The Holy War was very one-sided since the split point, where rivals BYU and Utah took diverging paths from one another, with the former opting for football independence and the latter going the way of the Pac-12 Conference (pre Mountain West Plus days). The Utes won 9 straight contests over the Cougars as Utah dominated recruiting in the Beehive State and BYU scrambled to find its footing with the departure of Bronco Mendenhall.
But from the moment that BYU announced it would be accepting an invitation to the Big 12 Conference, everything changed.
Since that moment, BYU football has rushed back into the driver's seat of the rivalry. Now three wins into the Cougars' victory streak and in the aftermath of Kyle Whittingham's exit from the Utah sidelines, what better moment to reminisce on each win in the Cougars' win streak, and bring to memory some of the highest highs in recent history.
Ranking BYU football's greatest wins over Utah in current streak
3. 2025, 24-21 at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
With both teams entering the field ranked in the top 25 with Big 12 standings implications of the line. Both teams bringing a brand-new quarterback into the action -- BYU's freshman Bear Bachmeier and Utah's newly-arriving transfer Devon Dampier -- this seemed like a rivalry renewal in so many ways.
This being the rivals' second meeting on equal footing (the Big 12 Conference) since they were adversaries in the Mountain West Conference, Utah had made up much of the ground BYU gained in the program's extra few years of membership.
After a scoreless first quarter, BYU was first on the board with a pinpoint backshoulder throw to Chase Roberts who lifted a shaka-shaped "Y" into the sky as he tamped into the endzone.
The Utes would answer later in the quarter, knotting the score a 7 each, and would force a 3-and-out on the following possession before a muffed punt put the Cougars in excellent field goal range, and Will Ferrin's leg would put BYU back in front before halftime, 10-7.
Another scoreless quarter before the offenses finally broke free at the beginning of the third quarter, as a long Ute sprint gave the visitors their first lead of the game.
A Parker Kingston jet sweep pushed BYU out in front again, and that lead wouldn't change hands again for the remainder of the game. Devon Dampier's errant toss over the middle was gobbled up by Tanner Wall at safety, and it was BYU ball once again.
That's when a Bear broke loose.
Leaping over defenders and crawling through arm tackles, the BYU quarterback pushed the ball over the plain -- with some help from the offensive line -- while dragging Ute defenders into the end zone.
That would be the deciding score, despite a late comeback effort from the Utes.
2. 2021, 26-17 at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
BYU football hadn't beaten their rivals to the North in over a decade, and a win was well overdue.
With an early-season meeting lined up and the Utes carrying a top-25 ranking into enemy territory, BYU football was intent on making a statement win and finally snapping the streak that loomed over the program like a dark cloud for all of recent memory.
And for once, it was Utah who had trouble taking care of the football, as an early interception and fumble pushed BYU out in front with a 3-0 lead early. Then a statement sling from quarterback Jaren Hall to Neil Pau'u stretched the lead to 10-0.
After stuffing the Utes on fourth down in the final minutes of the first half, BYU managed to march down the field and hit Samson Nacua -- a former Ute wide-out -- to extend the lead to 16-7. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during Nacua's celebration pushed the PAT backward, and forced a miss.
That single point wouldn't matter in the end, gratefully.
A Gunner Romney touchdown reception stretched the lead even further to 23-6, and the favorite Utes were witnessing their streak dissolve before their eyes as BYU dominated on both ends of the field.
I will argue to the end of my life that Jaren Hall didn't step out of bounds on a field-length sprint that would have put a lid on the game at 30-17, but settling for a field goal and the win, BYU rushed the field with this monumental victory -- and an emphatic one at that -- 26-17.
1. 22-21 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
A controversial one, but undeniably one of the greatest games in the Holy War's storied history.
BYU entered this game undefeated with an 8-0 record, and the staggering Utes were out of answers and hemorrhaging losses in their first season of Big 12 membership. All the same, the playing field is leveled when rivals like these mirror one another at the line of scrimmage.
And that's exactly what happened. Despite the Utes entering this game with their third-string quarterback, they managed to solve BYU's stout defense, scoring 21 points in the second quarter to send their home crowd into a frenzy, and the visiting Cougars were shell-shocked. Even with a kick return touchdown from eventual All-American Keelan Marrion, BYU couldn't manage to regain control from Utah's rolling offensive machine.
Brant Kuithe high-stepped across the plain, and Micah Bernard stretched over the pylon to bury the visitors in a 21-10 lead.
But BYU was a top-10 team for a reason, and despite struggling to score the ball in a hostile environment, the Cougars slowly crawled back to shrink the deficit. The Utes wouldn't score again for the remainder of the game, only putting points on the board in the second quarter.
Still, BYU had a two-point difference to make up, and the whole field to march down to make that happen with just two minutes to go. And after four quick plays and a Utah sack on fourth down, the game seemed to be over for the unbeaten Cougs.
If only there weren't a defensive holding penalty.
It was the right call, as a Ute cornerback held and impeded a BYU receiver's route, but that would be the talking point after the final whistle had blown.
Jake Retzlaff wasted no time to push against the reeling Ute defense, hitting Chase Roberts deep downfield and handing off to Hinckley Ropati on an airborne chunk rush.
With no timeouts and the clock running down, Will Ferrin lined up a go-ahead field goal in the final seconds of the contest. Ice water flowed through his veins, and the field goal was perfect. BYU stole a win on Utah's home field, 22-21.
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