one spot to thirteenth in the final AP poll, and Washington State slipped out of the top twenty;[13] their next bowl appearance was seven years later.

Scoring

First quarter

  • BYU – Dan Plater 35 pass from Jim McMahon (Kurt Gunther kick)

Second quarter

  • BYU – Gordon Hudson 4 pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)
  • WSU – Ricky Turner 4 run (Ward Leland kick)
  • BYU – Field goal, Gunther 20
  • BYU – Waymon Hamilton 1 run (Gunther kick)

Third quarter

  • BYU – Tom Holmoe 35 interception return (Gunther kick)
  • WSU – Matt LaBomme 18 run (Pat Beach pass from Clete Casper)
  • WSU – Robert Williams 5 run (pass failed)
  • WSU – Turner 13 run (Leland kick)

Fourth quarter

  • BYU – Scott Pettis 11 pass from McMahon (Gunther kick)
  • WSU – Mike Martin 1 run (Turner run)
Source:[5][6][7]

Statistics

Statistics      BYU           WSU     
First Downs 22 23
Rushes–yards 32–69 53–245
Passing yards 368 106
Passes 28–44–0 8–25–2
Total yards 437 351
Punts–average 8–37 8–41
Fumbles–lost 5–0 0–0
Turnovers by 0 2
Penalties-yards 9–86 5–45
Source:[5][6][7]

References

  1. ^ "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 18, 1981. p. 17.
  2. ^ a b "Holiday Bowl Game History". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  3. ^ a b Van Sickel, Gary (December 18, 1981). "Holiday's history short, wild". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 22.
  4. ^ "McMahon passes for 342 yards". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. December 19, 1981. p. 6.
  5. ^ a b c d e Barrows, Bob (December 19, 1981). "Washington State almost has a curtain call". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Van Sickel, Gary (December 19, 1981). "Happy Holidays – for BYU". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 21.
  7. ^ a b c d e "McMahon makes Holiday happy one for BYU, 38-36". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 19, 1981. p. 2B.
  8. ^ a b Robinson, Doug (December 19, 1981). "Y. wins another Holiday heartstopper". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A3.
  9. ^ "WSU, BYU go 'bowling' tonight". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 18, 1981. p. 21.
  10. ^ "WSU got here via the 1-2 punch". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 18, 1981. p. 22.
  11. ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/230012403/1981-Holiday-Bowl-BYU-38-Washington-State-36.html
  12. ^ http://byucougars.com/files/media_guides/m-football/2010/tradition/bowl-1981.html
  13. ^ "Polls agree that Tigers are No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. January 3, 1982. p. 3E.


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