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1983 BYU

11–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Western Athletic Conference), coached by LaVell Edwards, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

BYU in 1983, game by game: lost at Baylor 36–40; won vs. Bowling Green 63–28; won at Air Force 46–28; won at UCLA 37–35; won at Wyoming 41–10; won vs. New Mexico 66–21; won at San Diego State 47–12; won vs. Utah State 38–34; won at UTEP 31–9; won vs. Colorado State 24–6; won vs. Utah 55–7; won vs. Missouri 21–17+48−4Lost 36–40 at Baylor-4BaylorWon 63–28 vs. Bowling Green+35Bowling GreenWon 46–28 at Air Force+18Air ForceWon 37–35 at UCLA+2UCLAWon 41–10 at Wyoming+31WyomingWon 66–21 vs. New Mexico+45New MexicoWon 47–12 at San Diego State+35San Diego StateWon 38–34 vs. Utah State+4Utah StateWon 31–9 at UTEP+22UTEPWon 24–6 vs. Colorado State+18Colorado StateWon 55–7 vs. Utah+48UtahWon 21–17 vs. Missouri+4Missouri
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10atBaylorL 36–⁠4060%
Sep 17vsBowling GreenW 63–⁠2868%
Sep 24atAir ForceW 46–⁠2855%
Oct 1atUCLAW 37–⁠3547%
Oct 8atWyomingW 41–⁠1065%
Oct 15vsNew MexicoW 66–⁠2176%
Oct 22atSan Diego StateW 47–⁠1271%
Oct 29vsUtah StateW 38–⁠3488%
Nov 5atUTEPW 31–⁠992%
Nov 12vsColorado StateW 24–⁠690%
Nov 19vsUtahW 55–⁠782%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsMissouriHoliday BowlW 21–⁠1771%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Missouri 21–⁠17 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 20
  2. Wk 7: 20
  3. Wk 8: 18
  4. Wk 9: 15
  5. Wk 10: 12
  6. Wk 11: 8
  7. Wk 12: 9
  8. Wk 13: 9
  9. Wk 14: 9
  10. Wk 15: 9
  11. Final: 7

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1983.

Western Athletic Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteSteve Young, second

Led the nationSteve Young: passing yards (3,902 yds), passing touchdowns (33 TD), passer rating (168.5), total offense (4,346 yds), total offense per game (395.1); Kirk Pendleton: receiving touchdowns (11 TD)

Davey O’Brien AwardSteve Young, QB

2 consensus All-AmericansGordon Hudson, TE; Steve Young, QB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 7
Points
505–⁠247
Coach
LaVell Edwards
Elo
1755 +133 this season
SP+ rating
26.1 No. 4 of 108; offense No. 2, defense No. 62
SRS
19.4 No. 5 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Roger French
Defensive coordinator
Dick Felt
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 1Todd Shell LBSan Francisco 49ers

1983 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
BYU7–⁠011–⁠17
Air Force5–⁠210–⁠213
Wyoming5–⁠37–⁠5
New Mexico4–⁠36–⁠6
Utah4–⁠45–⁠6
Colorado State4–⁠45–⁠7
Hawai’i3–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
San Diego State1–⁠6–⁠12–⁠9–⁠1
UTEP0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.