The University of Utah Utes jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the 104th Holy War, but an explosive second-quarter attack from BYU put the Cougars up 20-14 at the half. Unfortunately for BYU fans, that momentum didn’t carry over to the second half.
The Cougars lost to the Utes 28-20 Saturday morning and now drop to 7-2 on the season, making their path to the College Football Playoff a little bit harder.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake says the loss was largely his fault.
“We didn’t start out fast in the first half and didn’t start off fast in the second half, and it’s my responsibility to get these guys playing at a higher level,” Sitake said. “And so, I’m frustrated about that and just the way that my game went.”
Defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa chalked the slow start up to a lack of discipline.
“We got to stick to our role and not think the overplay,” Tanuvasa said. “There was a lot of excitement and hype, and we have to hunker down and do it better after that.”
A pain point for this BYU team has been its defense. In the loss to UCF a couple of weeks ago, the Cougars allowed 26 first downs along with 293 total passing yards and 170 total rushing yards.
This week was a bit better against Utah, but the Cougars' defense allowed the Utes to make crucial plays, including a three-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game led by quarterback Devon Dampier, who had himself quite a game against the 7th-ranked Cougars.
“I think the biggest issue is we gave up a ton of big plays,” Sitake said. “But this is what Utah’s offense does. With Dampier at the helm, you think you have a sack and then he breaks the tackle and runs for a first down. I mean, we’ve seen him do it on film, and so when he did it to us, it didn’t surprise me, but it made me angry.”
It doesn’t help that Bear Bachmeier also threw four interceptions against the Utes. He came into the game having thrown only four interceptions in the previous eight games.
But running back Sione Moa is optimistic about this team’s future and ability to continue to play well in a very competitive Big 12 Conference.
“I’m super confident in the boys, man,” Moa said. “We’ve done the preparation. We know what we’re capable of and I know we’ll bounce back from this. I’ve got all the trust in my boys.”
The Cougars dropped out of the top 10 and are now ranked 12th in the most recent AP Top 25 poll, and the Utes claimed the No. 2 spot.
BYU will return to Provo on Saturday to host the Baylor Bears in what many Cougar fans hope is a bounce-back game for the program to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.