The Utes completed their regular season with a stunning come back against their in-state rivals, the BYU Cougars and finished the season 9-3.
Utah found themselves trailing 20-0 at home at halftime, and 27-7 late in the third quarter before ratting off 28 unanswered points, including four straight touchdown drives to beat BYU 35-27.
Utah’s victory was the 8th straight in the rivalry.
Utah’s offense was stagnant throughout the first half, and the defense had no answer for BYU freshman Zach Wilson and running back Matt Hadley, who helped lead BYU to 110 rushing yards at halftime. But a second half injury to Hadley who had to leave the game, and a better effort from Utah’s offense saw the Utes limit the Cougars to just 43 second half rushing yards, preventing BYU from bleeding the clock, and moving the ball consistently.
Utah’s quarterback Jason Shelley, a redshirt freshman finished the game 19/28 passing for just 141 yards, and one touchdown, but for a third straight start kept the Utes turnover free. Shelley also rushed for 61 yards, including a game clinching 33 yard scramble for touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
The Utes win didn’t impact their PAC-12 South title, after defeating Stanford, Arizona, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Colorado en route to a 6-3 PAC-12 season.
The Utes now travel to Santa Clara to take on the Washington Huskies Friday night for a chance to win their first PAC-12 title.
