From last-second touchdown passes in the end zone, to missed field goals with the game in the balance, to sending legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards out in style, Cougar Insiders Jeff Call, Dick Harmon and Brandon Gurney debate their picks as the best five games in BYU-Utah rivalry history. After they weigh in, see if you agree with their choices — from a BYU perspective — in the history of the rivalry, which writes a new chapter Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
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The following is a transcript of the episode. It's been edited for clarity.
Dick Harmon: Hi, this is Dick Harmon and this edition of Cougar Insiders podcast we're going to be talking about the top five BYU-Utah rivalry games that we can remember or at least put emphasis on. We may not disagree but we're going to have a little fun with that. The top five.
Gentlemen, I don't know if this is going to make the top five, but I remember back in the day in 1988 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, University of Utah just killed BYU. Scott Mitchell, their quarterback, who went on to have a great NFL career, who now works in local radio. He led the Utes to a thumping. It was the most points ever scored in the history of this rivalry. 57 points. It was 57-28.
The next year there was a revenge game with Ty Detmer. Ty Detmer was starting in 1989, took over for Sean Covey, and he ended up having — he scored, I think eight straight possessions. Ty Detmer led that offense to a score of 49 to nothing before the U. even scored. He had 700 and some odd yards of total offense. The score was 70-31. If you're a BYU fan, that flexing of a revenge reaction to a Ute win was probably the greatest that I've ever seen.
But let's go down to your top five. Let's go to your fives. Jeff, give us your No. 5. And then Brandon the same No. 5.
Jeff Call: Well, this is a tough exercise because I could have gone 10 or more. But one of the games I remember most was sitting up in the bleachers at Rice-Eccles stadium, 1984, BYU's undefeated, they're ranked No. 1, which never happened before. And as the game progresses, it was a close game. Utah wasn't a great team. But there's a lot of the line, this is them playing the No. 1 team at their home stadium. And as we're watching the game, we hear these, you know, way before Twitter and all the stuff, you kind of hear scores from other places, you hear about Nebraska losing and South Carolina losing and things like that. And BYU comes in and beats Utah. And it was, you know, not only preserved that perfect season, but springboarded them to what ended up being the national championship.
And so that's one game that I would look back and remember. 2006, the one that I think everyone would circle, Beck-to-Harline, the amazing ending. Maybe the most amazing ending to a BYU-Utah game. And that's saying something because there's been quite a few. I think about 2001, that pitch to Luke Staley down the sideline. I don't know if I've ever heard LaVell Edwards Stadium that loud ever before. When when (Brandon) Doman pitched and Staley took off down the sideline for that touchdown. Utah was threatening to maybe take the lead and win.
DH: What's your No. 5? Is it gonna be the 1984?
JC: I started at No. 1.
DH: Your No. 1 is 1984. Let's go to your No. 1, Brandon.
Brandon Gurney: My number one is 2006. I don't think you can beat that game. Just the drama and how it ended was just unbelievable. My favorite moment about that game is as I remember, I was waiting to interview players after and all that and I remember John Beck's dad, Wendell, was there. And if you know Wendell, he's really emotional. We kind of have barbs back and forth and all that. And John just went through the gauntlet during his BYU career. I remember looking at Wendell like, after all the crap you've been through to end up like this. I mean, could you even imagine? I mean, he started well up, and it was just cool. It was a really cool thing to see that.
DH: I talked to Wendell just last week. And, you know, at the time — you made the eye contact with Wendell. But at the time I talked to him, I said, "Wendell, this game will go down in history, and no one will ever forget it." And it'll be referred to forever and he kind of smiled because he'd been through a lot and his son had been through a lot. Let's go to No. 2s. Jeff Call, you mentioned the 2006 after the 1984 right? That's your No. 2? Okay. And your No. 2?
