For a rivalry that is primed on being played near the end of the season, it’s kind of odd for both schools to start their seasons playing against one another.
This is the 100th edition of the Holy War, and the earliest it’s been played in the year since the very first meeting back in 1896. The College Football schedule was different back then as that game was played in April.
One of the most underrated comebacks from last College Football season came from this rivalry. Utah looked dead in the water and was getting gashed all game long. Zach Wilson was having his way with Utah and Matt Chapman was carving up their DB’s.
After scoring just 7 points through the first two and a half quarters, Jason Shelley lead drive after drive of scoring; Continuous pounding of the football. And a fantastic 33 yard run would ice the game and add another chapter to the story of this historical rivalry.
History of the rivalry
BYU had a long stretch of dominance of the Utes for just over two decades. This rivalry has been going on since 1896. All that to be said, it wasn’t really a rivalry until the early 1970’s.
BYU had only won 8 times from 1896-1972 and they played just about every season. From 1972-1992, BYU went 18-2 against the Utes and at one point, had a 9 game winning streak.
Both teams feel like they can take control of this game, but the Utes have history on their side. Utah leads the series 61-34-4 and hasn’t lost to the Cougars since 2009. While you look at that stat and think that Utah has dominated this series of the past decade, that isn’t quite the case.
Sure the Utes haven’t lost this decade, but all of the games aside from 2011’s 54-10 shellacking have been decided by 8 points or less.
Keys to the game for BYU
Offensively, this should be an above average unit with a lot of players that were contributors last year returning. Sophomore QB Zach Wilson did sustain a shoulder injury, but all signs point for him to play on Thursday night.
A lot of the production from the pass catching unit is returning. That unit is lead by TE Matt Bushman. He had the big game against the Utes last year and finished with 511 yards and a couple scores in 2018. With Wilson hopefully healed up, he should be the go to target.
Outside of a poor throw from Zach Wilson, BYU played perfect ball in the last meeting until everything collapsed. I think the Cougars just need to keep the metal to the pedal and not be satisfied if they have a lead.
Keys to the game for Utah
These Utes have been hyped up by just about everybody and in some cases for good reason. Two of College Gameday’s panel had Utah in the playoff and Lee Corso had them beating Clemson and facing Alabama in the national title.
It’s Lee Corso and he’s a much bigger legend in basketball than Dick Vitale is in Basketball, but there’s no way Utah makes the playoff.
Tyler Huntley returns for his senior season after leading Utah to a fantastic start before he got hurt and slipped toward the end of the season. It helps having one of the top RB’s in the conference in Zach Moss after he exploded onto the scene his Junior year.
Utah loses quite a few key defensive stars from last year, including All Pac-12, Chase Hansen (the former QB). Being able to hold Zach Wilson and bringing a ton of pressure is what Utah should do with a rather inexperienced D-Line.
Final Verdict
This game should be like all the others of the past 10 years as both teams are evenly matched in most categories. I think Huntley is the better QB right now and Moss is a certified star. It’s another close one in Provo, but the Utes pull it out and the Pac 12 championship hype officially begins.
Utah 34, BYU 28
Image credit: https://kutv.com/news/local/utah-vs-byu-who-what-when-where-and-why
