Cougars coach LaVell Edwards operated a passing-oriented offense that allowed his quarterbacks to throw the ball almost every single down.
During that 1977 season, his sophomore year, he threw for seven touchdown passes in one game against Colorado State University, his first start.
[1] Wilson's success paved the way for McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, and other BYU quarterbacks, all of whom had similar performances in Edwards' system.
A fractured leg injury for Pastorini opened the door for Plunkett because of his experience over the rookie, which resulted in a trip to Super Bowl XV and a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
He finished the regular season with a broken thumb suffered during a matchup against the Chicago Bears, but was benched in favor of Plunkett for the playoffs, where the Raiders lost in the wild card round.
He started thirteen games and led the Raiders to eleven wins and an AFC West title while throwing for a career high 2,608 yards with 16 touchdowns to 21 interceptions.
He moved on to the Patriots (after being cut by the Green Bay Packers in training camp) in 1989 and started 10 games in two seasons combined.