Remember the 2012 game, with the insane finish where the Utah fans charged the field twice and BYU missed two field goals that would have won the game?
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Utah quarterback Troy Williams (3) passes down field against BYU in the first quarter during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Salt Lake City. So with that, here is a preview of each of the matchups this week.
BYU had Hill run a quarterback draw from 3 yards out, out of an empty formation with just five linemen and one blocking back on his far right flank.
Utah wasn’t overly impressive in its 24-0 win over Southern Utah last Thursday but the Utes did pick up the victory despite failing to cover as a 28-point home favorite.
Instead, he walked off the field slowly at the end, looking up at the fans and the crooked numbers on the scoreboard at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the last time. The Utes were ready to go and made a stop when it counts. But the junior also had his fair share of mistakes despite throwing for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Given the lack of points BYU generated against a bad Arizona defense, it’s unlikely the Cougars can do better against a superior Utes defense.
BYU is the only team in the country without a pass play longer than 20 yards and is averaging just 9 yards per completion, 121st out of 128 teams nationwide.
During the second half, Tauteoli intercepted his second ball of the night, but the Utes couldn’t get anything going. It’s likely to be another entertaining contest between the rivals, but I’ll take the points with BYU in what usually is a close affair. BYU also struggled to put away Arizona when it had the chance. Utah has proven playmakers on defense who can force turnovers, and the Utah coaches stress not turning the ball over offensively. In his first career start, Pau’u had nine total tackles, seven of which were solo tackles. Since then, BYU has forced 4 turnovers (2 fumbles and 2 interceptions).
For some reason, Utah seems to be full of wild games.
All-Time Series: Both programs disagree on the all-time series records. After having not played each other since 2013, BYU and Utah were paired together in the Las Vegas Bowl in December.
Close Calls: In the past 20 meetings, 15 of the games have been decided by 7 points or less. New BYU head coach Kelani Sitake served as an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for Utah under Kyle Whittingham from 2012-14 before making the move to Provo. Sitake’s choice to go for it was admirable, but BYU called a play that turned out to be its death knell. The 2016 version of the rivalry game was like that final few plays but stretched out over the course 60 minutes of on field action.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster caught two TD passes as the Trojans (1-1) showed no hangover from their 52-6 loss to the top-ranked Crimson Tide last week in Texas, the biggest season-opening loss in school history and their most lopsided defeat since 1966. Tim Patrick and Raelon Singleton have combined for 161 receiving yards and two touchdowns while Troy McCormick has three receptions. What led to Virginia’s downfall against the FCS team were the four turnovers they committed in the game.