BG: I think this is the most overlooked game and I thought it was an absolutely unbelievable game and I went to the game, it was the 2000 game. LaVell's last miracle, where BYU was just dead in the water and Doman just throws up that pass and somehow (Jonathan) Pittman just runs right under it. Wow. I mean if it wasn't for the Beck-to-Harline thing that would probably be maybe the biggest play. I mean I'm sure we'll get to Austin Collie's big play, but.
DH: Before that play, though, the Utes will tell you that Luke Staley fumbled the ball and Ron McBride swears that it was a fumble and it should have been dead right there and there should have been no Pittman play. But, Jeff Call, on that particular thing had Brandon Doman running for a touchdown in the final seconds to end LaVell's career. You couldn't paint it even better than that.
JC: What a classic ending to LaVell's career. I mean you think of that — that win prevented BYU from finishing a losing season. No one want to see, except I guess Utah, wanted to see LaVell go out with a losing season with that final game. I remember standing in the end zone on the opposite side of that play that we talked about, 4th-and-13, and you're thinking this is over. This is how LaVell's career is going to end. How sad is that. And then from our vantage point in the end zone you see Doman throw the ball up in the air. I'm just going where is this going? What is he doing? Why is he throwing it away? Then all the sudden Jonathan Pittman comes down with it. And then the next play, another long pass, Pittman comes up with again. A couple plays later Doman ran it in and I'll never forget the BYU players lifting LaVell up on their shoulders. Just the the joy. I mean, Kalani Sitake was there as a player, it was his final game as a player at BYU. He was the one of the guys that hoisted LaVell up and it was just an absolutely amazing ending to a game and to a career.
DH: Exclamation point for LaVell. Certainly that. No. 3. Let's talk No. 3. Brandon.
BG: I don't know if it's my third one. But I'm going to bring it up because I think when you just look at domination and what BYU fans like to remember what the rivalry was, I think what exemplifies that maybe best was the 1996 game. Where it was just as thorough of a thrashing as I've ever seen against University of Utah. Check out these numbers: BYU rushed the ball 63 times in a football game and passed it 12 times.
DH: Ronnie Jenkins.
BG: Yeah, Ronnie Jenkins and Brian Mackenzie were basically able to do whatever they wanted. They had 366 yards rushing. BYU won it 37-17, but it was one of those games that wasn't nearly as close as the score would indicate, because BYU basically did whatever they wanted. And I could easily argue 1996 was probably the best BYU team I've ever seen, talent-wise and all that, they were humming. And I think that was just exemplified. And that was probably kind of the last we saw of BYU really dominating. In fact, I'd say definitely. I think it's really evened up since that time.
DH: That's a good one. Jeff Call, your No. 3.
JC: I'm going to go with 2007, the year after Beck-to-Harline we got Max Hall. Again, we have Max Hall facing 4th-and-18. Looks like the game is about over. Fans are starting to file out. It looks really bad for BYU, and then Max Hall rolls out. And I think people forget that he played that game with like a Grade 3 shoulder separation. Because the previous week in Laramie, he had hurt the shoulder and BYU did everything they could to hide that, not talk about it until after the game. And so when you look back at that play, and you see him roll out and throw that ball, considering he had that kind of an injury, it's pretty amazing he even got that pass off. And then that was where Austin Collie got past Bryce McCain.
DH: He did a double move and went after him. And Bryce McCain, he completely lost him. And Bryce McCain is an outstanding corner. Played in the NFL.
JC: And Collie comes down with that ball. And it was just stunning to watch because you know, who completes a pass on 4th-and-18? And BYU ended up scoring and held on to win and that clinched the Mountain West Conference championship. A huge one for BYU.
DH: No. 4. Let's go to our No. 4s. Brandon Gurney, you're up.
BG: I'm gonna go with the — Jeff's taken all mine, as usual. I gotta go back and look at this but I think the Ryan Kaneshiro game of 1998, where snowballs were being thrown and all that silliness and whatnot. I hate pulling out a game where BYU's getting over because of another kid's failures. That's what's most prominent about the game.
