The Mountain West Conference's best passing offense against the NCAA's No. 1 passing defense.
It was no contest Friday night in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
After the second play from scrimmage in the game, the pass-ers (BYU) whupped the pass-ees (Utah).
BYU came just 11 yards short of doubling the pass yardage the Utes had averaged giving up through the first 10 games of the season, throwing for 284 yards while the U. had surrendered just 147.7 yards a game to that point. The Cougars also scored almost 12 points above their average and nearly doubled what Utah's No. 1-in-the-MWC scoring defense had averaged (17.3 points) for the season.
And BYU quarterback Brandon Doman connected on 16-of-29 passes — 8 percent better than the Utes had allowed in the past, as he led the Cougars to a 34-27 season-ending win over Utah.
How did that happen, especially when Utah had a bye week to prepare for BYU, which was playing in a week that was shortened by a day?
Well, Ute penalties were among BYU's allies, helping the Cougars score 16 of their points and giving them four first downs they might not have had otherwise.
After Andre Dyson intercepted Doman's first pass of the game and returned it 24 yards for his third pickoff touchdown of the season and fourth of his career — a school record — the Utes made BYU punt in three plays on its next possession, then had the Cougars at third-and-6 on their own 33-yard line.
One more stop might have changed the direction the game would eventually take, but Utah's Dyson committed pass interference on a long Doman-to-Margin Hooks sideline pattern and let BYU off the hook. While the infraction may have prevented a catch for a gain longer than the 15 yards, it still helped the Cougars finish that drive with a field goal, their first points.
With BYU up 10-7 after a first-quarter Jared Lee interception set up its first touchdown in the first quarter, an unsportsmanlike conduct call against Utah on a second-and-10 from the Utah 22 aided BYU's second field goal of the night. The Cougs threw a pass but were called for an illegal block that injured Ute safety Jason Potter, whose legs were hit from behind. The Cougs would have been moved back to the 33, but Utah was so incensed over the clip that it picked up the 15-yard flag, which instead put the ball at its own 18.
With BYU up 16-7 after a Dameon Hunter fumble led to another Y. field goal, Utah had BYU in a second-and-19 situation at its 48 but hit Kalani Sitake out of bounds for a 14-yard personal foul that put the ball on Utah's 14. The defense held at the 5, but Owen Pochman converted another field goal, and the Cougs led 19-10 at the half.
The Utes cut their penalties from 4-for-59 yards in the first half to 3-for-25 in the second, but another Ute personal foul negated a minus-yardage play by the Cougs, and the Ute defense jumped offside on the very next play. That gave BYU 20 of its 77 yards on a drive that led to a 36-yard BYU TD pass and a 26-10 Cougar lead.
E-mail: lham@desnews.com