The Holy War came to LaVell Edwards Stadium, and Provo was already vibrating with energy. Dating back to 1922, this rivalry remains one of the fiercest in college football and one of the biggest Big 12 matchups of the week. For those less familiar with the history, former Utah HC Urban Meyer’s intensity helped define the rivalry. During his tenure at Utah, Meyer banned blue pens and markers from the football offices, covered every visible “Y” around the facility, and instructed his players to never refer to BYU by name, only as “the team down south.” Naturally, when Meyer appeared on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show in Provo, the BYU crowd responded accordingly.

Meyer was greeted with a chorus of boos from the BYU crowd. The jeers echoed across the stadium each time Meyer appeared on camera or attempted to speak. The former Utes coach took it all in stride, but the noise grew louder. The incident sparked conversation online about sportsmanship and the deep-rooted tension between BYU and Utah fans. For many Cougar supporters, the animosity traces back to Meyer’s stint at Utah from 2003 to 2004. They claim Meyer’s tenure shifted the rivalry’s tone from civil to ugly and hateful.

BYU tops the conference table with a 6-0 winning streak and is ranked 15th in the AP poll. Utah, on the other hand, is 5-1, trailing behind the rival, and is ranked 23rd. Although BYU ranks high, Utah is listed as a 3.5-point favorite on the Cougars’ field. While the crew members chose their picks, Meyer predicted a 32-24 win for Utah, and four out of six crew members picked Utah as the favorite, justifying the odds.

Meyer served as Utah’s coach from 2003 to 2004; in both seasons, the Utes attained major success. Before Meyer arrived at Utah, the program had only eight wins in the previous 31 games. In his first year, Utah defeated BYU by 3-0, ending BYU’s scoring streak at 361 straight games. He also won the MVC title that year for Utah with a 10-2 record. In the second year, he led the team to a 12-0 win, keeping Utah on top against BYU. 

Despite the disrespect, every year, Meyer barely misses the BYU-Utah clash.

Utah seeks revenge for BYU’s controversial win

Last year, when Utah hosted BYU at Rice-Eccles Stadium, BYU defeated Utah by 22-21 in a controversial way. Utah’s early dominance in the second quarter almost secured its win until a series of calls went against the Utes. This includes a controversial pass interference call nullifying a fourth-down sack of BYU quarterback Retzlaff. BYU’s Will Ferrin then scored a 44-yard goal, as time expired, leading to a 22-21 win.

The controversial ending turned heads, as Utah athletic director Mark Harlan protested, claiming that the game was “stolen” from them. On the other hand, the frustrated HC Whittingham kicked a chair as he left. This gave BYU back-to-back wins against the Utes, and this time, Utah looks for revenge.

This rivalry fuels the fans’ hunger, as the foundation was set last year. Taking a look at this historical rivalry, both teams played 96 times, in which Utah leads with a 59-33-4 record. This game is expected to be the most-watched rivalry game between the two, breaking the previous year’s record of 2.1M views. As both teams battle in a few hours, who do you think will win this year’s rivalry game, punching their ticket to Arlington?