The Utes came into the contest, played on Nov. 17, 1984, riding an emotional high, having won three straight games and looking to upset their mighty rivals to the south. During warmups, they wore white pants, but before running onto the field for the kickoff, they changed into all-red uniforms. Early on, Utah attempted a double-reverse flea-flicker and scored first, taking a 7-0 advantage in the in the first quarter. The Cougars uncharacteristically surrendered five turnovers in the game and led by a slim 17-14 margin going into the fourth quarter before hanging on for 24-14 victory.

"We had everything on the line," recalled Bosco, who spent 15 years as a Cougar assistant coach before stepping down last year. "Looking at the rivalry alone, it's a big game for both schools. BYU was getting all of this publicity and they weren't getting any. They wanted to knock us off, but it didn't happen. They played loose and they played well. When we went in there, number three in the country, we felt we were unstoppable. As far as the game went, we went about our business like we had done in the first nine games. But we had things happen to us that didn't happen all year, like turning the ball over. We knew nothing would be easy. We were always the target. We had to play our best to beat those teams like Utah."

As it turned out, the two teams ranked ahead of BYU on Nov. 17, 1984, No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 South Carolina, lost. That opened the door for the Cougars to vault to the No. 1 spot in both the AP and UPI polls the following Monday. BYU went on to beat Utah State in its season-finale before downing Michigan in the Holiday Bowl to claim the mythical national title, which created a maelstrom of controversy across the country.

As for Utah's Stobart? He was fired at the end of the season and was replaced by Jim Fassel.

Of course, there are a bevy of differences between the '04 Utes and '84 Cougars, too. While BYU had four close games decided by a touchdown or less during its magical season, Utah hasn't experienced a close game yet. The Cougars began the '84 campaign unranked, then upset No. 3 Pittsburgh on the road in the season-opener — though the Panthers wound up not being a very good team. The Utes started the 2004 campaign rated No. 19 and have steadily risen in the polls since their home-opener at home, when they routed Texas A&M — a team that has turned out to be pretty good.

Though BYU had a 12-0 mark and No. 1 ranking after the '84 regular season, it had to settle for the Holiday Bowl, which had a payout of $500,000, to face a 6-5 Michigan squad.

With a win over the Cougars Saturday, Utah would clinch a berth in the Bowl Championship Series — which would be a first for a non-BCS school — and earn a bowl payout between $12 million and $14 million. However, even if the Utes win their bowl games, they have no shot at a national championship because of the BCS system.

It's worth noting that part of the reason for the creation of the BCS has to do with BYU's national title.

Yes, the Cougars made history in 1984. Twenty years later, the Utes are poised to make some history of their own.

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com