Holy War ( Utah vs . BYU ) The Holy War is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the University of Utah Utes and Brigham Young University Cougars . The game is part of the larger Utah – BYU rivalry . In this rivalry context , the term " Holy War " refers to the fact that BYU is owned and administered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints ( LDS ) and the University of Utah is a public university owned and administered by the State of Utah . Although many Utah fans are LDS members , the term " Holy War " also refers to the stark cultural differences of the respective fan bases . The proximity of the two schools , the athletic successes of the two teams , and the longevity of the series also contribute to the rivalry . Both teams played in the same conference from 1922 to 2010 and the Holy War game often decided the conference title . Despite Utah moving to the Pacific - 12 Conference in 2011 and BYU becoming an independent that same year , the two universities agreed to play in 2011 and 2012 . A deal has been worked out to play the game in 2013 and 2016 , but the game will not be played in 2014 and 2015 . 2014 – 2015 will be the first interruption in the series since 1943 to 1945 , when BYU did not field a team due to World War II . Rivalry components . There are a number of components that make the Holy War particularly fierce . The University of Utah and Brigham Young University are the two biggest colleges in the state of Utah . There is a stark contrast between the campuses and student bodies , as one is a religious institution while the other is a public university . As the name of the rivalry implies , religion is a large component to the rivalry . Brigham Young University is owned by the LDS church , and thus imposes religious restrictions upon its students . Although both are dry campuses , variation between the religious student body at BYU and more lax , traditional university student body of the U creates further animosity between the two schools . The long length of rivalry is also a major element . Religion . The University of Utah is the flagship university of the state of Utah , while Brigham Young University is the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints ( LDS Church ) . Coaches and administrators might prefer it if religion played less of a role in the rivalry , but some fans and players make an issue of religion . Some fans of BYU are accused of acting arrogant or self - righteous , as if their religious beliefs make them innately superior to Utah fans . Some fans of Utah are accused of being antagonistic through behaviors such as intentionally swearing or drinking alcohol excessively around BYU fans , both of which are known to be forbidden by the Brigham Young University Honor Code . Often lost in this " us vs . them " perspective is the fact that a portion of Utah fans are themselves active members of the LDS church . Longevity . The two schools disagree on when the first game was played . Utah claims that the first game was played in 1896 against Brigham Young Academy . BYU ' s athletic website shows their schedule dating back to 1922 , but no earlier . Utah claims a lead of 57 – 34 – 4 , while BYU claims Utah leads 54 – 31 – 4 ; BYU does not count the six games between Utah and Brigham Young Academy in its records . Utah has a large lead in the overall series due to dominating the rivalry prior to 1972 ( 41 – 8 – 4 ) . From 1972 to 1992 , BYU led the series with a record of 19 – 2 over the Utes . In 1994 the Utes won consecutive games in the series for the first time since 1972 . The rivalry has intensified since 1992 . The last 21 games have resulted in 14 Utah victories and seven for BYU . The largest point spread during the last 21 meetings is 44 points , which occurred in 2011 when Utah won 54 – 10 . Proximity . BYU , which is in Provo , Utah , and the University of Utah , which is in Salt Lake City , Utah , are about fifty miles apart and approximately an hour ' s drive away on Interstate 15 . Consequently , the two teams compete for recruits and fan support . It is not uncommon for friends , neighbors , and even family members to have opposite allegiances . Successful teams . While the two teams have not necessarily been strong at the same time , the two teams have the most conference championships in the Mountain West Conference ( MWC ) . Each team has had four conference championships since the creation of the MWC in 1999 . Utah has twenty - four conference championships in its history , while BYU has twenty - three . Both of these numbers are well ahead of the third place team in the MWC , Colorado State , who has fifteen . Other than the 2011 meeting , the recent games in the Holy War have tended to be close , with the final score of fifteen of the last nineteen games being within a touchdown ( seven points ) or less . BYU can lay claim to a consensus national championship for going undefeated in 1984 and beating Michigan in the 1984 Holiday Bowl . Utah has been to two Bowl Championship Series bowls : the 2005 Fiesta Bowl ( a 35 – 7 victory over Pitt ) and the 2009 Sugar Bowl ( a 31 – 17 victory over Alabama ) . For these BCS bowl victories , Utah finished ranked in the AP Poll # 4 and # 2 , respectively . Series history . The Brigham Young Academy years . Before 1903 , BYU was known as Brigham Young Academy ( BYA ) . During the 1890s , Utah and BYA played six times in football . The two schools split the series 3 – 3 . The first meeting was an unusual April contest that Utah won 12 – 4 . BYA stopped playing football sometime after these six games and did not start again until 1922 , after it had become Brigham Young University ( BYU ) . BYU does not recognize these first six meetings as it only recognizes football games played from 1922 onward . Utah ' s early dominance . After twenty - three years of not having a team , BYU resumed play for the 1922 season . Utah began its early dominance over BYU with a 49 – 0 victory on October 14 , 1922 . BYU would not get another win in the series until 1942 , when the Cougars shocked the Utes 12 – 7 at Utah . The rivalry then took a hiatus from 1943 to 1945 because BYU did not field a team due to World War II . When the rivalry continued in 1946 , the Utes continued their domination over the Cougars , winning or tying the next twelve contests . The rivalry continued this trend into the 1972 season , at which point Utah had amassed a 41 – 8 – 4 ( . 811 ) record against BYU . The LaVell Edwards era . In 1972 , the rivalry shifted in favor of BYU . The Cougars had hired LaVell Edwards and in his first season , BYU beat Utah 16 – 7 for BYU ' s first victory over Utah in four years . The win signaled the beginning of BYU ' s dominance against Utah . From 1972 to 1992 , BYU went 19 – 2 ( . 905 ) against Utah . During those years , Utah went through a series of coaches that all ended with losing records against LaVell Edwards and BYU . Bill Meek ' s Utes went 0 – 2 against Edwards during Meek ' s last two years ( 1972 – 1973 ) . Tom Lovat ( 1974 – 1976 ) was 0 – 3 . Wayne Howard ( 1977 – 1981 ) was 1 – 4 . Chuck Stobart ( 1982 – 1984 ) was 0 – 3 . Jim Fassel was 1 – 4 . Finally , Utah found some success when it hired Ron McBride in 1990 . McBride would finish with a 5 – 6 record against LaVell Edwards , but he started with three consecutive losses to Edwards . 1977 – 1981 : Edwards versus Howard . Wayne Howard ' s Crusade . During the 1977 meeting , BYU was on the way to winning in a 38 – 8 blowout . Nonetheless , LaVell Edwards put starting quarterback Marc Wilson back into the game so Wilson could set an NCAA record for passing yards . Wilson succeeded in setting the record ( subsequently broken ) and finished the game with 571 passing yards . The incident infuriated Utah head coach Wayne Howard . After the game he said , " This today will be inspiring . The hatred between BYU and Utah is nothing compared to what it will be . It will be a crusade to beat BYU from now on . This is a prediction : in the next two years Utah will drill BYU someday , but we won ’ t run up the score even if we could set an NCAA record against them . " The next year , Wayne Howard made good on his promise . The Utes came from behind to upset the Cougars 23 – 22 . The 1978 win was Utah ' s first against a LaVell Edwards coached BYU team . Jim McMahon says , ' Scoreboard . ' . During the 1980 Holy War , BYU quarterback Jim McMahon helped engineer a blowout . Most of the game he was heckled by a contingent of Utah fans at Rice Stadium . After throwing for another touchdown late in the 56 – 6 win , he simply pointed at the scoreboard to quiet the hecklers . The game was in the midst of a 12 – 1 BYU season . It was also their second consecutive win against Utah and their eighth win out of the last nine games against Utah . The fifty point margin of victory is the largest for either team in the series . 1982 – 1984 : Edwards versus Stobart . National Champions . On November 17 , 1984 , BYU entered the Holy War 10 – 0 and ranked # 3 in the AP Poll . BYU overcame several turnovers to win 24 – 14 . BYU would finish the season 13 – 0 and the only undefeated team in Division I - A ( now the Football Bowl Subdivision ) . They were voted number one in the final AP Poll as well as the Coaches ' Poll to become consensus national champions . This was the last time a team not currently affiliated with the BCS won a national championship ; the next most recent was Army in 1945 . 