CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 Utah

8–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Jim Fassel.

Schedule and results

Utah in 1985, game by game: won vs. Boise State 20–17; won at Hawai’i 29–27; won vs. Washington State 44–37; won vs. UTEP 55–19; won vs. Wyoming 37–20; lost at Arizona State 27–34; won at San Diego State 39–37; lost at No. 8 Air Force 15–37; won vs. Utah State 34–7; won vs. New Mexico 58–49; lost at Colorado State 19–21; lost at No. 11 BYU 28–38+36−22Won 20–17 vs. Boise State+3Boise StateWon 29–27 at Hawai’i+2Hawai’iWon 44–37 vs. Washington State+7Washington StateWon 55–19 vs. UTEP+36UTEPWon 37–20 vs. Wyoming+17WyomingLost 27–34 at Arizona State-7Arizona StateWon 39–37 at San Diego State+2San Diego StateLost 15–37 at No. 8 Air Force-22No. 8 Air ForceWon 34–7 vs. Utah State+27Utah StateWon 58–49 vs. New Mexico+9New MexicoLost 19–21 at Colorado State-2Colorado StateLost 28–38 at No. 11 BYU-10No. 11 BYU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsBoise StateW 20–⁠1783%
Sep 14atHawai’iW 29–⁠2749%
Sep 21vsWashington StateW 44–⁠3763%
Sep 28vsUTEPW 55–⁠1986%
Oct 4vsWyomingW 37–⁠2075%
Oct 12atArizona StateL 27–⁠3449%
Oct 19atSan Diego StateW 39–⁠3749%
Oct 26at8Air ForceL 15–⁠3728%
Nov 2vsUtah StateW 34–⁠784%
Nov 9vsNew MexicoW 58–⁠4982%
Nov 16atColorado StateL 19–⁠2161%
Nov 23at11BYUL 28–⁠3821%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to BYU 38–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 57th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Led the nationErroll Tucker: punt return average (24.3), kickoff return average (29.1)

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 3rd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
405–⁠343
Coach
Jim Fassel
Elo
1553 +21 this season
SP+ rating
8.9 No. 35 of 106; offense No. 1, defense No. 93
SRS
5.7 No. 36 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jack Reilly
Defensive coordinator
George Wheeler

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 5Erroll Tucker DBPittsburgh Steelers

1985 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Air Force7–⁠112–⁠18
BYU7–⁠111–⁠316
Utah5–⁠38–⁠4
Hawai’i4–⁠3–⁠14–⁠6–⁠2
Colorado State4–⁠45–⁠7
San Diego State3–⁠4–⁠15–⁠6–⁠1
Wyoming2–⁠63–⁠8
New Mexico2–⁠63–⁠8
UTEP1–⁠71–⁠10

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