Nov. 8 - Afternoon game (58°, light breeze, cloudy) at BYU Stadium, Provo (36,583).
The Cougars had the Mean Green down 21-0 in the first quarter thanks to three fumbles by North Texas State.
The Cougars needed the margin, because on the ensuing kickoff after BYU touchdown number three, the Mean Green tricked the Cougar special teams.
A lateral pass which resulted in a 63-yard return was stopped deep in Cougar territory.
The Mean Green scored on that possession, blocking a Clay Brown punt to set up another score, while BYU could only muster a field goal, making the score an uncomfortable 24-14 at half.
North Texas State's defensive front four proved to be the stingiest BYU had faced to date.
NTS added a field goal to close the gap to 24-17 until the Cougars' Jim McMahon found Brown for a third quarter touchdown.
The fourth quarter the two teams still were battling, Kurt Gunther kicking BYU's longest field goal of the season at 43 yards, NTS scoring a TD and McMahon passing a bomb to Dan Plater for a 42-yard pass.
"North Texas State is as good as any team we've played this year," said LaVell Edwards as his team's record moved to 8-1.