DH: It was 26-24 and Utah was ready to win the game with Ryan's field goal, right? 26 to 24. What an odd score. But a field goal kicker could have won it. Take us back to the emotion of what you saw happen on the field and then Ron McBride's reaction on the sideline.
BG: I just remember Ron McBride, he was probably doing some silly Ron McBride stuff that he does, mafu-type stuff. And I remember him looking around like oh. That's what you remember most because he was just ready to celebrate and then it's like, he missed that? I'm not remembering right now how long the field goal was, but it wasn't a long field goal. And man just the gamut of emotions. What's amazing when we talk about all this is just how many good games there have been. We're pointing out BYU's wins. Utah has at least that many wins that are as dramatic as the ones we're talking about that came up with on BYU's side. So just a fantastic rivalry game.
DH: Just the fact they, I think, won in the series for the first 40 or 50 years. Every game they won. But Jeff, Call, your No. 4.
JC: I'm gonna go with the last time BYU won this game, in 2009. Overtime game. ...
BG: I hated that game. I'm in the minority. Go ahead.
JC: One of the things I remember that the game it was — I mean, these games are always intense. But that featured so many hard hits. I just remember big plays. And it wasn't a very high-scoring game. But, you know, BYU goes into overtime and wins on that pass to Andrew George. And you know, there's stuff that happened after that game with Max. He kind of went on that rant that everyone remembers. But it's still stunning to me that that's the last time that BYU beat Utah. No one could have told you that that would be the last time for nine years.
DH: It goes back to my theory. And that is when a BYU has a passer like Max Hall, they can do extraordinary things. When they have somebody like him, and John Beck, and you go down the line. When they have that there's a great equalizing effect that can happen in the game. And you go back to the bowl game between University of Utah and BYU back in 2015. You have Tanner Mangum go out there. And there were five turnovers and the score was like 35-0. People hadn't even settled in their seats, hardly. And then that comes back. And BYU has the ball driving with the chance to win that game. And Tanner had a great game, and he kept throwing, and getting yards, and a very good Ute defense. And Utah came with the stop and the game was over. But that has to go down as one of the more dramatic, and the only bowl game between these two teams. But you know, these games usually come down to the last play or last couple of plays. Not always. But even in recent history, with Utah's dominance, they've come down to a couple of plays.
BG: They have and the reason I hate that game is because I still — everyone disagrees with me. But I still don't understand why BYU played for overtime. They had the ball with plenty of time and two timeouts. And they just sat on it and went to overtime. I don't understand why you don't. It just bothered me. And I was just so confused that the whole drama was kind of lost me.
DH: There was that Jake Heaps year, remember when the marched down the field on Utah. Brandon Bradley, I think, had an interception that was ruled a fumble, and then BYU had the game. They had 40 seconds left. They drove down and then they just ran out the clock for a field goal. And Utah ended up blocking and the game was over, and BYU had a chance with Jake Heaps doing very, very well, of maybe going down, either getting closer or scoring a touchdown and winning the game. And they chose to sit on it like the scene that you just described.
BG: Yeah, so anyway, I want to point out my personal favorite for me, because it was the first BYU-Utah game I ever attended. This was back in 1983, and back then BYU football was everything, right? Steve Young was quarterback. To this day, Steve Young is my absolute all-time favorite athlete. Just because he was the first quarterback I saw, and all that. I don't think he was any better than in that 1983 game where BYU beat them 55-7. Look at these stats. He was 20 of 25 with 6 touchdown passes. As far as just the 1980s offense, I don't think it was ever exemplified as much as that '83 year where Steve Young was just picking apart defenses and whatnot. And I'll just always remember that as a kid because that started it all. That kind of gave me a glimpse into what that game was, and it's become a lot better over the years.
DH: You know what, gentlemen, thanks for sharing your top 5s, reliving these games. There has been so much drama. There's been such great big plays from big-time players, and these plays will be remembered for all time. Thanks for joining us on this edition of Cougar Insiders podcast. We're going to catch you with another edition of this rivalry in our next edition of this podcast. Thank you.
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