1991 HOLIDAY BOWL

12.30.91 San Diego, Calif. (60,646) 

A tipped pass that was picked off in the end zone with less than 30 seconds remaining stifled BYU’s hopes of knocking off seventh-ranked Iowa in the 14th annual Holiday Bowl. Ty Detmer turned in another great performance in his last appearance as a Cougar, passing for 350 yards and two touchdowns against a team that led the Big 10 in defense and sacks. Quarterback Matt Rodgers led Iowa on a 74-yard scoring march on the game’s opening drive. The Hawkeyes also scored on another long drive in the second quarter. Down 13-0, BYU finally got things rolling. Starting on the BYU 22, Detmer connected on five of six passes to move the Cougars to the Iowa nine. From there, he found fullback Peter Tuipulotu for the touchdown. The PAT failed and the halftime score was 13-6. BYU opened the fourth with an 87-yard drive that culminated with a Detmer-to-Tyler Anderson touchdown from 29 yards out. Earl Kauffman connected on the PAT to tie the score at 13. Each team threatened to score late in the fourth quarter. Iowa missed a 40-yard field goal with 4:19 left. On the game’s final drive the Cougars moved inside the Iowa 20 with 33 seconds left to play, but Detmer’s pass to tight end Byron Rex was tipped and picked off by Hawkeye safety Carlos James in the end zone to preserve the tie. Josh Arnold of BYU earned defensive MVP honors as BYU finished the season ranked 23rd in the AP and CNN/USA Today polls. Iowa was 10th in both polls.