The BYU-Utah rivalry is back, and it means more to the Utes than before – Salt Lake Tribune

Backstage at the 2015 Las Vegas Bowl pep rally, Utah kicker Andy Phillips issued a challenge to punter Tom Hackett that ended with a bit of Ute lore: The last one to throw his water bottle into the trash can across the room, had to speak to a crowd of raucous fans one day before the team played its fiercest rival.

“And of course I lost,” Hackett recalled recently. “I didn’t have anything planned to say.”

Then he found the words that would remain infamous throughout a century of rivalry history.

“I’m fortunate enough to be one of the many players on the football team that has never actually lost to those bastards,” Hackett told the crowd of Ute and Cougar fans. “Which brings me to an end and saying, it’s Utah’s world, and BYU lives in it.”

At this point, the cheeky Aussie was probably right.

The Utes were looking for Power Five wins and the Cougars were avoiding the irrelevance of independence. From 2010-19, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham led the Utes to a nine-game winning streak over “The Team Down South.”

And when Utah put the rivalry on hold to schedule non-conference games with Michigan and Florida, then-Utes athletic director Chris Hill added fuel to the fire when he said his “dark, dirty secret is that our fans are not disappointed.” skipping the storied in-state rivalry.

“It was just a true statement,” Hill recently told The Salt Lake Tribune. “What did I hear from the fans? That was it. It had nothing to do with trying to create a problem for BYU. It had everything to do with what was best for us.”

But on Saturday, when the Utes and Cougars face off for the first time since 2021, it will be BYU with everything to lose. For this season, at least, that’s BYU’s world — and what’s best for Utah in the midst of a losing season is playing spoiler to a bitter rival.

“Well, usually historically we’ve been pretty good in that chip-on-our-shoulder situation,” Whittingham said Monday, acknowledging the Utes’ role as underdogs. “This is unusual for us. you’re right This is unusual and therefore something that hasn’t happened in quite some time. But that’s not our driving force or driving motivating factor.”

“It’s a turning of the tables”

For lifelong BYU fan Lance Pierce, the color of ties and socks has always been an indicator of one’s commitment to Utah or BYU during Sunday services at his Latter-day Saint ward.

Ute fans often wear bright red socks and ties and sneak the U. logo into their Sunday best. Meanwhile, Pierce has an abundance of royal blue ties, socks, and perhaps his favorite item: “Y” cufflinks.

“It’s discreet, but everybody knows what’s going on,” Pierce said. “Everybody knows who’s blue and who’s red, and we’ll all go out to dinner together and have a good time.” But believe me, bragging in church on Sunday is a huge deal.

For the past 20 years, Utah has held those rights. The Utes have won six of the seven rivalry games played since 2003.

And during a decade of football independence for BYU, Pierce said, those rivalry games were the only thing to really look forward to on the Cougars’ schedule.

“That was the game for us because if we could beat the Utes, it kind of reaffirmed our independence and that we’re not second-class citizens,” Pierce said.

The feeling wasn’t always reciprocated by the Utes or their fans.

“I just think it was kind of like the Super Bowl for them,” Hackett said. “For us (in Utah), we had some other juggernauts to take care of.”

“When you step back from being a player in the program and look at the big picture [it] it makes sense,” Phillips told The Tribune, “From a national branding standpoint and exposure standpoint for a program like this, yeah, it’s a great move. In theory, this BYU game was a meaningless game because it was non-conference.

“But if you take it back to the weeds in the locker room, I mean it’s been as intense a week as any other week.”

Now that the Cougars are one of the best teams in the country, there is a change in atmosphere. Part of that is because both programs are together in the same conference for the first time in a decade. Part of that is because the Utes are about to have their first losing season since 2013.

“Now there’s a turning of the tables,” Pierce said. “They will get the same bounce we would have if we beat them when we were independents. Their whole season now is going to be about beating us (BYU).”

Jeff Randall, a Utah physician and lifelong Utes fan, is excited to see the game return to the conference because the stakes will be higher for both programs.

However, he is not looking forward to the thought of the game swinging back in BYU’s favor. A win this weekend would snap a two-game winning streak for the Cougars that stretches into 2021. And BYU’s recent wins reminded Randall of the 1980s, when the Cougars had a streak of their own over the Utes.

“You kind of dreaded the BYU-Utah game in the ’80s because you knew the Utes were going to get beat,” Randle said. “I never looked forward to BYU fans wearing their BYU ties or their BYU clip to church next Sunday with a smug smile on their face.

“It was nice not having him for the last 10 years. I’m kind of looking at this game with a little bit of trepidation.”

But he still has hope.

“I’m really glad we’re in the same conference again,” Randle said. “I think it’s going to pick up right with the intensity it had all those years ago. And hopefully, ideally, the game will be the same for years to come.”

The final result on Saturday will dictate the talks on Sunday.

“The problem with some BYU fans is they can get a little hypocritical when they win,” Randle said. “There are some that are like that, and they just leave you shaking your head and saying, ‘I’m not sure God cares who wins.’

Pierce added, “If BYU wins, I’m going to raise my hand at the beginning of our priesthood meeting and say, ‘We really appreciate you letting us win this game.’ I’m sorry your time in the Big 12 isn’t going the way you had hoped.”

“It will always matter”

Terrell Burgess, Utah quarterback from 2016-19, still has vivid memories of the intense preparation and vitriol that filled a week of practice before the rivalry game between BYU and Utah.

Often, Whittingham and the coaching staff played highlight tape of Utah’s wins over BYU in their teams’ meetings. The tape would be played on every television in Utah’s facilities to serve as a daily reminder of the high stakes and bad blood.

To this day, Burgess, a native of San Marcos, Calif., still calls the Cougars “TDS.”

“There was always a feeling in the facility that there was always a big game on the schedule,” Burgess said. “It will always matter and it will always be considered a good game.”

Flash forward to this season and a new chapter in the rivalry will begin.

BYU is loaded with former Whittingham assistants and coordinators, including Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and defensive coordinator Jay Hill.

The fans go nuts.

Phillips and Utah fans still have some frustration with the way Utah’s season went.

“I think Utah fans are just going to rely on those excuses, which are valid to a certain extent,” Phillips said. “But I’m super disappointed, just because I look at the game next week and I’m like, ‘Hey, if we had done our job this year, we’d be talking about all kinds of exposure and maybe even a College Gameday type of situation that would be a great opportunity to branding of both programs.”

But playing the underdog has its perks.

The Utes, who have no chance of reaching the CFP or the Big 12 title, could spoil their archrival’s Cinderella season.

“It’s obvious now that Utah isn’t playing for a ton,” Hackett said. “If you can beat your big rivals and somewhat derail their season, then you’ll probably leave 2024 disappointed but knowing you played a part in putting smiles on some fans’ faces and have the bragging rights for at least one more year (I’ll feel good).”

For the first time in a while, the rivalry may actually mean more to Utah than ever before.

“Winning against BYU is just important no matter the circumstances,” Hill said. “At the end of the day, winning against BYU is Nirvana and losing is really tough. No matter what BYU’s record is and no matter what Utah’s record is, it’s always an important game.”

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