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Adam Haysbert and Glen Kozlowski mob Kelly Smith after he caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the Holiday Bowl. | Tom Smart, Deseret News
Editor’s note: Fifth in a series exploring BYU’s 1984 national football championship.
Kelly Smith’s 13-yard touchdown reception with 1:23 remaining gave BYU a 24-17 victory over Michigan in the 1984 Holiday Bowl. The catch not only secured the Cougars’ perfect 13-0 season, but it also won BYU its first and only national championship.
Football is a numbers game and in 1984, there was no number more significant than 13 for Smith. He married Julie (Lewis) on July 13 (Friday). 1984 was coach LaVell Edwards’ 13th year at BYU, and Smith’s 13th touchdown of the season against Michigan gave the Cougars their 13th win, 13 days before The Associated Press crowned them national champions — 40 years ago.
“It seems like yesterday,” Smith said. “I can still see myself making that catch.”
The magnitude of the moment is never far from his thoughts, but Smith admits the true magic of 1984 was the myriad of little things that, when added together, helped create the biggest achievement in the 99-year history of BYU football.
The former walk-on from Beaver High played a hand in some of the biggest plays during the Cougars’ toughest games to help preserve victories that season. The returned Latter-day Saint missionary and his teammates received a standing ovation from members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one evening, and he and his teammates managed to turn the unlucky number 13 into a numeral of good fortune.
Including his Holiday Bowl performance, Smith caught 56 passes and rushed 53 times for a team that began 1984 unranked in the polls and finished on top of the world. The catch to beat Michigan…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/1984-revisited-walk-national-champ-013928074.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2024-10-14 01:39:28
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