We played too well defensively to lose that football game. – Taysom Hill
SALT LAKE CITY — For the second year in a row against Utah, BYU’s defense was put in an early hole in the rivalry game.
On Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Cougars found themselves down 7-0 just 16 seconds into the game after a pick-six by the Utes.
At least for them it wasn’t a 35-0 deficit like in Las Vegas.
BYU surrendered just one offensive touchdown on the night, but it wasn’t enough in the Cougars’ 20-19 setback.
“We played too well defensively to lose that football game,” said BYU quarterback Taysom Hill.
In the fourth quarter, Utah, nursing a 17-13 lead, embarked on an 11-minute drive, marching 78 yards on 13 plays to the BYU 7-yard line. The Cougars forced the Utes to kick a field goal that gave Utah a 20-13 advantage with 2:47 remaining.
Keeping the Utes out of the end zone on the possession gave BYU’s offense a shot to either tie or win the game. The Cougars scored a touchdown, but their two-point conversion attempt failed.
“I think it was over 20 plays on that (Utah) drive. It took a while, but our guys kept fighting,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “I was hoping they’d go for it (on fourth down and one) and see what would happen. I’m really proud of them. They could have given up on such a long drive. You have to give credit to Utah.”
The Cougars came up with six Utah turnovers Saturday, including a pair of second-quarter interceptions by Kai Nacua. One of those picks led to BYU’s first touchdown of the night, capped by a 39-yard touchdown by Hill.
The Utes fumbled a total of six times, losing three of those.
Forcing turnovers was part of BYU’s game plan.
“This week, our focus was on getting takeways,” said linebacker Butch Pau’u, who finished with a game-high nine tackles. We knew it would be a defensive battle.”
In the previous three games against BYU, Utah had zero turnovers. The Utes had four in the first half alone.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, the offense couldn’t capitalize as much as it wanted to.
BYU’s offense, meanwhile, had three turnovers on three interceptions.
Utah wide receiver Tim Patrick said he wasn’t worried about the flurry of turnovers.
“It’s BYU,” Patrick said. “We knew what was on the line and we had to just go out there and execute.”
The Utes gained 363 yards of total offense, including 169 on the ground and 194 through the air.
“We played well but not as well as last week,” Pau’u said. “We gave up too many rushing yards. We weren’t as assignment sound in the second half. We’ll get better next week. We feel solid as a defense.”
BYU’s defense was tested in the second half when Nacua was ejected for targeting. On the following play, defensive back Austin McChesney was also disqualified after a targeting call.
“I’m proud of the guys that came in and played and I’m proud of the guys that answered back and were able to make this a one-point game,” Sitake said.
Sitake praised defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki.
“Ilaisa did a great job with our defense. We have some great players on defense,” Sitake said. “It’s not their fault. After we gave up that first score, they could have gotten down, but they responded right back.”
EMAIL: jeffc@deseretnews.com