With the Heisman race in its final week, BYU’s Ty Detmer discusses the game many say won him the bronze statue – BYU’s 28-21 win in 1990 over No. 1 Miami, the defending national champion. He also discusses the team’s preparation for the game and what Miami did when they first arrived in Provo.
It was our first home game, so our fans were fired up. The crowd rushed the field, and it was the first time I’d ever been a part of that at BYU Stadium. It was a madhouse on the field. You kind of knew then, it was something people were going to remember for a long time.
My first thought was, “Man, I’m never going to get out of here. I’m going to be the last one in the locker room. Coach (LaVell) Edwards is going to be giving a speech, and I’m going to come walking in, and I’m going to be in trouble.” So, I kind of shimmied down the rail, ran up the tunnel and got into the locker room.
I was the only one in there! I had to wait about five minutes to celebrate with my teammates.
Looking back, I probably could’ve gotten away with not being there right away. But by then, you’d have to fight your way back out, so that didn’t make sense. I just hung out by myself for a few minutes.
That’s what college football is all about. It’s about upsets and fans running on the field. It’s definitely one of the highlights of my football career because you just felt that connection — not only with your teammates, but with the fans, alumni and everybody.
We were excited about the opportunity to play them. We had played them a couple years before down in the Orange Bowl. That was a big learning experience for me, as far as playing teams with speed. I got a chance to play in the second half of that game and learned a lot.
So, I felt fairly confident going in. We had a lot of returning players. We knew we had a great opportunity to establish ourselves as a team that could play with anybody. It was more that than just beating Miami. It was a chance to gain respect throughout the nation.
We had a little bulletin board material. I’m sure this was the nature of their guys. They didn’t give us much respect. We heard Friday when they came in, they kind of went around the stadium like they owned the place.
Their receivers went right to the middle of the field and stomped around the ‘Y’ before the game. They held their arms up — just the arrogant, cocky attitude that they had back then.
They were a good and talented team, and they knew it, and they wanted everyone to know it. We just thought, “Bring it on. We’re going to try to shut you up here and see what we can do.”
We knew they were a great team, but we knew exactly what they were going to do. They were the type of team that relied on their talent and didn’t mix coverages and fronts. So, you knew where they were going to be. It was a matter of neutralizing their speed and getting protection. Our offensive line did a great job.
As the game progressed, our whole team gained confidence. We had the lead most of the game. The defense played great and shut them down. We scored a couple at the end and kept it in our favor.
For the program and everybody involved, it was a great win for BYU — just one of those exciting nights you can never forget.
1990’s Heisman Trophy winner while at BYU, Ty Detmer now resides in Austin, TX.
Got a question or comment? E-mail him here
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