I think Louisiana was ranked too in '21. We sure haven't played many ranked opponents in bowls even in the glory years.
Doesn't look like BYU was ranked when we played them in bowl. At least not in the AP...they lost the week before which knocked them out of the AP.
I have that game on VHS and have watched the replay many times. On the scoreboard, they had a #10 ranking beside our name and a #21 ranking besides BYU?s. I don?t know if if they were using AP or Coaches poll on the broadcast but it was definitely there. Possibly they dropped out after we beat them.
Edit: Now I?m looking at the historic rankings on Wikipedia and I can?t find it either. Looks like they were not ranked in AP and were 25 in coaches at the end of the season. I would?ve sworn on my life the broadcast said Marshall #10, BYU #21 but I don?t know where they got it. Either this is a weird mandela effect thing or Wikipedia is wrong (possible) lol.
Second edit: now I watching replay on YouTube and I don?t see it. I was 14 years old in 1999. Maybe I have just had those rankings in my head for years for who knows what reason and imagined it. No idea. Weird.