LANDOVER, Md. — West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen dug way back this week, to the 1980 Holiday Bowl in fact, to show his players how BYU competes to the finish.
That Cougars comeback — three touchdowns in the final 5 minutes for a 46-45 stunner over SMU — nearly had company Saturday when BYU sought to climb out of a 16-point hole in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, which is why I kind of threw a fit and I told everybody to stay ready,” he said. “I think we probably relaxed a little bit, but the game wasn’t over.”
Watch Holgorsen’s postgame news conference, in which he appropriately described West Virginia’s run defense as “not good” and essentially offered the same opinion of officials affording BYU a second’s chance at the end of the half.