After BYU played cleaner football than Utah and got better decisions from its coaching staff in Saturday night's 24-21 victory over the mistake-prone Utes in the rivalry game, none of the Cougars had to be reminded what happened last year after they defeated Utah 22-21 in a just-as-emotional contest in Salt Lake City.
"We beat Utah and then lost the next two, right," said receiver Chase Roberts . "I think we learned from last year. So this year, I think that's not going to happen. We have the mindset now, like, 'OK, we've learned from last year. Let's not do the same thing. Let's learn from our mistakes and move forward and keep winning games.'"
The Cougars outlasted the Utes on Nov. 9, 2024, to improve to 9-0, but quarterback Jake Retzlaff was dinged up after directing the game-winning drive in the final moments, and the No. 8 Cougars were stunned 17-13 by unranked Kansas , a loss that basically kept them out of the College Football Playoff.
The following week, they dropped a 28-23 decision at No. 21 Arizona State, the eventual Big 12 champions.
The path ahead could actually be more difficult than last year's. Undefeated BYU (4-0, 7-0) is now ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 and has to play at 5-2 Iowa State on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MDT, FOX) with the Cyclones coming off a bye.
Then the Cougars get a bye before heading out to Lubbock to match up with a Texas Tech team that was believed to be the Big 12's best before it lost 26-22 to the Sun Devils on Saturday. BYU is an early two-point underdog in Ames, and will probably be a bigger underdog in Lubbock.
"We will review the film of this game (on Monday), get the corrections and go from there," said safety Tanner Wall. "All of our focus now goes to Iowa State. Last year the Utah game was a little later in the year, and an emotional, crazy win. Coming off that win, we lost the next week. So we got to focus on not riding this one too high, recovering this week, and really focus and prepare for a good Iowa State team on the road."
Utah also struggled after the rivalry game loss in 2024, falling 49-24 at No. 17 Colorado and then 31-28 to No. 22 Iowa State at home last November.
"It was a great game, and I'm just glad that we were able to get that victory. But you know, we've got to figure some things out for next week, because last year we won this game and we didn't win the next one," said BYU coach Kalani Sitake . "So as emotional and as excited we are to win this game … we got to put this one away, and then move on and find ways to stay humble, stay hungry and get ready for the next week, because this does take a lot out of you.
"We've got to find a way to perform at our best next week, and we'll work on that," Sitake continued. "But great game, great victory, and I'm happy for the fans and happy for everyone involved."
Roberts and Wall both talked after the game about how proud they are to be 3-0 against the Utes, as both were on the team as redshirt freshmen when BYU won 26-17 in Provo in 2021, a win that snapped Utah's nine-game winning streak in the series.
"I love this quote — people ask what it is like to lose (to Utah)," said Roberts, a fifth-year senior. "Then you say, I guess I will never know, right?"
Roberts caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Bear Bachmeier and was targeted eight times by the freshman, but caught only one other pass, a 26-yarder.
"It has been fun playing Utah over the past four or five years. It's my favorite game. Just the energy, the atmosphere, it's unlike anything else," Roberts said. "You feel it, and to be 3-0 against them, it's pretty special, and something that I will cherish for the rest of my life, for sure."
Bountiful High product Faletau Satuala, who picked BYU over the Utes two years ago, led BYU with 12 tackles and delivered one of those hits that will be replayed over and over again every time the rivalry game is played, decking a Utah receiver with a clean hit on the Utah sidelines.
Wall was BYU's second-leading tackler, with 10, and also had his second interception of the season and fifth in his career.
"I was a part of all three of those wins, and to be able to say I leave this place having never lost to Utah, I will wear that with a lot of pride for the rest of my life. I am grateful to the coaches, all my teammates, and the best fans in the world, too," Wall said. "The atmosphere tonight was unreal."
Now that BYU has won three straight, is holding its own in the instate recruiting battles with Utah, much will be written and said over the next couple of months about whether or not the Cougars have surpassed the Utes for instate football supremacy.
Wall, for one, believes they have.
"There has been a great shift, even amongst recruiting in this state," said Wall, who is from Virginia but says he's been a BYU fan since he "came out of the womb" and watched memorable rivalry games from 2006 onward. "I think we've seen that as we continue to win on big recruits who are being recruited by both us and them. And I believe that this is the start of a longer streak of wins for us in our program."
It was clear Saturday night that the Cougars are no longer intimidated by the Utes, now that the programs are on equal footing as Big 12 members. Although Utah took a 14-10 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 49-yard touchdown run by Bray, Roberts said the Cougars always believed they were going to win.
He said there's been a "180-degree" turnaround in the culture the past five years.
"Like, we just know we're gonna win the game, just with the culture that we have and the standard that we've set," Roberts said. "When we rep the Y, we have it on our helmet, we have it on our heart, we feel like we have the team to just go out and win a football game no matter what's happening. … Like, someone's going to step up, and we're just going to find a way to win the game and that's what we feel every time we step on the field."
When comparing programs, consider this: BYU is 18-2 in the last season and a half, while Utah is 10-10 in that same stretch as a Big 12 member. Utah has lost its last five bowl games; BYU has won two straight bowl games, and three of its last four.
Did Sitake see this coming?
"I am actually having a great time coaching these young men and being around these fans. I wish I could say, yeah, I saw it coming," Sitake said. "But we will take it day by day, week by week. Honestly, I am just super grateful and just appreciate the opportunity that I have. It is still a dream, because I grew up a BYU fan, cheering for Kyle Whittingham and Robbie Bosco, Steve Young and Ty Detmer and all those (legends), and then I got to play for LaVell (Edwards), and then I got to be the head coach. I am living a great dream and I am trying to appreciate it as much as possible."
No. 11 BYU (4-0, 7-0) at Iowa State (2-2, 5-2)
• Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MDT
• At Jack Trice Stadium
• Ames, Iowa
• TV: FOX
• Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM
