BYU’s improbable rally leaves Utah stunned, upset

They should have been dead. No heartbeat, no hope, no way back. But somehow, No. 9 BYU found a way to breathe life into their flickering championship dreams, scratching and clawing their way to a 22-21 victory over Utah Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

And if you’ve been around this rivalry long enough, you know it’s not a real rivalry until someone’s blood pressure spikes, emotions boil over, and someone accuses the other side of robbery. Oh, and there was plenty of all three in this one.

Trailing 21-10 at the half, it looked like the Cougars were on the verge of their first loss of the season. Their offense was stuck in neutral, and Utah’s defense — famous for making life miserable for any quarterback who dares enter the state of Utah — was doing its usual number on Jake Retzlaff and company. But BYU, refusing to lay down, fought back like they’d been plugged into a defibrillator.

A 12-0 second-half surge saw BYU not only climb back into the game, but flip the script entirely. When Will Ferrin’s 44-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with just seconds left on the clock, it was more than a game-winner — it was a statement. The Cougars remain undefeated at 9-0, while the Utes sink deeper into a five-game losing streak that has them reeling.

This one will go down in history as one of those “what just happened?” games, the kind that defy the laws of football logic. Utah seemed to have it all wrapped up with 1:28 left, but in the final moments of the game, BYU pulled off a miracle that had the crowd at Rice-Eccles in shock.

And then there was the controversy. Oh yes, the drama that is the lifeblood of any great rivalry game. Utah’s athletic director, Mark Harlan, took the podium afterward, declaring that the game had been “stolen” from the Utes. He railed against the officiating, claiming his team had been wronged on a key penalty. The play that stands out was a holding call on Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn that extended BYU’s final drive.

“I’m disgusted,” Harlan said, visibly fuming. “This game was absolutely stolen from us. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed. I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew.”

Oh, how the tables have turned. Utah’s defense has made its living on rough, physical press coverage, the kind that often toes the line between legal and “I’ll take that call, ref.” This time, however, the refs caught Vaughn with his hand in the cookie jar, holding BYU’s JoJo Phillips just enough to draw a flag and extend the Cougars’ hopes for one more chance.

“Sometimes they can be really handsy,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake, whose emotions were just as raw as Harlan’s. “Glad we got the call. Can’t hold people.”

Just before half, Utah benefited from a facemask call on a sack by Isaiah Glasker on Ute QB Brandon Rose. Replays showed that Glasker had Rose’s jersey, not his facemask. That call gave Utah a net 25-yard gain and led to a Ute touchdown.

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Like Harlan, Sitake was very upset over that call and let officials know it on the sidelines.

Retzlaff, meanwhile, didn’t waste time on the controversy. “That’s football,” he said after the game. “There are many calls in a game that you get, and some you don’t get. At the end of the day, we went down the field with no timeouts, which isn’t an easy feat.”

He wasn’t wrong. The final sequence of the game was a perfect encapsulation of how a game like this can take years off your life. First, Retzlaff was sacked in his own end zone for what looked like a safety, only to have a timeout called just in time. Then, on a fourth-and-10 play, Utah’s Karene Reid and Junior Tafuna brought down Retzlaff again, but the penalty on Vaughn kept the Cougars’ hopes alive.

And that’s when destiny took the wheel. BYU marched down the field — no timeouts, no margin for error —and set up Ferrin for the game-winning field goal. The kick was good, the crowd went silent, and BYU walked away with the win.

The big play on the drive was a diving catch by Chase Roberts to keep the Cougars moving.

This one had everything: controversy, heart, passion and a couple of teams that will be at each other’s throats for years to come. Of course, this kind of finish is nothing new in this series, where late-game heartbreak has become a hallmark. In fact, for BYU, this victory might feel like a bit of poetic justice after so many years of falling short in the final moments against Utah.

The win also marked the largest comeback under Sitake’s watch. His team, which has already defied expectations this season, is now 6-0 in the Big 12, holding a one-game lead over second-place Colorado. In a year that marks the 40th anniversary of BYU’s 1984 national championship season, this kind of late-game magic is beginning to feel a lot like destiny.

“There’s a lot of credit to give to Utah,” Sitake said. “It’s just nice to flip it around and get the win and hold them without a score in the second half. I’m glad Will was able to step up and make the kick. It was a lot of fun. It seems like these games always come down to a play like that.”

For Utah, it was another painful chapter in a rivalry that has often been defined by last-second heartbreak. Their current five-game skid this season is a harsh reminder that in this series, nothing is ever truly decided until that final whistle blows when Ute played like it did on this night.

And for BYU? They’ve got the streak intact, the Big 12 race is looking more and more promising, and a victory over Utah that will be talked about for decades to come.

With undefeated No. 4 Miami losing, and Ole Miss taking down Georgia, BYU is destined to climb in the CFP rankings, so crucial for seeding in the 12-team national championship playoff.

File it. This game was a classic.