Will Utah’s third straight loss to BYU impact Kyle Whittingham’s decision on when he retires?

Utah’s nine-game win streak over BYU — one that tied the longest winning streak in the fierce rivalry — feels like it happened more than a decade ago at this point.

The reality is that it’s only been since 2019 that the Utes have beaten the Cougars.

With the Cougars’ 24-21 win over the Utes on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU is now on a three-game streak in the longstanding rivalry.

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“They made the plays tonight, made the plays they needed to make. We didn’t match that,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said after the latest loss.

While Whittingham has an 11-6 record versus BYU since taking over Utah following the BCS busting 2004 season, it’s little solace right now for a Utes program that has gone through its share of pains the past three seasons.

That includes three straight hard-to-swallow losses to their rival.

There was speculation that Whittingham would retire following a trying 2024 season wherein Utah went 5-7. This summer, he said he “couldn’t stomach” ending his career like that, and it inspired him to return for his 21st year as the Utes’ head coach.

Would three straight losses to BYU impact his decision-making on whether the 65-year-old Whittingham would decide to return next season?

“No. We won nine in a row before that, so we’re still on the very plus side of that ledger,” he said Saturday night.

Utah outgained BYU 470 yards to 368 Saturday, and the Utes were better on third downs, going 5 of 12 to the Cougars’ 3 of 12.

But costly mistakes, sloppy play and leaving points on the board (a byproduct of going 1 of 5 on fourth downs, including two inside the 20) meant Utah left Provo with a devastating loss.

BYU, meanwhile, made the key plays when it needed to. The Cougars won the turnover battle, 2-0, and committed fewer penalties while keeping their hopes for a College Football Playoff berth intact.

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Bear Bachmeier, the Cougars’ freshman quarterback, was largely able to handle the Utes’ defensive pressure, as he completed 13 of 22 passes for 166 yards and a first-half touchdown.

He also ran for 64 yards on 11 carries, none bigger than his 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter where he carried multiple defenders into the end zone.

“We didn’t play the quarterback run game. That QB draw (for the touchdown) really was damaging,” Whittingham said. “(It) was a third and a lot, and he got the QB draw down there in the red zone.”

The loss, in some ways, mirrored Utah’s only other defeat this year, when the Utes fell to Texas Tech 34-10.

That day, the Utes lost the turnover battle and yet found themselves taking a lead early in the fourth quarter of a defensive struggle, only to watch the opposing team battle back and regain momentum with back-breaking scores.

At least this time, there was some hope for a late rally if Utah could recover an onside kick after scoring a touchdown with 1:24 to play.

“That (Texas Tech loss) was much more dramatic in the way it happened. We eventually closed (Saturday) to 24-21,” Whittingham said. “We had a shot at the end, we didn’t execute the onside kick at the very end (tonight), but at least we had a shot. The Texas Tech game, we didn’t have a shot.”

While it was closer, the taste is a bit more bitter after Utah fell again to its rival.