Check out the previous entries in this seasons with the links below. You can also check out the QB Seasons page on our site which includes my criteria and opening thoughts.
BYU Season Rankings 30-26
No. 30: John Beck, 2004
Stats: 2,563 yards; 56% comp; 15 TDs; 8 INTs; 7.47 yards per attempt; Season: 5-6, 3rd in the MWC
Thoughts: This was the last Gary Crowton season, and the offense was a little bit of a mess. After starting the season off with a 20-17 over Notre Dame in Provo, the Cougars lost their next three games: at Stanford, USC, and at Boise State. The Cougars beat the bad teams on their schedule that season (except for New Mexico), but couldn’t beat the good teams. Beck showed some inaccuracy, but overall looked pretty good. I can honestly say, at the time, that I never imagined he would sniff the NFL.
No. 29: Ryan Hancock, 1992
Stats: 2,635 yards; 57% comp; 17 TDs; 13 INTs; 9.15 yards per attempt; Season: 8-5, 1st in WAC, 23-20 loss to Kansas in the Aloha Bowl.
Thoughts: Hancock had a rifle arm and was a exciting QB when he arrived in Provo, but he only played this one year (as a sophmore) before John Walsh took over in 1993 and Hancock turned to baseball full-time. He was 2nd-team All-WAC in is one season as the starter, and played decently.
No 28: Ty Detmer, 1988
Stats: 1,252 yards; 54% comp; 13 TDs, 10 INTs; 8.18 YPA; Season: 9-4, 3rd in the WAC, 20-17 over Colorado in the Freedom Bowl
Thoughts: To some it may seem like blasphemy to put a Detmer season down this low, but here’s why: it was only a partial season, and Detmer did not really light the world on fire until his 11-for-17, 163-yard come-from-behind performance in the Freedom Bowl in relief of Sean Covey. It was the season that launched one of the greatest QB runs in college history, but it wasn’t really that great of a season.
No. 27: Kevin Feterik, 1998
Stats: 2,718 yards; 60% comp; 16 TDs; 6 INTs; 8.09 YPA; Season: 9-5, 2nd in the WAC, 41-27 loss to Tulane in the Freedom Bowl
Thoughts: I was in the stands at the 1998 WAC Championship Game in Las Vegas, where BYU lost to Air Force 20-13 in heartbreaking fashion. That game is, in many ways, a microcosm of Feterik’s career. Depite a decent game (20 of 42, 258 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), he just couldn’t make the plays at the end to help the Cougars win. I think during my tenure at BYU as a student and when I lived in BYU (from 1994-2003), no QB was booed as much or vilified as much by fans. Was he great? No, but he wasn’t awful, and he was good in 1998.
No. 26: Steve Young, 1982
Stats: 3100 yards; 63% comp; 18 TDs; 18 INTs; 8.45 YPA; Season: 8-4, 1st in the WAC, 41-17 loss to Ohio State in the Holiday Bowl
Thoughts: Young only played in two seasons for the Cougars, and I was surprised to see how mediocre his first season was. As was his MO, he completed a high percentage of passes, but he turned the ball over a lot, and the humiliating loss to Ohio State in the Holiday Bowl is a black mark. He gets extra credit for 641 yards rushing, which was second on the team. Of course, his 1983 would turn out to be a little better and is ranked very high on my list (though I won’t spoil that surprise yet).
Rise and Shout 
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