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BYU's season-opener with likely top-five foe Oklahoma is only 40 days away, but it's been 11 long years since the Cougars have beaten a team like the Sooners.
You've got to go all the way back to September 12, 1998 to find the last time BYU defeated a ranked non-conference opponent. On that date in Provo, the Cougars outclassed Arizona State (14 AP/15 Coaches') by a score of 26-6. Since that day, BYU has lost 12 consecutive games to ranked non-conference opponents.
As BYU will face Oklahoma in Arlington, I note that the last time BYU beat a ranked non-conference opponent on a neutral field was the Cotton Bowl game of January 1, 1997, when BYU beat Kansas State (14/14) by a score of 19-15; a game played in nearby Dallas (a good omen, perhaps?).
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In fact, since the 1998 win over Arizona State, BYU has only two wins over ranked teams; both within the Mountain West Conference. On September 16, 1999, BYU beat #23/24 Colorado State 34-13, and on September 28, 2006, BYU won at #17/15 TCU, 31-17. And that's it for wins over ranked teams in the last 11 years.
Since the inception of the MWC in 1999, BYU is 2-15 versus teams ranked in the Top 25 by the USA Today/Coaches, and 2-13 versus teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.
Only New Mexico (1-9; 1-8), Air Force (1-13; 1-13), and SDSU (0-16; 0-14) have a worse winning percentage versus ranked teams in the history of the MWC, although it bears noting that no MWC team has played more ranked teams than BYU.
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Since 1972 (Lavell Edwards' first season), BYU is 22-35-1 when facing teams ranked in the Top 25. Pre-1998, BYU was 19-17-1. Post 1998, BYU is 3-18. Why is 1998 an important milepost year? It's the first year of the Bowl Championship Series.
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Under Bronco Mendenhall, BYU is 1-6 v. ranked foes (highest of the two rankings used): the 2006 win at #15 TCU balanced by losses to Boston College (#22 in 2005 and #23 in 2006) #9 Notre Dame (2005), #14 UCLA (2007), #24 TCU (2008), and #7 Utah (2008).
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What has to sting the Cougars is that the other members of the MWC's "Big Three" have winning records against ranked teams since 1999. Utah is an outstanding 9-6 versus foes in the Top 25, while TCU is a modest 4-3 since joining the league in 2005. Clearly, BYU's "big game" failings are magnified when compared to the results achieved by their upper echelon brethren. In the ten-year history of the league, BYU is 0-10 versus ranked non-conference opponents; Utah is 6-3, and TCU is 3-2.
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The last time BYU beat a non-conference team ranked in the Top 10? The Cougars' 28-21 win over #1 Miami, in 1990. Since the win over Miami, BYU is 0-12-1 versus teams in the Top 10 (0-10-1 v. non-conference Top 10 teams; 0-2 v. Top 10 Utah). BYU's only other non-conference Top 10 victory is its 20-14 win over #3/#7 Pittsburgh, in the national championship year of 1984.
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Which segues nicely into the first of our "Camp Cougar Countdown Trivia" questions--one question per day leading up to the first practice of camp on Saturday, August 8th, with all of the questions dealing with the 1984 title team.
Question #1:
Name the three players featured on the cover of the 1984 BYU Football Media Guide.
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There is no need to post or e-mail a response; this is purely for entertainment purposes only. But by all means, do the mental legwork, then check back tomorrow for the answer and another daily brain-teaser.
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