"On most teams I played on, if it was fourth down and 6 yards, most guys in the huddle would put their eyes to the ground and didn't want to be in that situation. They didn't want the ball thrown to them. But everybody on that 1984 team wanted the ball. Robbie would have to fight off all five of us saying, 'Throw it to me!' Everybody literally thought they could make the play. We were behind in quite a few games. It never occurred to us that we could actually lose a game. We always thought we could make the plays to win it."

A disputed title

During the 1984 season, Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer and "Today" show host Bryant Gumbel complained loudly that the Cougars didn't deserve a No. 1 ranking or a national championship. They contended that BYU played a weak schedule. The Cougars' most notable wins came against a Pitt team that finished with only three victories and a 6-5 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl.

That '84 title is still one of the most disputed college football championships.

Every December during linebacker Leon White's long NFL career, his teammates would mock BYU's national championship. The former Cougar always found himself defending his team's accomplishments.

"We'd definitely have a big argument about the national championship and who was deserving of it," White says. "BYU was at the bottom of that list. But they couldn't argue the point that we were undefeated — they didn't have much to argue about."

Matich says it doesn't concern him when people devalue BYU's championship, which was won before the Bowl Championship Series era.

"You can't compare it to today because it was a different time," he says. "It doesn't bother me at all. That's part of the fun of college football. There is usually great controversy surrounding the national championship team or the process that got them there. There's controversy surrounding the whole national championship procedure every year. I don't mind that. It's healthy for college football."

To Morrell, the record speaks for itself.

"We went out and played our schedule and beat 13 teams in a row. Other teams would come to play us like they never came to play in any other football game. We were undefeated. Our schedule wasn't the toughest in the nation, but we were 13-0 and I believe we deserved the national championship. I'd put our 22 starters against any other 22 starters in that era and I guarantee that we could play with them, if not beat them, on any given day."

Legacy

On the first floor of BYU's Legacy Hall, The Associated Press and National Football Writers of America national championship trophies are displayed behind a glass case.

On the second floor, a display case devoted to the 1984 national championship features the United Press International national championship trophy. Also displayed are Bosco's helmet from the '84 season, Bosco's Holiday Bowl MVP trophy and White's national championship ring.

But the real legacy of the national championship is not found in trophies or other memorabilia.