Cougar Kickoff Countdown: 59 Days

In 1977, the BYU Cougars went 9-2 and won the WAC title. Their bowl tie-in was with the Fiesta Bowl, but because the bowl game was scheduled for Christmas, which happened to fall on a Sunday, the Cougars turned it down. BYU's Athletic Director at the time, Glen Tuckett, arranged for the Cougars to go "bowling" in Tokyo, Japan. BYU played two games against Japanese football teams which were called the "Silk Bowl." The Cougars simply over powered the Japanese teams and outpaced them by 100+ points. After the game coach LaVell Edwards said, "They were competitive little guys. The night before I remember thinking, 'This would be really big if we lose.'" Apparently it went over well because the Cougars made a return trip to Japan to play the UNLV Rebels in Yokohama to close out the season.