A Look Through History: BYU Football’s Best Last Second Wins

Oct 22, 2024, 5:48 PM

Cosmo points to the crowd during the Cougars win over Oklahoma State on Friday, October 18. (BYU Photo)

(BYU Photo)

Digital Sports Producer

PROVO, Utah – Amid an already iconic season, the BYU Cougars’ dramatic, last-minute drive to beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys will live on BYU football lore. With Jake Retzlaff taking control via his legs and arm, BYU fans will long remember where they were when the redshirt junior found Darius Lassiter up the seam for a 35-yard game-winning touchdown.

In honor of the Cougar’s thrilling win to remain undefeated, KSL Sports went through the archives to find some of the program’s most monumental last-second wins.

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September 15, 2015 – BYU 33 Nebraska 28

Opening the season at famed Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Cougars went into the final quarter trailing 28-24. Backup QB Tanner Mangum orchestrated a comeback for the ages. On 4th-and-3 with no time on the clock, Mangum scrambled to his right before uncorking a 42-yard bomb that Mitch Matthews came down with on the goal-line for the win. The loss was the first time Nebraska opened the season with a loss since 1985.

September 30, 2011 – Utah State 24 at BYU 27

In 2011, former Utah State QB and Cache Valley local Riley Nelson came off the bench to spearhead a last-second game-winner against his former team. Replacing starter Jake Heaps, Nelson completed 10-of-14 passes for 144 yards and two TDs while also carrying 11 times for 62 yards to help the Cougars storm back from a 24-13 deficit with 12:43 left. Starting the drive at their four-yard line, Nelson threw for 66 yards and ran for the other 30 as BYU marched 96 yards in nine plays, winning the game when Marcus Matthews, brother of Mitch, turned a tipped pass into a touchdown to beat the Aggies.

November 25, 2006 – BYU 33 Utah 31

The genesis of one of the Cougar’s most famous phrases, Beck to Harline, is the last time BYU won a game in Salt Lake City. Trailing 24-14 to start the fourth quarter, John Beck led a comeback that saw the Cougars take a 27-24 lead with 6:37 left. After the Utes responded with a lead-changing TD with 1:19 left, prospects looked bleak for the team from Provo. Beck and the Cougars drove 75 yards in 1:09, handing Utah the loss when Beck and Harline connected from 11 yards out for the game-winner.

December 19, 1980 – ‘Miracle Bowl’ – BYU 46 vs. SMU 45

Jim McMahon cemented his name in BYU football history when he led the Cougars on a 21-point fourth-quarter scoring barrage to beat the SMU Mustangs in the 1980 Holiday Bowl. McMahon capped the comeback with a 41-yard Hail Mary pass that somehow found the arms of Clay Brown amidst a sea of Mustang defenders. McMahon threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns in the win.