This game is classic early 1980's college football. We had SMU's "Pony Express" team with Eric Dickerson and Craig James. We had upstart BYU with the man who would later be known as "The Punky QB": Jim McMahon.
We had a classic running team delivering an absolute first-half beatdown of BYU and its newfangled pass attack.
And we had one of the greatest comebacks in college football history.
SMU held a 35-13 first-half lead before BYU narrowed that with an early second half touchdown. However, SMU just kept on scoring, building a 45-25 lead on the strength of James' crazy legs. What happened next is the stuff of legend with diving touchdowns, mad scrambles, onside kicks, missed conversion attempts, a blocked punt with 0:13 left and a Flutie-esque Hail Mary.
This game established credibility for both BYU and the wild reputation of the Holiday Bowl. The furious finish also overshadowed a fantastic overall performance by James.
In the 1980 Holiday Bowl, James' offensive production of 225 rushing yards and 9.9 yards/carry were both Holiday Bowl records that stood for 13 and 15 years respectively.Video below.
