Yes, the '96 and '06 teams deserve to be in the debate. And we can certainly add the '24 team to the discussion.

'84 gets the automatic mention because of the National Championship.

But it would be criminal to overlook Lavell's other teams from the early 80's.

The easy criticism of those teams was their SOS (valid consideration), but it would be foolish to focus ONLY on SOS and ignore the following:

- NCAA record-shattering offensive production
- Dominant performances both offensively and defensively
- Number of consensus All-Americans
- High number of NFL draftees (41 players drafted to the NFL between 1979-1989)



So... when talking about the all-time best BYU teams, here are 4 teams that deserve some consideration:

1979 - Undefeated regular season. 1-point loss to a BIG10 team in the Holiday Bowl (we missed a chip-shot FG at the end of the game). Amazing defense that allowed 11.4 points per game (one shut-out and 4 games where they gave up just one score).
Points per game: 40.6
Average margin of victory: 29.2

1980 - Another 1-loss team (first game of the season - on the road at UNM). Unbelievable offense that produced scores of 41, 52, 70, 83, 41, 45, 56, 54, and 46. Dominant win @ Wisconsin and a bowl win vs. a fantastic SMU team.
Offense averaged 47! points per game.
Average margin of victory: 30.2

1981 - Another offensive juggernaut team that scored 40+ points in 6 games. Went 2-0 vs. top-20 teams. Won the bowl game vs. WSU.
Points per game: 38.8
Average margin of victory: 20.5
NFL draftees: 7! (TE, WR, WR, RB, OG, OT, LB).

1983 - After losing the road opener @ Baylor, the team ran the table to finish the season 11-1, including a road win @ UCLA and a bowl win over Missouri.
Points per game: 44
Average margin of victory: 22.9