The BYU-Utah rivalry has a way of splitting people right down the middle, and Bodie Schoonover knows that as well as anyone.
The BYU defensive end grew up in Cedar Hills, played at American Fork High and came back to Provo after a church mission in Cape Town, South Africa. He’s appeared in 44 games for the Cougars since then, and he says he was “born and raised” to pull for BYU. But his family story is more complicated than a simple blue-and-white loyalty test.
Schoonover’s older brother, Keaton, went to the University of Utah after his rugby career took him there, and the two ended up on opposite sides of one of the sport’s most emotional in-state showdowns. For the Schoonovers, that never turned into anything ugly.
“That’s exactly how it is,” he said. “Growing up, we were all split down my neighborhood between Utah and BYU fans; we’d spray-paint Y’s and U’s on every lawn. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of love at the same time.”
That kind of split is all over Utah, and it’s part of what makes Saturday’s meeting so charged. The seventh-ranked Cougars head to Salt Lake City to play No.
3 Utah in the first top-10 matchup in the 103-game history of the series. Or maybe the 97-game history, depending on which side is doing the counting.
Utah includes the games going back to 1896, while BYU leaves out six contests played when the school was Brigham Young Academy before 1922.
However the total is tallied, the series has been full of swings. Utah controlled the early years before LaVell Edwards changed the balance in Provo, going 22-7 against the Utes over his 29-year run.
The next stretch was more even, then former BYU linebacker Kyle Whittingham helped Utah reel off nine straight wins from 2010-19. BYU ended that run in 2021 and has won the first two meetings as Big 12 opponents, riding a three-game winning streak into this one.
The recent games have usually been close. Eight of the last 10 have been decided by one score.
“Even when you look at those win streaks, the games were tight,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “It doesn’t really matter what one team is doing in that year; when it comes to this game, these games come down to one or two scores most of the time.
“There’s a lot of intensity in this game,” he added. “It seems to get the best of the players on the field, and the talent shows up until it usually comes down to a tight finish.”
That intensity reaches beyond the field. It shows up in neighborhoods, workplaces and families, including the Schoonovers and the Sitakes.
Sitake’s own family has ties on both sides. Before he was a fullback at BYU, his older brother Tevita Pella played defensive end at Utah. And Sitake’s coaching path was shaped in part by the Utes, where he spent 10 years coaching linebackers and running the defense under Whittingham before leaving with Gary Andersen to Oregon State for a season as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
That 2015 season also overlapped with Kevin McGiven, a former BYU graduate assistant who later became Oregon State’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, then took the same job under Utah coach Morgan Scalley.
Scalley’s own background is deeply tied to Utah. He coached alongside Sitake there, was Mountain West co-defensive player of the year and a second-team All-American in 2004, and later moved into roles as safeties coach, defensive coordinator and eventually head coach. Utah has helped shape him, and he has helped shape Utah into the first team to start 8-0 since 2010.
People around the rivalry say that kind of success fits Scalley’s personality.
“That’s Morgan’s attitude, that’s coach Scalley’s way of life; he’s a go-getter,” said BYU defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa, who transferred from Utah after the 2024 season. “That man has one of the greatest spirits that I’ve been around in being ruthlessly the best version of himself. He’s never satisfied with just OK, or being good.
“Them being a great team doesn’t surprise me.”
Tanuvasa spent 19 of 22 games starting on Utah’s defensive line before moving to BYU, and he says the relationships he built in Salt Lake City have stayed strong. He remains close with Utah players, coaches, administrators and fans. Scalley even attended his wedding and was there for his temple sealing with his wife, Zerin, whom he proposed to after transferring to Provo.
Sitake says that kind of connection is part of what makes this rivalry different.
“I have a lot of love for Utah, for the head coach, and for the people there,” Sitake said. “Those are still my friends.
I would not be in this position if it weren’t for that school. That’s how this rivalry goes.”
The ties run through BYU’s staff too. Defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga is a BYU alum who never worked at Utah, but offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick played wide receiver at BYU and spent 10 years at Utah, including two separate stints as co-offensive coordinator. Associate head coach Sione Po’uha is a Utah graduate who coached at his alma mater after eight seasons in the NFL, and BYU cornerbacks coach Lewis Walker played for Sitake at Utah.
Even family ties cross the line. Scalley’s daughter Maddie enrolled at BYU as a freshman last year, and former Utah star Eric Weddle’s daughter Brooklyn enrolled at BYU this past summer.
For all the division, the rivalry still has a way of bringing people back together once it’s over.
“This is my third rivalry, and my thing is just to enjoy it,” Tanuvasa said. “These games come around once a year, maybe twice if the odds align. So enjoy it, and be mindful of other people.
“We’re still human beings, and still put on this earth for a great cause. But it’s football season, and this is the greatest rivalry that I’ve been a part of. Let’s go enjoy it.”
In Other News...
BYU Just Got A Bigger Utah Test Than Fans Realized
The latest Big 12 power rankings from three KSL Sports reporters put the spotlight right where Utah fans expected it to land, on the rivalry game with BYU. The weekly list came with records, recent results and upcoming schedules for the leagues top teams, but the bigger takeaway was how much this matchup now means beyond bragging rights. It is the kind of November game that can reshape the conversation around the conference race and the postseason picture at the same time.
For Utah, the significance is obvious even before the teams take the field. BYUs place in the rankings only sharpens the stakes, because this is no longer just a rivalry meeting with local pride on the line. It is a game with real College Football Playoff implications attached, and the way the reporters stacked the league makes clear that the Utes are staring at a test with far more weight than a typical late-season showdown. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Got The National CFP Respect Fans Have Wanted
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season already stirred up debate, but Robert Griffin III added another layer to it with his own version of the top 25. His list looked very different from the committees, and it gave Utah a prominent spot near the top while also underscoring just how much disagreement still exists over how teams are being judged this early in the season.
For Utah fans, the bigger takeaway is not just the placement itself but the kind of attention it reflects. The committee chair defended the rankings by pointing to quality wins and schedule strength, which only adds to the conversation around where the Utes fit in the national picture. For a program trying to earn respect on the CFP stage, seeing its name land so high in a national voices alternate rankings is the sort of validation supporters have been asking for. [Read more 🡒]
BYU-Utah Could Decide More Than Bragging Rights This Year
The latest BYU-Utah matchup is carrying a little more weight than the usual bragging rights, and Hans Olsen sees it as a game with ripple effects beyond one Saturday in November. The former BYU player pointed to postseason positioning and the battle for in-state recruiting as part of what makes this rivalry matter so much this year, while also noting how the teams recent form has shaped the conversation around the meeting.
Olsen also leaned on memory when talking about the rivalry, recalling BYUs 2000 win over Utah in LaVell Edwards final game as head coach. He believes the Cougars have the edge heading into this one, based on what he sees from both sides and the psychological side of a rivalry game, which only adds to the intrigue for Utah fans watching a familiar matchup with bigger stakes attached. [Read more 🡒]