1982 HOLIDAY BOWL

12.17.82 San Diego, Calif. (52,533) 

The Cougars had their two-game Holiday Bowl win streak snapped by Ohio State, 47-17. BYU’s bubble burst at the outset of the third quarter, when the Buckeyes reeled off 17 unanswered points. Tim Spencer blew through the Cougar defense for 167 yards, including a record-setting 61-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that put Ohio State up, 10-7. Steve Young completed 27 of 45 passes for 341 yards, but BYU had a tough time getting into the end zone. The Cougars turned the ball over to Ohio State three times inside the 30 and saw the Buckeyes convert each turnover into a score. The Cougars took the lead early in the second quarter with a seven-yard strike to Neil Balholm. But Spencer’s long gallop and a blocked punt put the Buckeyes up, 17-10, at halftime. Big fullback Vaughn Broadnax scored on the opening drive of the second half, and on the next play, Young was intercepted and Spencer ran 18 yards to put Ohio State in control for good. BYU’s only other score came midway through the fourth quarter when Gordon Hudson caught a 13-yard pass. Ohio State quarterback Mike Tomzak had only 132 yards passing and no touchdowns, but his fleet of running backs scored six times on the ground. Ten different BYU players caught passes, led by Hudson with seven receptions for 81 yards and Balholm with 58 yards receiving.