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Flashback Friday: Looking back at UCLA’s 1993 defeat of BYU over two decades later

On Oct. 9, 1993, UCLA football thrashed BYU, winning 68-14 while dominating on both sides of the football. (Daily Bruin file photo)

By Michael Waldman

Oct. 9, 2020 3:04 p.m.

This post was updated Oct. 11 at 9:13 p.m.

Eight years removed from winning the Rose Bowl three times in four years, 1993 UCLA football made its way back to The Granddaddy of Them All.

A rout of an undefeated opponent three months before on a hazy Pasadena Saturday in October was a sign of things to come for the Bruins.

Twenty-seven years ago today on Oct. 9, 1993, No. 25 UCLA defeated No. 19 BYU 68-14, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season after a 4-0 beginning to the campaign.

The Bruins scored the contest’s first 40 points, with junior wide receiver J.J. Stokes hauling in three touchdown passes from junior quarterback Wayne Cook in the first half.

Stokes ended the game with 61 yards on five receptions and three touchdowns in the fifth game of a 1993 season in which he finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting.

(Courtesy of UCLA Library)
Former UCLA coach Terry Donahue won three Rose Bowls from 1983-1986, and led the Bruins back to the game in the 1993 season. (Courtesy of UCLA Library)

Despite Cook’s chipping in his fourth touchdown pass of the game on a 59-yard strike to junior wide receiver Kevin Jordan in the second quarter, the Bruins’ offensive dominance did not only come via an aerial assault by their signal-caller – but from a commanding performance from their ground game as well.

UCLA out-rushed BYU by more than a 12-to-1 ratio, gaining 318 yards to the Cougars’ 25.

Three Bruins – freshman running back/wide receiver Derek Ayers, sophomore running back James Milliner and redshirt senior running back Ricky Davis – out-paced the entire BYU backfield individually, with Ayers’ 174 yards on five carries leading the way.

The Cougars scored only twice in the afternoon and were held in check by a home defense that grabbed three interceptions, recovered three of its five forced fumbles and racked up 11.5 sacks.

Junior linebacker Jamir Miller picked up 4.5 sacks, setting a UCLA program record for most sacks by a player in a single game before the feat was repeated the following year.

The All-American is tied for sixth in all-time sacks in the program and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 1994 NFL Draft.

After starting the season 0-2, the victory was the third straight victory in the midst of a seven-game winning streak for the Bruins that ended with a 9-3 loss on November 13 to Arizona State.

UCLA finished the season with an 8-4 record, defeating USC in its final regular-season game before losing to Wisconsin 21-16 in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

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Michael Waldman | Sports senior staff
Waldman is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the men's volleyball, women's volleyball, track and field, beach volleyball and men's soccer beats. Waldman was also a reporter on the women's basketball and beach volleyball beats. He is also a political science student at UCLA from Alameda, California.
Waldman is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the men's volleyball, women's volleyball, track and field, beach volleyball and men's soccer beats. Waldman was also a reporter on the women's basketball and beach volleyball beats. He is also a political science student at UCLA from Alameda, California.
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