1985 Utah Utes football team

1985 Utah Utes football
1985 Utah Utes football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	8–4 (5–3 WAC)
Head coach	Jim Fassel (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Jack Reilly (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	George Wheeler (2nd season)
Home stadium	Robert Rice Stadium
	Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Air Force +	7	–	1	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
No. 16 BYU +	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	3	–	0
Utah	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Hawaii	4	–	3	–	1	4	–	6	–	2
Colorado State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	7	–	0
San Diego State	3	–	4	–	1	5	–	6	–	1
New Mexico	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Wyoming	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
UTEP	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Jim Fassel, the Utes compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, finished third in the WAC, and outscored their opponents 405 to 343.^[1] Home games were played on campus at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

Utah's statistical leaders included Larry Egger with 2,988 passing yards, Eddie Johnson with 1,018 rushing yards, and Loren Richey with 971 receiving yards.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	7:00 pm	Boise State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 20–17	25,382	^[3]
September 14	11:30 pm	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 29–27	46,591	^[4]
September 21	7:00 pm	Washington State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 44–37	28,576	^[5]
September 28	7:00 pm	UTEP	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 55–19	30,745	^[6]
October 4	7:00 pm	Wyoming	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 37–20	33,248	^[7]
October 12	8:30 pm	at Arizona State*	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 27–34	60,777	^[8]
October 19	8:00 pm	at San Diego State	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	W 39–37	22,474	^[9]
October 26	1:30 pm	at No. 8 Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 15–37	32,269	^[10]
November 2	12:00 pm	Utah State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Battle of the Brothers)	W 34–7	30,124	^[11]
November 9	12:00 pm	New Mexico	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 58–49	26,124	^[12]
November 16	1:00 pm	at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	L 19–21	8,511	^[13]
November 23	12:00 pm	at No. 11 BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (Holy War)	L 28–38	65,473	^[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[15]^[16]

Coaching staff

Jim Fassel, head coach
Jack Reilly, offensive coordinator quarterbacks coach
George Wheeler, defensive coordinator, defensive line coach
Sean McNabb, tight ends coach, special teams coach
Mark Pierce, defensive ends coach
Fred Graves, wide receivers coach
Ron McBride, offensive line coach
Wayne McQuivey, offensive backs coach
Dave Kotulski, inside linebackers coach
Mike Gillhamer, defensive backs coach
Larry Wilson, assistant defensive line coach

NFL draft

Two Utah players were selected in the 1986 NFL draft, which went 12 rounds with 333 selections.^[17]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL team
Erroll Tucker	Defensive back	5	122	Pittsburgh Steelers
Filipo Mokofisi	Linebacker	8	200	New Orleans Saints

References

^ "1985 Utah Utes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
^ "1985 Utah Utes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
^ "Utah gets past Boise State, 20–17, on field goal with :03 remaining". The Los Angeles Times. September 8, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Field goal in final 3 seconds pushes Utes to 29–27 victory". The Daily Spectrum. September 16, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Utah gets offensive with WSU". The Daily Herald. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Utes feast on UTEP to remain unbeaten". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Rock, Brad (October 5, 1985). "Utes lasso Cowboys, 37–20". Deseret News. p. D1. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Google News Archive.
^ "Devils hold off Ute rally". The Arizona Daily Star. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Aztecs fall to Utah 39–37 on last-play field goal". The Blade-Tribune. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "No. 8 Air Force soars over Utah 37–15". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tucker leads Ute scalping of USU". The Daily Herald. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Utah outlasts New Mexico 58–49". Alamogordo Daily News. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Colorado State pulls upset over WAC rival Utah". Star-Herald. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BYU beats state rival Utah". The Times-News. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1986 Utah Football Media Guide". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
^ "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
^ "1986 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 8, 2011.