1985 – 1989 : Edwards versus Fassel . The Rice Bowl . In 1988 , Utah had not beaten BYU since 1978 and entered the Holy War as 11 - point underdogs . Utah had a mediocre 5 – 5 record while BYU was 8 – 2 and had already accepted an invitation to the Freedom Bowl . BYU looked ready to humiliate the Utes again . Instead Utah and quarterback Scott Mitchell jumped on BYU early and took a 21 – 0 lead on the way to winning 57 – 28 . The 1988 team set a series record for points scored against BYU — a record that stands today . The game came to be known locally as " the Rice Bowl " because the game was played at Utah ' s Rice Stadium . Revenge . The next year , in 1989 , BYU got their revenge . They set a series record by scoring 70 against Utah . BYU jumped to a 49 – 0 lead before Utah scored its first touchdown just before halftime . Behind quarterback Ty Detmer , BYU would score eight touchdowns on its first eight possessions and amass over 750 yards of total offense during the 70 – 31 win . Utah would score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter against BYU ' s reserves . The 101 points the two teams scored is still a series record . The modern rivalry . By the mid - 1990s , the Cougars ' success leveled off from the years of the 1970s and ' 80s . Around this time , the Utes also improved significantly , and the rivalry became much more competitive . 1990 – 2000 : Edwards versus McBride . The rivalry began to change in 1993 , during Ron McBride ' s fourth season as head coach , the Utes won their first game in Provo in twenty - two seasons and their first since LaVell Edwards became BYU head coach . Late in the fourth quarter , Utah ' s kicker Chris Yergensen , who had already missed two out of three field goals on the day , attempted to break the 31 – 31 tie . This time , Yergensen did not miss and kicked the game - winning 55 - yard field goal , the longest of his career , with less than a minute remaining . After the win , Utah fans and players attempted to tear down the north end zone goalpost at what was then Cougar Stadium . Cougar players returned to the field to protect the goalpost from being torn down . About the incident , Lenny Gomes , a BYU nose guard , said , " Typical Utah bullshit . All those guys think that ' s all there is to life . But when I ' m making $ 50 – 60 , 000 a year , they ' ll be pumping my gas . They ' re low - class losers . " The remark is still remembered in rivalry history today . The 1994 season was McBride ’ s best , as he led the Utes to a 10 – 2 record and a top - 10 finish in national rankings . The Utes and Cougars also staged one of the best matchups in the rivalry ' s history , meeting for the first time as top - 25 ranked teams . The Utes won the game 34 – 31 , which was coincidentally the same score of their meeting a year before . Utah ran its rivalry winning streak up to three games a year later , with a 34 – 17 win at BYU . The Utes and Cougars would trade wins and losses the next couple of years , before the 2000 season . The Kaneshiro Doink . In 1998 , the first Holy War was played at the newly renovated Rice – Eccles Stadium , BYU entered the game with an 8 – 3 , ( 6 – 1 WAC ) record and was playing for a berth in the WAC Championship game . Utah entered the game with a 7 – 3 , ( 5 – 2 WAC ) record and was hoping to land a bowl game and spoil BYU ' s WAC Championship hopes . BYU took a 26 – 17 lead when Owen Pochman connected on a 47 - yard field goal with 2 : 41 left to play in the game . On the ensuing kickoff , Utah ' s Daniel Jones returned the ball 95 yards to cut the lead to 26 – 24 . Utah ' s defense held BYU and forced them to punt . Utah moved the ball to the 15 - yard line where Ryan Kaneshiro attempted a 32 - yard field goal . The attempt bounced off the right upright , which preserved the win for BYU and caused the goalpost to shake from the " doink " . Utah cheerleader pummels an aggressive fan . During the 1999 edition of the Holy War , Utah recorded its fourth consecutive win in Provo . Early in the fourth quarter , Utah scored a touchdown when quarterback T . D . Crowshaw completed a four - yard - pass to Donny Utu to put Utah up 20 – 10 . In celebration , Utah cheerleader Billy Priddis ran along the visitor ' s sideline with a large " U " flag . An unidentified BYU fan ran onto the sideline and tackled Priddis from behind . Priddis turned around and started punching the fan . He landed seven or eight punches before security separated them . About the incident , Priddis said , " " There ' s 65 , 000 fans here , does he think I ' m not going to retaliate ? " From the Utah sideline , receiver Steve Smith taunted BYU fans and yelled , " Even our cheerleaders are kicking your butt . " BYU ' s athletic director Val Hale purported to have chastised Priddis and the rest of the Utah cheerleaders . After the game he said , " I told them from now on we ' re going to leave our flags at home and they should do the same . All it does is initiate the fans to throw things out of the stands . " Edwards ' last game . Entering the 2000 season , legendary head coach LaVell Edwards announced that he was retiring . His final game as Cougars head coach came against the Utes in Salt Lake City , where BYU won 34 – 27 with an exciting last - minute drive that ended on a touchdown with little time remaining on the clock . 2001 and 2002 : Crowton versus McBride . In 2001 , under new head coach Gary Crowton , BYU entered their game against Utah undefeated and looking to become the first team from outside the BCS to play in a BCS bowl game . A tight game ended with a comeback by BYU . BYU running back Luke Staley raced down the sideline with 1 : 16 left to play to make it 24 – 21 and BYU DB Jenaro Gilford intercepted a pass on the ensuing Ute drive to seal the victory . The win gave the Cougars consecutive wins against the Utes for the first time in nearly ten years . The Cougs , however , failed to bust the BCS , losing to Hawai ' i in their final game . McBride , who had guided Utah to six bowl games and three bowl wins , entered the 2002 rivalry game in danger of being fired . The Utes had struggled all season long and even with their 13 – 6 victory against BYU , Utah finished with their second losing season in three years . The 5 – 6 finish sealed McBride ’ s fate and he was fired in 2002 ; Weber State University hired him in December 2004 . 2003 and 2004 : Crowton versus Meyer . Urban Meyer was hired to replace Ron McBride . Under Meyer , Utah players were not allowed to use the name BYU and began referring rather to the Team Down South or TDS ( BYU being about 50 miles south of the University of Utah ) , imitating Ohio State coach Woody Hayes practice of referring to Michigan as " that team up north . " This reference has become a tradition among some Utah fans . Scoring streak ends . In Meyer ' s first season , the Utes won the Mountain West Conference and finished 10 – 2 , which was their best record since the 1994 season . The last game of the regular season , Utah beat BYU for the second straight year with a 3 – 0 victory . The victory snapped BYU ' s NCAA record for scoring in 361 straight games — BYU ' s first shutout since a 20 – 0 loss to Arizona State on September 25 , 1975 . BCS busters . In 2004 Utah would have its best season up to that point , going 12 – 0 and becoming the first team from outside the BCS to play in a BCS bowl game . They went on to win their matchup against Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl . The Utes final regular season game , a 52 – 21 victory over BYU , clinched the invitation to a BCS bowl . Urban Meyer then left Utah for Florida . After the 2004 season , Gary Crowton resigned after finishing with his third consecutive losing season . 2005 – present : Mendenhall versus Whittingham . In 2005 , Bronco Mendenhall and Kyle Whittingham started as head coaches at their respective programs . Whittingham was offered the job at BYU before turning it down and accepting the position at Utah . This has added to the rivalry between the two coaches . Whittingham leads Mendenhall 6 – 3 in the series . Seven of the nine games have been decided by a touchdown or less . In a December 17 , 2009 column , writer Stewart Mandel called the coaching rivalry the best coaching rivalry of that decade . First overtime game . The 2005 season saw some striking parallels between the two programs . Both had replaced their former head coaches , struggled through parts of their seasons , and would finish the regular season with 6 – 5 records . When the two met in Provo in November 2005 , BYU was looking for its first win against the Utes in three seasons . Utah was looking for a winning record and a shot at a bowl game . BYU entered as the favorite because Utah would be playing without its starting quarterback and its best wide receiver , who had been injured in their previous game . The Utes were starting JC transfer Brett Ratliff who had taken just three snaps the week before . Ratliff surprised the Cougars by completing 17 of 32 