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BYU’s Jacob Robinson (0) beats SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai on a two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 24-23 Cougar victory in the 2022 New Mexico Bowl.

Courtesy of BYU Photo

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Former BYU quarterback Jim McMahon celebrates his team’s comeback victory in the 1980 Holiday Bowl against SMU.

Courtesy of BYU Photo

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SMU tight end Nolan Matthews-Harris (14) and defensive end David Abiara (10) celebrate their victory over Tulane in the NCAA college football game of the American Athletic Conference, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in New Orleans. SMU won 26-14.

Gerald Herbert, AP photo

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SMU running back Tyler Lavine (31) carries a ball during the second half of the American Athletic Conference NCAA college football championship game against Tulane, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in New Orleans. SMU won 26-14.

Gerald Herbert, AP photo

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Any BYU fan who knows Cougar Tails even a little knows the story of the Cougars’ amazing comeback win over SMU in the 1980 Holiday Bowl.

The “Miracle Bowl” in San Diego was the launching pad for BYU’s successes in the 1980s and 1990s, the glory days for LaVell Edwards and Cougar fans, many of whom listened to the final moments of the game on the car radio as they drove down the freeway after an early start.

The 1980s were also the glory days for the Mustangs. From 1981 to 1986, SMU compiled a 53-15-1 record while playing in the Southwest Conference, including a 41-5-1 record during a four-year run of success. But years of rule-breaking and player pay issues caught up with SMU, and the program was blown up by the NCAA, the so-called “death penalty” that sent the Mustangs into a 20-year downward spiral.

Both programs have endured setbacks but emerged with hope and potential.

As the two teams prepare to meet Friday in Dallas, BYU and SMU have emerged as members of power conferences. The Cougars joined the Big 12 last season, and SMU, after years of college football exile, is now a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“We’re happy with where we’re at,” SMU AD Rick Hart said in an interview with the Associated Press. “Maybe that’s foolish, but I’d like to think it’s because we’ve fought back from being declared dead. We’re going to seize this moment. And I have every confidence that we’re going to put ourselves in a position to compete at the highest level of athletics.”

It’s a miracle

The stories of the 1980 Holiday Bowl are well told. BYU trailed by 22 in the third quarter and trailed 45-20 with four minutes to play, but then scored 21 straight points, including a Hail Mary from Jim McMahon to Clay Brown on the final play of the game, to win 46-45. Every Cougar fan knows that McMahon refused to leave the field on fourth down, forcing Edwards to take a timeout. BYU converted the first down and the comeback was on.

According to McMahon, Mustangs running back and NFL legend Eric Dickerson always captures the atmosphere of the game when scoring on the golf course.

Current Cougar AD Tom Holmoe was a defensive back on that team. He tells the story of wandering around San Diego with his buddies after the game and shagging a store clerk who was watching the game on TV, unaware that he was watching a replay. Holmoe correctly predicted the final scene of the game, leaving the clerk flabbergasted.

“He looked at me like I was Nostradamus,” said Holmoe, who had bet $20 on the outcome with the seller but was honest and did not take his money.

Vai Sikahema, a future NFL All-Pro, returned a punt for a touchdown in the game. He said that when he returned to his hometown of Phoenix, he and his buddies donned BYU gear and took a victory lap around the local mall.

“I was 5 years old when that game happened,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said this week. “I don’t remember a lot, but I remember watching the highlights when I was 8 years old. I was the kind of kid who watched replays all the time. It was cool to see that SMU team with guys like Eric Dickerson. And then you see guys like Kyle Whittingham and Jim McMahon for BYU. There’s some cool parts of that game, like Jim McMahon not wanting to punt and shutting the offense out. I grew up hearing those stories as a kid and then, as a BYU player, I got to ask LaVell (Edwards) about it.”

SMU does not have such fond memories of the match.

