PROVO — The dog days of summer are upon us. Flipping through TV channels for any interesting sporting events is a tall order these days. Usually, this time of the offseason is the perfect time to resort to firing up the DVR or YouTube and watch classic games from the past.

For BYU football, there have been many memorable and great games in its 83-year history. To celebrate 50 days till kickoff here is a breakdown of the 50 greatest wins in BYU’s history.

This ranking wasn’t based on one particular metric or variable. It was based on a couple of factors including quality of opponent, impact nationally on BYU, the finish, and venue.

So get your football fix by going over this list and with any great list, let the debate begin. Who doesn’t want to debate football?

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50: 2011: BYU 14, Ole Miss 13: The independence era for BYU kicked off in SEC country with a comeback win in a defensive slugfest that saw Cougar LB Kyle Van Noy come through with a scoop-and-score to get the win in Oxford, Mississippi.

49. 2002: BYU 35, Utah State 34: Down 34-7 at the half, QB Brett Engemann and an unexpected career day from freshman RB Curtis Brown led BYU to the largest comeback win in program history over the rival Aggies.

48. 2012 Poinsettia Bowl: BYU 23, San Diego State 6: Van Noy single-handedly sealed the win for BYU by notching two defensive touchdowns in a game that made him a name nationally.

47. 2004: BYU 20, Notre Dame 17: The season-opener for what would become the final season in the Gary Crowton era and the debut of WR speedster Todd Watkins.

46. 1996: BYU 37, Utah 17: BYU ended Utah’s three-game winning streak in the rivalry with a dominating 338 yards on the ground from running back tandem Ronney Jenkins and Brian McKenzie.

45. 1998: BYU 26, Arizona State 6: The Sun Devils were a top-15 team led by RB JR Redmond, who was stifled by BYU’s defense only rushing for 28 yards.

44. 1985: BYU 31, Washington 3: BYU’s 1984 national championship was disputed by many, including the Chicago Tribune that dubbed Washington the ’84 champs. Early in the 1985 season, BYU silenced any doubters with a dominating victory over Don James’ Huskies.

43. 1994 Copper Bowl: BYU 31, Oklahoma 6: Oklahoma had a lame-duck coach in Gary Gibbs and the Cougars rolled to an easy victory over the Sooners, finishing 10th in the final Coaches Poll in 1994.

42. 1988: BYU 47, Texas 6: The Cougars opened the ’88 season in the top-10 and rolled through the Longhorns on a nationally televised ESPN game.

41. 1989: BYU 45, Oregon 41: BYU needed to score 24 unanswered to pull off a comeback win against the Ducks. This is the game where Ty Detmer started to create his legacy at BYU.

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40. 1988 Freedom Bowl: BYU 20, Colorado 17: Jason Chaffetz booted a game-winning field goal to defeat Eric Bienemy and the high-powered Buffs.

39. 2015: BYU 35, Boise State 24: Tanner Mangum pulled out some magic for the second time in as many weeks to begin the 2015 season.

38. 1965: BYU 24, Arizona State 6: The 1965 season was the first year BYU won a conference title, and it was all possible because of an important win in Tempe, Arizona, against the Sun Devils.

37. 1995: BYU 45, Fresno State 28: Many former players and coaches from the 1996 team credit this game as the one that gave BYU the momentum heading into the 1996 season. Steve Sarkisian was at his best by completing 31-of-34 passes for 399 yards.

36. 2009: BYU 26, Utah 23 (OT): Andrew George is still running, and Max Hall let out a rant that will always be classless or revered, depending on what side of the rivalry you fall.

35. 1985: BYU 28, Air Force 21: BYU played spoiler at home against the fourth-ranked Falcons. Had Air Force won that game, many believe the Falcons could have been the national champions in 1985.

34. 2000: BYU 33, Virginia 30: The debut of Virginia’s renovated Scott Stadium was a classic as BYU came back from down 21-0 to win in overtime.

33. 2013: BYU 40, Texas 21: Taysom Hill basically ended the Mack Brown era in Austin, Texas, with his record day on the ground with 259 rushing yards.

32. 1998: BYU 26, Utah 24: Doink! Ryan Kaneshiro’s field goal goes off the uprights and BYU wins the WAC Pacific Division crown.