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns , and rushing for 112 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown . He was responsible for all five Utah touchdowns . The Utes won 41 – 34 . Beck to Harline . When the two teams met again in November 2006 , this time in Salt Lake City , BYU jumped out to an early lead , then fell behind and trailed for much of the game , but finally won it 33 – 31 with an impressive last - minute drive , capped by a touchdown pass from John Beck to Jonny Harline with no time on the clock . The win gave BYU an undefeated record of 8 – 0 in Mountain West Conference play . Harline caught the pass on his knees in the endzone . It is often said , during rivalry week , " Harline is still open " . Magic happens . . In 2007 the teams clashed on November 24 , in what was a mostly defensive game . The game ' s first 12 points were only field goals , BYU ' s Mitch Payne scoring 9 points . Utah then scored the first touchdown , taking the lead 10 – 9 . In the fourth quarter , BYU came back with a late - game drive that included a 4th and 18 from its own 12 - yard line . Four plays later , freshman running back Harvey Unga bulled into the endzone to win it 17 – 10 . Austin Collie , who caught the Max Hall pass to convert the 4th and 18 to a first down said about the play , " I wouldn ' t say it was lucky . We executed the play well . We should have had another one . Obviously , when you ' re doing what ' s right on and off the field , I think the Lord steps in and plays a part in it . Magic happens . " The comment further fueled the religious animosity between the two teams . BCS busting . . . again . Only four years removed from shocking the world in 2004 and becoming the first team from outside the BCS to bust into the BCS , Utah returned to the national stage by going undefeated throughout the year . The game was fairly even until Utah scored a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the half to put the Utes up by 10 . In the second half , BYU cut the lead to three by the end of the third quarter but couldn ' t keep Utah out of the endzone in the fourth quarter . Utah would score three times in the final quarter to win 48 - 24 . Utah was then invited to the All State Sugar Bowl to play against the University of Alabama . Utah once again shocked the world by beating the Crimson Tide 31 - 17 after Utah jumped out to a 21 - 0 lead in the first quarter . Second overtime game . In 2009 , in the second overtime game in series history , BYU defeated Utah 26 – 23 . BYU held a 20 – 6 lead entering the fourth quarter . Utah scored 14 fourth - quarter points to force overtime , but their comeback fell short . Utah managed a field goal in overtime to take a 23 – 20 lead , but on BYU ' s possession , Max Hall connected to tight end Andrew George for a 25 - yard touchdown reception and the victory . The game was dubbed " George is still running " by BYU fans . During the postgame press conference , Hall was asked if he felt he had redeemed himself for his performance in the previous year ' s game in which he had five interceptions and one fumble . Hall responded , " A little bit , yeah . I don ' t like Utah . In fact , I hate them . I hate everything about them . I hate their program . I hate their fans . I hate everything . So , it feels good to send those guys home . They didn ' t deserve it . It was our time and it was our time to win . We deserved it . We played as hard as we could tonight , and it felt really good to send them home and to get them out of here , so it is a game I ' ll always remember . " When asked for a clarification and whether he really hated Utah , Hall said , " I think the whole university and their fans and organization is classless . They threw beer on my family and stuff last year , and did a whole bunch of nasty things . I don ' t respect them , and they deserve to lose . " The next day , Hall issued an apology for his " remarks " . He alleged that his " family was spit on , had beer dumped on them and were physically assaulted on several occasions " during the previous year ' s game at Rice – Eccles Stadium . Burton ' s block . For 2010 , the game was played at Rice - Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City . It was the last game for the two teams as conference rivals . BYU entered the game with a 6 – 5 while Utah came in at 9 – 2 . In a low scoring affair , BYU scored two field goals , one in each of the first two quarters , to lead 6 – 0 at halftime . In the third quarter , the Cougars got a touchdown on a 21 - yard pass play from Jake Heaps to McKay Jacobson , to take a 13 – 0 lead . The fourth