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PROVO — Starting backward, the mythical national champions — a designation that applies to the era of tabulating Associated Press votes after the season — beat only one team that was ranked at the time of playing the Cougars.
Pittsburgh, which was ranked No. 3 to begin the season, fell to BYU in the first week and ultimately floundered on its way to a 3-7-1 record.
Far from a powerhouse league to begin with, the WAC had only three other teams finish with a winning record in 1984. Utah, which was 6-5-1, joined Hawaii and Air Force as the teams above .500 behind BYU.
Don't blame the Cougars for beating up on weak WAC opponents — conference affiliation sets the schedules. BYU's nonconference schedule that year is entirely another story.
The four non-WAC opponents (Pitt, Baylor, Tulsa and Utah State) finished with a combined record of 15-28-1. At 1-10, the Aggies were the worst of a weak bunch.
But the Cougars managed to accomplish what only five other teams did that season in beating Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. Bo Schembechler's team finished 6-6, the legendary coach's worst record of his 27-year career.
BYU's ascension to the No. 1 ranking led to Bryant Gumbel's infamous quote of "how can you rank BYU No. 1? Who'd they play –- Bo Diddley Tech?" He did have a point, even if the system at the time dictated BYU's spot atop the polls.
Fast forward 40 years, only the ignorant would doubt this BYU team. These collective Cougars have demanded a high ranking in the final poll and deserved significantly more consideration for a playoff berth.
Playing the what-if game, as is prevalent throughout sports, BYU was two plays away from an undefeated regular season and a spot in the Big 12 championship game. The losses to Kansas and Big 12 champion Arizona State came by a combined 9 points.
Climbing to No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings after a 9-0 start, the Cougars suffered the two consecutive losses before closing the season by beating Houston. The setbacks led many to believe Colorado would thrash BYU in Saturday's bowl game.
Instead, the Cougars crushed the national media darlings in arguably the most dominant bowl performance in program history. In every phase of the game, BYU embarrassed a team led by Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and potential No. 1 NFL draft pick Shedeur Sanders.
With coordinator Jay Hill creating a brilliant game plan, BYU's defense held Sanders to season lows in passing yards (208) and completions (16). No wonder Utah State had strong interest in hiring Hill for the head coaching position that ultimately went to Bronco Mendenhall.
Along the way, the Cougars beat two ranked teams (SMU and Colorado) and overall had nine Power Four wins. They also beat Kansas State and Baylor, which both won eight games in the regular season.