31. 1985 Kickoff Classic: BYU 28, Boston College 14: Riding high as the defending national champions, BYU carried a 24-game winning streak into East Rutherford, New Jersey, to open the college football season and took down the Eagles.

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30. 1999: BYU 35, Washington 28: The game that debuted BYU’s “bib” jerseys saw a pair of freshmen making significant contributions in running backs Luke Staley and wide receiver Chris Hale, who hauled in the game-winning touchdown from QB Kevin Feterik.

29. 1974: BYU 21, Arizona State 18: BYU head coach LaVell Edwards had his breakthrough by beating WAC powerhouse Arizona State in Provo.

28. 1991: BYU 52, San Diego State 52: It shows up as a tie in the boxscore, but this game was an unlikely comeback that led to BYU winning the outright WAC championship.

27. 1992: BYU 30, Penn State 17: Entering the game as an underdog, the quarterback Ryan Hancock led BYU to a surprising win over the ranked Nittany Lions in Provo.

26. 2006 Vegas Bowl: BYU 38, Oregon 8: Disrespected by Oregon during the Vegas Bowl pep rally, BYU used the lack of respect as motivation and cruised to a dominating win, sending John Beck and the rest of the talented senior class out as winners.

25. 2009 Vegas Bowl: BYU 44, Oregon State 20: In a windy Sin City, BYU ended the Max Hall era with a dominating win over an Oregon State team that was one game away from the Rose Bowl.

24. 2007 Vegas Bowl: BYU 17, UCLA 16: Lady Luck was on BYU’s side in this one as Eathyn Manumaleuna block Kai Forbath’s field-goal attempt as time expired and BYU won its second bowl game in as many years.

23. 2007: BYU 17, Utah 10: Fourth-and-18 will forever live in BYU lore.

22. 1984: BYU 24, Utah 14: With this win, BYU went to 11-0 and became the No. 1 team in the polls after South Carolina and Nebraska were upset that weekend.

21. 1994: BYU 21, Notre Dame 14: BYU held the Irish to their lowest offensive output at home in nearly a decade at the time and was the first and only time the Cougars have defeated the Irish in South Bend, Indiana.

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20. 2008: BYU 59, UCLA 0: The Cougars handed UCLA its worst defeat in 73 years. BYU basically called off the dogs in the second half as they went into the locker room with a 42-point lead.

19. 2005: BYU 27, New Mexico 24: At 1-3 to start his head-coaching career, Bronco Mendenhall’s tenure was off to a rocky start entering a Mountain West Conference game in Albuquerque, New Mexico. John Beck led a comeback and connected with WR Matt Allen down the sideline to give BYU the win. This win helped shape a lot of the foundation that would become Mendenhall's BYU program over the next 10 years.

18. 2014: BYU 41, Texas 7: After a dominating BYU victory the previous year, Texas had circled the BYU game as a chance for revenge. Hill wasn’t having it as he hurdled over Texas defenders and leaped BYU into the national conversation after that win.

17. 2000: BYU 34, Utah 27: Edwards’ legendary 29-year career at BYU ended with one last miracle against rival Utah. Brandon Doman connected with Jonathan Pittman on fourth-and-13 for 34 yards, and one play later for another 36 yards before Doman scored the go-ahead TD on the ground.

16. 1983 Holiday Bowl: BYU 21, Missouri 17: BYU and the Holiday Bowl continue the trend of wild finishes in San Diego as the Cougars get tricky with running back Eddie Stinnett threw a touchdown pass to Steve Young for the game-winning score.

15. 2001: BYU 24, Utah 21: Fiesta Bowl reps were on hand to witness BYU continue its undefeated season with a come-from-behind win behind Doak Walker winner Staley finding his way into the end zone twice in the fourth quarter.

14. 1984: BYU 18, Hawaii 13: One of the greatest defensive plays in the history of college football took place in this one as All-American safety Kyle Morrell leaped over the line to stop Hawaii QB Rafael Cherry from getting into the end zone to keep BYU’s undefeated and national championship hopes alive.

13. 1996 WAC Championship: BYU 28, Wyoming 25 (OT): Wyoming head coach Joe Tiller rolled the dice (fitting for Vegas) and had his punter run into his end zone for a safety instead of punting to return man James Dye. For the Pokes, the plan failed as BYU sent the game to overtime and then won on a field goal from Ethan Pochman.

