The undefeated, 13-0 Cougars had to wait two weeks after defeating the Wolverines before officially being voted No. 1 by both the Associated Press and United Press International polls on Jan. 3, 1985, touching off a celebration around the state.

Not long after securing the national championship, Edwards visited the White House and met with President Ronald Reagan.

The season was hailed as a breakthrough of historic proportions.

BYU still stands as the last team to enter a season unranked and win a national championship. The Cougars are also the last team from a non-BCS conference to win a national title in football.

A quarter of a century later, for those who played on that national championship team, that accomplishment is sweeter than ever.

"This means more now, 25 years later, than it ever did up until this point," says Kozlowski. "Looking back on it now, it's like, wow, that's pretty cool what we did. Who would have ever thought that?"

"Looking back at my career, (the national championship) means a lot," says Bosco. "One of the great things about winning a national championship is the whole team is involved. It's a team award. You can celebrate that with everybody, and you can talk about it forever."

Commemorating 25 years

Has it really been 25 years since that national championship season? Nobody associated with that BYU team believes it.

"At the time, I was only 22 or 23 years old. To us, at that time, 25 years was like forever," says kick return specialist Vai Sikahema. "We've lived an entire lifetime since then. We were just kids then. I've got three kids at BYU now. It doesn't seem that long ago."

Several months ago, '84 defensive lineman Jim Herrmann was on a flight to Chicago. He sat in his seat and a stranger reached over and shook his hand.

"You're Jim Herrmann, No. 92," the man said. "I remember you from 1984."

In some ways, the gesture surprised Herrmann.

"A part of me said, 'You've got to get out more and quit watching the KBYU reruns.' But I also get it, too. That season was a seminal moment for BYU football in a lot of ways. It was the pinnacle of college football and we attained it. It makes me proud to be a part of it. It's shaped my life, for sure."

Herrmann has been asked by current Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall to address the players before a game.

"I think, 'Oh yeah, these kids watched us play when they were growing up,' " says Herrmann, who has a son in high school who is being recruited by BYU. "Then I realized that these kids weren't even born when we were playing."

"It's almost kind of scary," says defensive back Kyle Morrell. "I go down (to Provo) and run into guys I used to play ball with and they're overweight or have gray hair or have had knee replacements and have had multiple surgeries. But it's fun to see everybody. I can't believe it's been 25 years. Time has flown by."