Background
The Holiday Bowl was a young bowl game at the time, in only its third year. The 1980 Holiday Bowl pitted Brigham Young University (BYU) against Southern Methodist University (SMU). BYU entered the game with an 11-1 record. After losing the first game of the season (25-21 against New Mexico), the Cougars won 11 straight games to claim the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship. BYU had overwhelmed most opponents with a high-powered pass-oriented offense led by future NFL quarterback Jim McMahon. The Cougars led the NCAA in total offense (535.0 yards per game), scoring (46.7 points per game), and passing offense (409.8 passing yards per game) during the 1980 regular season.
In contrast, SMU entered the game with an explosive run-heavy offense, nicknamed the "Pony Express." The Mustangs were led by two star running backs, Craig James and Eric Dickerson. Both James and Dickerson went on to careers in the NFL; Dickerson achieved superstar status with the Los Angeles Rams in the mid-1980s. The Mustangs entered the game with an 8-3 record, impressive considering they played in the tough Southwest Conference (SWC).
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