12. 1983: BYU 37, UCLA 35: On that day, the Cougars simply loved L.A. BYU handed the Bruins and head coach Terry Donahue their first loss at home in six years, and Young became the nation’s top quarterback.

11. 2015: BYU 33, Nebraska 28: Winning at Nebraska on a hail marry at the end of regulation from a quarterback who was less than three months removed from serving an LDS mission, yeah, that’s an all-time win.

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10. 1979: BYU 18, Texas A&M 17 (Houston): This was BYU’s signature win of the early years in the Edwards era and set the stage for a lot of the success the Cougars would experience in the 80s.

9. 1996 Pigskin Classic: BYU 41, Texas A&M 37: Steve Sarkisian’s touchdown pass to WR K.O. Kealaluhi was the “K.O. Punch” on the Aggies vaunted wrecking crew defense and vaulted BYU into the rankings after one week.

8. 2006: BYU 31, TCU 17: BYU was an improving program under Mendenhall entering a showdown with TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, but the Cougars had yet to win a big game, particularly against a ranked opponent. Beck and Jonny Harline turned TCU’s defense inside out and gave the Cougars their first win over a ranked team in eight years.

7. 2006: BYU 33, Utah 31: Harline is still open. The play and the call that became BYU fans’ ringtones for many, many years.

6. 1997 Cotton Bowl: BYU 19, Kansas State 15: BYU finished off a NCAA record 15-game season in 1996 with a New Year’s Day appearance in the Cotton Bowl led by a suffocating Cougar defense that saw Shay Muirbrook sack K-State quarterback Bryan Kavanaugh six times and cornerback Omarr “The Blanket” Morgan seal the win with an interception.

5. 2009: BYU 14, Oklahoma 13: The first-ever collegiate game in Jerry’s World, aka AT&T Stadium, was a classic as BYU shocked the college football world taking down third-ranked Oklahoma led by Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy and Jermaine Gresham. This was the biggest win of the Mendenhall era, without a doubt.

4. 1984: BYU 20, Pitt 14: Quarterback Robbie Bosco knew the game at Pitt was a big game when he saw the Goodyear Blimp flying over. Not only was the Goodyear Blimp floating around, it was also the first-ever live ESPN college football broadcast and BYU pulled off an improbable win that set the table for the national championship.

3. 1980 Holiday Bowl: BYU 46, SMU 45: With only 4:07 remaining in the game, BYU was down 45-25 before pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in college football history. Jim McMahon connected with Clay Brown for the game-winning touchdown as time expired and the best team money could buy, SMU, was speechless.

2. 1984: Holiday Bowl: BYU 24, Michigan 17: The game was played before the Playoff, the BCS, and the Alliance was the poll system. It’s crazy to think today that there was a time when college football champions were determined by The Associated Press poll, but they were, and BYU played in a national championship game at the Holiday Bowl against 6-5 Michigan without its star quarterback. You might have heard of him, he goes by Jim Harbaugh. The Holiday Bowl tried to get Washington, Boston College, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and others to play in San Diego but that didn’t happen and the Cougars had to play a Wolverines team that wasn’t the best Michigan had to offer.

Bosco pieced together a gritty performance coming back from injury to connect with wide receiver Kelly Smith for the game-winning touchdown and the clincher to win the title.

1. 1990: BYU 28, Miami 21: Forecasters posted a rare hurricane watch over Provo in September 1990 as the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes traveled to the Wasatch Front.

The Hurricanes were the program of the 80s winning three national titles and were nearly unbeatable during that decade. The Canes had 11 players from the 1990 team who were selected in the 1991 NFL Draft. Miami was the closest thing to an NFL squad that fans would see in the college game. Somehow, BYU defeated them.

BYU fans in Cougar Stadium were at a fever pitch of excitement entering that game wearing their Heisman “Ty’s” and the win gave Detmer the national recognition to position himself for a Heisman Trophy that season.

Honorable mentions

Missed the list: Arizona 1976; at San Diego St 1979; Holiday Bowl (Washington St) 1981; Wyoming 1984; Syracuse 2002; Georgia Tech 2003; TCU 2007; at Washington 2008; at Houston 2013.

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