quarter began with Utah scoring a 40 - yard field goal , cutting the lead to 13 – 3 , and then after Utah recovered a BYU fumble , Utah capitalized with a 37 - yard touchdown pass from Jordan Wynn to DeVonte Christopher to make the score 13 – 10 . The Cougars responded with a field goal , to make it 16 – 10 . Utah responded to a series of turnovers with a Matt Asiata touchdown on a 3 - yard run to make it 17 – 16 with 4 : 24 remaining . BYU then drove down the field to Utah ' s 22 - yard line , to set up Mitch Payne for a game - winning field goal with 4 seconds remaining . However , Utah cornerback Brandon Burton raced from the outside to block the kick and secure a 17 – 16 Utah victory . Rivalry tensions were heightened in the play ' s aftermath , as several Utah players taunted the Cougars trying to leave the field . Matt Martinez , a Utah linebacker , was seen shoving senior BYU kicker Mitch Payne . Shock and awe . With Utah having left for the Pac - 12 and BYU declaring conference independence , the 2011 BYU home game against Utah was the rivalry ' s first non - conference game since 1898 . BYU suffered a rough start on its opening drive , when on its third play , the ball was snapped over quarterback Jake Heaps ' head and recovered for a touchdown by Utah DE Derrick Shelby . The remainder of the 1st quarter held similar luck for BYU , with Running back JJ Di ' Luigi fumbling on 1st and Goal from the Utah 6 - yard line . The 2nd quarter proved more competitive with BYU completing a 32 - yard TD pass to WR Ross Apo . Utah answered with 30 - yard TD pass from QB Jordan Wynn to freshman TE Jake Murphy , just two minutes before the half . Utah led at halftime 14 - 10 . After a first half that seemed to promise the typical nail - biter game that the last decade of the rivalry had shown , it was anything but . The Utes scored 40 unanswered points in the 2nd half ( a total of 47 unanswered ) . Turnovers continued to plague BYU , who would finish with 7 , including JD Falslev ' s mishandled kickoff return at their own 6 - yard line , QB Jake Heaps fumble at their own 6 - yard line , and QB Riley Nelson ' s ( substituted in for Heaps in the 4th quarter ) fumble after being sacked , returned 57 yards for a TD by freshman LB V . J Fehoko . The final result of 54 – 10 was the largest margin of victory for either team in the Holy War since a 55 – 7 BYU victory in 1983 , and Utah ' s second - largest margin of victory ever in the Holy War . Utah ' s 54 points were the second most the Utes had ever scored against BYU . Fandemonium . The 2012 incarnation of the Holy War ended in dramatic and odd fashion . Utah went into the 4th quarter up 17 points , but the BYU offense brought it within 3 . With less than 30 seconds remaining , BYU quarterback Riley Nelson successfully drove into Utah territory on 4th and long with a 40 - yard pass to wide receiver Cody Hoffman . On what was thought to be the final play of the game , Nelson ' s deflected pass fell incomplete as time seemingly expired and the Utah fans rushed the field . The pass , however , was shown to hit the ground with one second left , giving BYU an opportunity to kick a field goal from 51 yards ( once the fans had been cleared from the field of play ) . On the attempt , the kick was blocked , the ball recovered by BYU , and the runner subsequently tackled . However , Utah fans again rushed the field , this time before the play was over , thus earning a penalty that gave BYU another chance at a field goal , this one from only 36 yards . That attempt was unsuccessful , however , when the kick hit the post and went awry . Utah won the game , 24 - 21 . Future games . A deal has been worked out to play the game in 2016 , 2017 , and 2018 , but the game will not be played in 2014 and 2015 . 2014 – 2015 will be the first interruption in the series since 1943 to 1945 , when BYU did not field a team due to World War II . Pointing to Utah ' s 9 game PAC - 12 conference schedule and a home and home series with the Michigan Wolverines in 2014 and 2015 , Utah ' s athletic director Chris Hill cited concerns about " over - scheduling " as the primary reason for the two - year Holy War intermission . The two schools will play in Provo on September 9 , 2017 and return to Rice Eccles Stadium on November 24 , 2018 . Game results . " BYU victories are colored ██ dark blue . Utah victories are colored ██ crimson . Ties are white . " Series record sources : College Football Data Warehouse . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > At the time BYU was Brigham Young Academy ( BYA ) later the name changed to Brigham Young University .