“It’s emotionally draining, but we’ve won nine of the last 12, so maybe we want to play them more.” — Kyle Whittingham
Of course Whittingham’s Utes won’t get to play BYU in 2014 or 2015. But his assessment may be even more astute. After all, Whittingham’s team has not even trailed in six of the past 11 rivalry games against the Cougars. That includes this year’s contest, which featured a strong start as part of a 20-13 win.
Those other contests don’t include Utah’s 54-10 shellacking in 2011, when the Utes capitalized on seven BYU turnovers for their most lopsided win over the Cougars since 1931.
In those half-dozen contests, the Cougars have made some comebacks before coming up short. But from a snow bowl shutout to two blowout victories, overall the Utes have dominated BYU over the past decade-plus in a fashion more dramatic than Whittingham’s count.
See the overview of the five previous games prior to 2013 that Utah controlled.
Rhett Wilkinson is a project manager for UtahPolicy.com and hails the true-blooded Aggies from Utah. The co-founder of magazine Aggie BluePrint.com, he's been an intern for the Deseret News and other publications. rhett.wilkinson@usu.edu | @wilklogan