SALT LAKE CITY - Utah walked out of Rice-Eccles Stadium with the kind of win that can reshape a season, and BYU walked out staring at a dream that took a hard hit.
The Utes beat the Cougars 28-20 on a gorgeous Saturday in November, a result that kept Morgan Scalley’s maiden season as head coach moving toward something bigger. For BYU, the loss turned a game with playoff-level weight into a costly setback, especially after the Cougars had already stumbled in conference play a week after shocking previously third-ranked Notre Dame.
This one carried everything the rivalry could possibly pack into it. No.
3 Utah and No. 9 BYU entered with the stakes cranked all the way up, and with the Big 12 championship game and the 12-team playoff both in play, there was no room for either side to drift.
For BYU, it was basically an elimination game. Two conference losses, as the source of this matchup made clear, would likely slam the door on a title-game berth. Utah, meanwhile, could keep pushing toward an undefeated season and the bye that would come with it in the playoff quarterfinals.
Scalley kept the focus squarely on the moment after the final whistle.
"I just can’t say enough about our players," said Scalley. "Having said that, this is not the final game of the season. This is one game."
The difference was Devon Dampier. He didn’t put up eye-popping numbers, but he kept making the kind of plays that tilt games. The senior quarterback led Utah with his legs, worked the offense into two second-half touchdowns, and finished the job with a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter that proved to be the winner.
Even without a huge statistical night, Dampier strengthened his case for Heisman Trophy consideration.
"All I know is I love him," said Scalley, declining to reference Heisman talk. "He’s a competitor, a warrior, and he wins us football games."
Utah’s defense did its part after spending much of the first half on its heels. The Utes shut out BYU after halftime, then came up with the play that may have saved the game when Trey Reynolds intercepted a pass near Utah’s goal line in the final minutes.
"The Utes were in zone coverage, meaning Bachmeier likely didn’t see the Utah linebacker"
"Just grateful that I was there," said Reynolds.
BYU’s start was rough from the jump. In a 10 a.m. kickoff that seemed to catch the Cougars flat, Utah came out fast and scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, building what looked like an early path to control.
But this rivalry rarely stays on script for long.
The Cougars answered by turning a two-touchdown hole into a 6-point lead in less than a quarter, and the game quickly became the kind of back-and-forth mess that has defined so many of these meetings. Fumbles, interceptions and sudden momentum swings kept changing the story.
One of the biggest swings came in the third quarter, when BYU appeared to be building toward a two-score cushion before Bear Bachmeier threw an interception that Utah defensive end Lance Holtzclaw picked off. Bachmeier finished with four interceptions in what the source described as one of his worst games.
"I’ll be pounding the pavement later watching it back," said BYU coach Kalani Sitake, who pointed to the Cougars’ mistakes.
Dampier also showed he could do more than run. On a strange fourth-and-1 trick play, he somehow ended up with the reception - catching an underthrown pass on a wobbler that Scalley said should never have been thrown by receiver Creed Whittemore.
However wild the rivalry got, Utah handled the chaos better in the end. The Utes survived the mistakes, absorbed the swings and came away with a result that keeps the bigger picture alive. For BYU, the dream season took a major blow.
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