“It’s bitter,” SMU football radio voice Rich Phillips said on BYU Sports Nation. “It’s still a bitter thing. People were already leaving the stadium because it was over, but then you lose on a Hail Mary at the end. Two years ago (the 2022 New Mexico Bowl) was a little bitter for some, too. (Mustangs coach) Rhett Lashlee went for two at the end because he decided we weren’t going to go into overtime and somebody was going to win the game right away.”

Jakob Robinson stopped Mustangs quarterback Tanner Mordecai attempting a two-point conversion in the final moments of the game to secure the 24-23 victory.

The two programs also met while members of the expanded Western Athletic Conference, with BYU winning 31-3 in Provo (1996) and 19-16 in overtime in Dallas (1997).

Transitional years

The end of the Edwards era was a slow decline (29-20 in his final four seasons), giving way to a 12-0 start for new coach Gary Crowton in 2001. But Crowton suffered three straight losing seasons and was replaced by Bronco Mendenhall, who revived the program. The Cougars went independent, and Mendenhall, facing a glass ceiling in terms of access to the Big Boys Club, left for Virginia. Kalani Sitake stepped in and has had some success, highlighted by an 11-1 mark in 2020. Then came one of the best weeks ever in BYU football: an invitation to the Big 12 on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, followed by a win against Utah the next day to snap the Utes’ nine-game winning streak in the series.

The most surprising aspect of the move to a power conference was that BYU’s administration and board of trustees examined the financial commitments for joining the Big 12 and went all in.

The Cougars struggled in Year 1, going 2-7 in the regular season and missing a bowl game for the first time since 2017. But a spot in the NCAA 12-team playoff is up for grabs. That’s all BYU ever wanted.

“Congratulations, Cougar Nation,” Holmoe said at the press conference announcing the move. “It’s been a long time coming. Here we are. And the journey continues.”

The battle is real

SMU went from powerhouse to doormat after the NCAA dropped the hammer. The Mustangs, who had been on probation five times before, went without football in 1987 and 1988 and then went nine seasons without a winning record. They bounced from the Southwest Conference to the Western Athletic Conference to Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference with little success. SMU went 21 years without a bowl game, finally earning a Hawaii Bowl berth in 2009. They’ve now made bowl games in six of the past seven seasons. Last year, Lashlee led the team to an 11-3 overall mark and an 8-0 record in the AAC.

Last September, amid the Pac-12 blowup and other conference changes, SMU, like Stanford and Cal, became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Joining the Atlantic Coast Conference is a historic milestone in the history of our institution and the beginning of a new chapter in SMU Athletics,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “From the beginning of my tenure here on the Hilltop, we have had a vision to re-establish SMU Athletics as a nationally recognized and relevant program, one that would complement our excellent academic reputation. It is truly an exciting time on the Hilltop.”

Still, it was a move that drew plenty of criticism. The Mustangs had to pay a $10 million exit fee from the AAC and gave up more than $200 million in ACC television revenue to join that conference. While critics charged that SMU had bought into the ACC, there are enough movers and shakers in Dallas to keep the program competitive. The school raised more than $100 million in revenue in the week after the move was announced. SMU boosters have pledged to donate more than $200 million to help make up for that lost revenue.

A new hope

The fifth meeting between BYU and SMU represents a brand-new opportunity for a rivalry with deep roots. The Mustangs are an 11.5-point favorite going into the game, even though they are just 5-40 against power conference opponents since 2000.

Neither program seems entirely comfortable in their new conferences. The chances of BYU and SMU moving, or their respective conferences adding more teams, are highly likely in the current volatile landscape of college football.

“There’s a lot of buzz around our program, which is great,” Lashlee said. “There’s a lot of over-excited people predicting what we should do. There’s no pressure on us. We’re not supposed to win these games, right? I mean, if you look at history, the four teams that went into the Big 12 last year, none of them had a winning record in their first year.

“I don’t think we’ve won a game against a power conference opponent since 2010. So we just have to relax and go play. Some of this stuff is kind of mind-boggling. To me, we’re the underdog every week. It doesn’t matter what the line says. We’re not supposed to beat everybody.”

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