DJ & PK’s Best Utah/BYU Rivalry Moments: Utah’s Game-Winning Field Goal In Provo
Oct 28, 2024, 4:33 PM | Updated: Oct 29, 2024, 2:11 pm
7 Sep 1996: Head coach Ron McBride of the University of Utah during warm ups prior to the Utes 17-10 win over Stanford at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule/ALLSPORT
SALT LAKE CITY – With the long-awaited Utah and BYU Football matchup quickly approaching, DJ & PK decided to look back at some of the best moments in the history of the rivalry.
Coming in at No. 10, Chris Yergensen’s game-winning field goal in Cougar country.
Utah’s Game-Winner Makes It Competitive
Leading up to the fateful November matchup in 1993, the Utes had lost 18 of the last 20 games against the Cougars and hadn’t picked up a win in Provo since 1971.
As the 6-5 Utah Football team entered Cougar Stadium, it was fair to assume that hopes were low.
Regardless, Utah led 14-3 after the first and 17-10 at halftime. Motivated by the looming rivalry loss, BYU turned up the heat after the break.
They held Utah scoreless in the third and tied the game at 17 going into the final quarter.
The Utes and Cougs traded scores in the fourth until the score sat at 31-31. Utah was left with less than a minute on the clock to go down the field and steal the win.
When the BYU defense held strong and got the Utah offense on a fourth down, the Utes opted for a 55-yard field goal.
Utah’s kicker, Chris Yergensen, had a career-long of 51 and had already missed three field goals and an extra point earlier in the game. The 55-yarder was a long shot both literally and figuratively.
However, he stepped up to the spot with all the confidence in the world and drilled it. As the clock expired, Utes fans in Provo stormed the field and went straight for the goalpost.
.@Spencer_Linton brought this to my attention. After Utah’s 34-31 win over #BYU in 1993, the #Utah fans/team tried to tear down the goal posts in Cougar Stadium. Former BYU TE @Chadlewis89 saw this and went charging in to break it up. pic.twitter.com/rqBkaQgE9R
— Zak (@zakhicken) June 20, 2019
After the game, BYU defensive lineman Lenny Gomes gave an all-time rivalry quote.
“Typical Utah BS. All those (Utes) think that’s all there is to life. But when I’m making $50,000-$60,000 a year, they’ll be pumping my gas. They’re low-class losers.”
Yergensen’s game-winner is far from the best play or highlight from the rivalry. But it had major implications, swinging the pendulum in Utah’s favor for the first time.
Before the 1993 matchup, the Cougars had won 18 of the last 20 matchups. Since then, Utah has gone 17-9 against BYU.
