Utah (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) at BYU (6-0, 3-0 Big 12)
- Kickoff: Saturday, 6 p.m. MDT
- Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium (capacity: 62,073)
- Livestream: foxsports.com/live
- BYU radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143
- Utah radio: ESPN 700 AM/92.1 FM
- Series: Utah leads 62-36-4
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars are 6-0, having come back to stun Arizona 33-27 in double overtime this past weekend.
BYU has clinched bowl eligibility for the eighth time in 10 seasons under Kalani Sitake and has posted 6-0 starts in consecutive campaigns for the first time in program history.
Within the rivalry, the Cougars won each of the past two matchups after going almost a decade without defeating Utah.
For Utah: The Utes are coming off a 42-10 smackdown of No. 25 Arizona State to earn their first-ever Big 12 home victory.
Utah is 5-1, back in the AP Top 25 poll and has picked up two straight blowout wins since falling to No. 7 Texas Tech in September.
The Utes haven’t beaten BYU since 2019, which was the last of a nine-game win streak that tied the longest mark for either side in the rivalry.
What to watch for
Turnovers are everything in this rivalry.
During past 11 meetings between the two teams, the team that won the turnover battle outright has gone 9-1.
In the Cougars’ current two-game win streak in the series, they haven’t turned the ball over once. When Utah won nine-straight rivalry contests from 2010-19, the Utes forced 29 BYU turnovers over that span while committing just 14 themselves.
Utah has had six turnovers through six games this season. BYU has turned the ball over five times, all coming in the last two games.
The Utes and Cougars have been extremely similar teams in the first half of 2025. Take a look at the stats:
- Points scored per game — Utah 39.5, BYU 37.5
- Points allowed per game — Utah 13.8, BYU 14.7
- Yards gained per game — Utah 459.7, BYU 448.2
- Yards allowed per game — BYU 263.5, Utah 295.8
- Rushing yards gained per game — Utah 248.2, BYU 238
- Passing yards gained per game — Utah 211.5, BYU 210.2
You get the picture. These two teams may be more evenly matched this year than they’ve ever been before.
Thus, the turnover battle will be paramount yet again. Whoever does a better job of protecting the football will escape with the victory — and claim rivalry superiority for at least another year.
Key players
For BYU: Bear Bachmeier, freshman, quarterback
Bear season has been a blast for BYU.
The Cougars’ true freshman QB has been better than even the most optimistic fan could have imagined. Bachmeier has scored 15 total touchdowns, thrown for 1,220 yards and posted a 148.5 passer rating since winning the starting job in fall camp.
He’s been a major piece to BYU’s run game as well, rushing for 295 yards thus far while logging 49 carries through three weeks of Big 12 play.
Turnovers have begun to bite Bachmeier lately, as he threw two picks at Arizona last week, nearly lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter of the Cougars’ comeback effort, and was intercepted against West Virginia as well.
While he was ultimately able to overcome those mistakes, Bachmeier likely won’t have any sort of wiggle room Saturday. Utah is the best team he’ll have played thus far, with a defensive unit looking to do whatever it takes to make the young freshman’s life difficult.
Bachmeier’s best qualities through six games have been his poise and his toughness — both of which will determine exactly how BYU’s offense fares against the Utes.
For Utah: Devon Dampier, junior, quarterback
Dampier is getting his first taste of the rivalry this week. He gave a simple “I’m aware” answer, accompanied by his signature smile, when asked if his teammates have told him what the BYU-Utah rivalry is all about, which brought a chuckle from the reporters on hand.
In Utah’s two-game losing streak to the Cougars, poor quarterback play has been a theme for the Utes both times. Last season, Brandon Rose played a solid first half, but left at the break with an injury and Utah was outscored 12-0 in the second half while taking a cautious approach.
With Dampier in Salt Lake City this season, though, Utah has become masterful at creating its offensive identity in every game outside of the loss to Texas Tech. The Utes want to run the ball first, and Dampier, with his shiftiness and athleticism, plays a big role in making that happen behind the Utes’ fearsome offensive line.
Last week, he ran for three touchdowns and 120 yards on just 10 carries in sparking a 42-10 win over No. 21 Arizona State.
Dampier can make plays with his arm as well. He’s completing 71.5% of his passes, a career high, and has thrown 11 touchdowns to three interceptions during the first half of the season, a noticeable improvement over last season when he was at New Mexico.
How Dampier performs Saturday will dictate how the Utes’ offense does, and going into the matchup, there are plenty of reasons to feel positive about that side of the ball.
Quotable
“Watching Utah film, it is a really talented team with so many different weapons, and that’s in all three phases. They are well-coached. When you are going up against Kyle Whittingham and his staff, the players are going to be well-coached. They’ll be tough and they’ll be physical.
“So it’s going to be a great matchup, and we’re looking forward to the challenge this weekend. It’s going to take our best focus and has every bit of our attention. … We recognize the talent that they have there, and have a lot of respect for the program and their fans.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“There are a lot of coaches down there that were here. I’m grateful for everything they gave us; they were all outstanding for us and did an excellent job.
“Kalani’s a good friend of mine, that’s no secret. He’s become an outstanding head coach.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
Next up
- BYU: at Iowa State on Oct. 25
- Utah: vs. Colorado on Oct. 25
BYU schedule
- Aug. 30 — defeated Portland State, 69-0
- Sept. 6 — defeated Stanford, 27-3
- Sept. 20 — defeated East Carolina, 34-13
- Sept. 27 — defeated Colorado, 24-21
- Oct. 3 — defeated West Virginia, 38-24
- Oct. 11 — defeated Arizona, 33-27
- Oct. 25 — at Iowa State
- Nov. 8 — at Texas Tech
- Nov. 15 — TCU
- Nov. 22 — at Cincinnati
- Nov. 29 — UCF
Utah schedule
- Aug. 30 — defeated UCLA 43-10
- Sept. 6 — defeated Cal Poly 63-9
- Sept. 13 — defeated Wyoming, 31-6
- Sept. 20 — lost to Texas Tech, 34-10
- Sept. 27 — defeated West Virginia, 48-14
- Oct. 11 — defeated Arizona State, 42-10
- Oct. 25 — vs. Colorado
- Nov. 1 — vs. Cincinnati
- Nov. 15 — at Baylor
- Nov. 22 — vs. Kansas State
- Nov. 28 — at Kansas