LB Scooby Wright III had two sacks and 11 solo tackles.
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Utah enters the game ranked number 22 in the nation with a 9-3 record.
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl recap, score and what’s next for the Utes and Cougars.
After the turnover barrage, BYU played like it was the better team.
At the end of the day, while Utah did nearly blow a five touchdown lead (which would be the biggest blown lead ever in a bowl game), they got the win, which as Coach Whitt said in the post game, is all that matters. “It’s the only thing that matters”. Watch BYU Cougars vs Utah Utes live stream online NCAA College Football ABC TV broadcast coverage, live scores, Game Kickoff time & schedule and Radio Commentary info here. BYU (9-4) couldn’t get the ball back, though, losing in Bronco Mendenhall’s last game after 11 years as coach.
Mendenhall is the coach whose emotions could have conceivably compelled him to punch a wall at the start of the game. “I just take the word Utah out of it for a minute”. Utah started the season 6-0, including impressive wins against the likes of Michigan, Oregon, Cal and Arizona State in the process.
The Cougars (9-4) gave up 35-unanswered points as the Utes (10-3) stretched their Vegas Bowl-record scoring spree to 59-0 dating back to a year ago, thanks in part to three interceptions by quarterback Tanner Mangum that include a pair of pick sixes. The 6-foot-8, 280-pounder is playing his last game for his dad, defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi.
Mangum found Nick Kurtz for a five-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 10:33 left in the fourth quarter, then pulled his Cougars to within 35-28 on a four-yard run with 3:23 left. BYU scored 28 unanswered points to end the game.
After scoring off of all five turnovers, the Utes left the first quarter with a 35-0 lead.
In a statistical quirk, BYU actually outgained Utah offensively (89-69) in the first quarter. Wilson ran into the endzone for the 20-yard touchdown to make the score 35-0, and it seemed as if the Utes were going to run away with it. “But I only got six, and I tried to get more. Then, by the end of the game, we were running on fumes on offense”. BYU dominated much of the game, but couldn’t quite dig itself out of the big hole.
“I think it’s just playing one play at a time”, Norris said.
“We were one game short of where we ultimately wanted to be, which is the PAC-12 championship game”, Whittingham said.
The five-touchdown deficit, however, turned out to be too much to overcome.
Mangum caught fire in the second half, though, and finished with 315 passing yards, completing 25 of 56 passes for two touchdowns and three interceptions. Their first drive ended with a Utah-recovered fumble, of which the Utes took advantage. BYU head coach (now former coach) Bronco Mendenhall said in the post game that the Utah pressure by the front four was faster than Mangum was comfortable with, thus creating the opportunities. Since becoming head coach of the Cougars, Mendenhall has led the team to a record of 99-42 overall with two Mountain West titles to his credit.
The reality is that most people believe that the two teams – both of which are missing the guys they thought would be their offensive identities as the beginning of the year – know that the margin for error is very slim. “They stayed together and unified and battled back and made it a great football game”.
While the Cougars went down fighting, the win marks the fifth straight time the Utes have beaten their in-state rival. They also beat out Utah’s 21 first downs with a total of 28.
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CAMELLIA BOWL: APPALACHIAN STATE 31, OHIO 29 (at Montgomery, Ala.) – Zach Matics capped a wild game with a 23-yard field goal on the final play to lift the Mountaineers.
