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PROVO — With hopes of 2014 being a special season for the Cougars all but dashed, here's a look at some other disappointing seasons in BYU football history.
1985
Things looked promising in 1985 for the Cougars. After winning the national championship in 1984, the team returned star quarterback Robbie Bosco and a slew of other talented players. After a hotly contested loss to a UCLA team that would go on to win the Pac-10 and finish in the top 10, the Cougars rolled into El Paso on a five game winning streak and ranked 7th in the nation. UTEP had yet to win a game, which explained why BYU was a 35-point favorite. In a crazy game, the Y. got beat by the lowly Miners in one of the biggest upsets in college football history. While the Cougars bounced back and won the WAC championship, the loss put a major damper in a season that ended in a tough bowl loss to a ranked Ohio State team.
1990
In many ways, the 1990 season was fantastic for the Cougars. They beat the No. 1 team in the nation, and quarterback Ty Detmer won the Heisman trophy. But the last two games of the season left many Cougar fans with a bad taste in their mouth as BYU was blown out by Hawaii and then Texas A&M. The bowl game against the Aggies is particularly memorable as Texas A&M players mocked Detmer after getting both shoulders separated.
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1999
Perhaps the most forgotten about disappointing season on this list is the 1999 season. In that season, the Cougars looked poised to have a big year. They returned many starters from a solid 1998 season, including two-year starter at quarterback Kevin Feterik. The year started off terrifically as the team rolled to an 8-1 record and was ranked as high as 12th in the nation. Then, as would be the case throughout his career, Luke Staley went down with an injury that killed BYU’s rushing attack. The Cougs limped in their final three games (all losses) without Staley and 1999 quickly became a forgettable year.
2001
Similarly to 1990, 2001 was a great year for BYU in many ways. Luke Staley had a breakout season in which he won the Doak Walker Award for best running back in the nation. The Cougars were an offensive juggernaut with Staley in the backfield and Brandon Doman at quarterback. BYU would sprint to a 12-0 start but things looked bad as Staley was on crutches to accept his trophy after getting hurt in the Mississippi State game. The Cougars finished the season by getting blown out in their final two contests.
2008
In 2008, BYU was loaded with returning talent, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Coming off of back-to-back 11-2 seasons, many fans and national pundits predicted that 2008 would be the year that the Cougars would go undefeated and crash the BCS. Coach Bronco Mendenhall fueled the fire by creating the slogan “The Quest for Perfection.” The Cougs started the year 6-0 and were rolling when they went to Fort Worth to face TCU. The game got ugly quickly for BYU as it eventually fell to the Horned Frogs 32-7. The Y. was unable to bounce back as it had repeated close games against mediocre competition and then got blown out in Salt Lake. The team limped into the Vegas Bow,l where it lost to a middle of the pack Arizona team.
2012
The 2012 season seemed to have the recipe for success for BYU. The Cougars were returning their starter at quarterback in Riley Nelson and the defense looked poised to have a great season. The year started off well as the Cougs beat Washington State and Weber State handedly. But against the Wildcats, Nelson injured his back, which was the beginning of a major downturn for the team. Nelson was never the same and the team seemingly found new ways to lose each week as it finished 8-5. 2012 was particularly disappointing because the defense was perhaps the greatest unit on that side of the ball in school history.
2014
It seems premature to call 2014 a disappointing season as the Cougars still have at least six games left. However, after starting 4-0 and having Taysom Hill appearing on almost every Heisman candidate list, the season cannot help but be disappointing. The team looked poised just two weeks ago to make a serious run at one of the major bowl games but now will have to struggle to become bowl eligible.
Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached by email at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via Twitter @DylanCannon11.
