| Year Game Played: | 1981 |
| Game Name: | Holiday Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1981 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Washington State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cougars |
| Visitor School: | Washington State University |
| Home Name Short: | BYU |
| Home Nickname: | Cougars |
| Home School: | Brigham Young University |
| Visitor Record: | 8–2-1 |
| Visitor Conference: | Pac-10 |
| Home Record: | 10–2 |
| Home Conference: | WAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Jim Walden |
| Home Coach: | LaVell Edwards |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 20 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 18 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 14 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 12 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 21 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 8 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 17 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Date Game Played: | December 18 |
| Stadium: | Jack Murphy Stadium |
| City: | San Diego, California |
| Mvp: | Jim McMahon(QB, BYU) Kyle Whittingham (LB, BYU) |
| Odds: | BYU by 3 points [1] |
| Referee: | Jack Gatto (PCAA) |
| Halftime: | Marching bands |
| Attendance: | 52,419[2] |
| Payout: | 286,179 per team |
| Us Network: | ESPN, Mizlou |
The 1981 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18 in San Diego, California. It was part of the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season, and was the fourth edition of the The Friday night game was the third of sixteen games in this bowl season and featured the #20 Washington State Cougars of the Pac-10 Conference, and the 14th-ranked BYU Cougars, champions of the Western Athletic Conference.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
It was the first bowl appearance in 51 years for who used a two-quarterback system: junior was the passer and sophomore the runner.[8] Meanwhile, it was the fourth straight year in the Holiday Bowl for BYU. BYU's quarterback was consensus All-American and future Super Bowl champion the fifth overall pick of the 1982 NFL draft. He was backed up by sophomore Steve Young, a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and also a Super Bowl champion.
Favored BYU scored first on a 35-yard pass from McMahon to Dan Plater, the only scoring of the first quarter. McMahon threw a 7-yard pass to Gordon Hudson to increase BYU's lead Washington State got on the board after quarterback Turner scored on a two-yard run. BYU's Kurt Gunther kicked a 20-yard field goal and Waymon Hamilton ran in from a yard out to give BYU a lead
Early in the third quarter, BYU cornerback Tom Holmoe intercepted a Casper pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown, but WSU scored three unanswered touchdowns. Running back Matt LaBonne scored on an 18-yard run, Robert Williams scored on a 5-yard run, and Turner scored again on a 13-yard run to close the BYU lead to three points (31–28) at the end of the
McMahon fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Scott Pettis to take the lead back to ten points WSU fullback Mike Martin scored from a yard out and Turner added a 2-point conversion to close the gap to two points with five minutes remaining. Late in the game, McMahon fumbled a third-down snap but picked up the ball and ran for a first down that helped to clinch the victory for BYU.[9]
The players of the game, both from BYU, were McMahon and middle linebacker the future head coach at Utah. BYU evened its record in the bowl and played in the next three.
BYU moved up one spot to thirteenth in the final AP poll, and Washington State slipped out of the their next bowl appearance was seven years later.
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
| Statistics | WSU | BYU | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 23 | 22 | |
| Rushes–yards | 53-245 | 32-69 | |
| Passing yards | 106 | 368 | |
| Passes | 8-25-2 | 28–44–0 | |
| Total yards | 351 | 437 | |
| Punts–average | 8–41 | 8–37 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 0–0 | 5–0 | |
| Turnovers by | 2 | 0 | |
| Penalties-yards | 5-45 | 9-86 | |
| Time of possession | --> |