Ranking Utah Football’s Five Biggest Wins In Holy War Rivalry
Oct 15, 2025, 6:58 PM | Updated: Oct 16, 2025, 10:28 am
(Photo courtesy of Deseret News Archives)
(Photo courtesy of Deseret News Archives)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah and BYU football programs have faced off for 100 years, which has brought local fans over 100 matchups to look back on.
Each team has gone through ups and downs and had its own strings of success. With the first-ranked matchups between the schools since 2009 coming this weekend,let’s look back at the five best Utah football wins over BYU.
The Five Best Utah Football Wins Over BYU
5. Week 13 2018: 35-27
Heading into this matchup, the Utes had won seven in a row in the series.
However, that streak was in danger as BYU held Utah scoreless in the first half and led 20-0 at the break. The Utes took off, scoring 14 in the third and 21 in the fourth to win by eight points.
Safety Julian Blackmon almost single-handedly swung the momentum in favor of Utah. He picked off Zach Wilson early in the third quarter and took it back for six.
Jason Shelley led the Utah offense, completing 19 of 28 pass attempts for 141 yards and a touchdown. Running back Armand Shyne punched in two scores on the ground.
A few 📸 from our victory.#U8oyzcorr pic.twitter.com/YVXrURhXJa
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 25, 2018
4. Week 11 1988: 57-28
The 1980s were dominated by BYU, except for one year. Coming off nine straight losses and 15 losses in 16 games, the Utes and Cougars faced off in Salt Lake City in 1988.
The 5-5 Utes laid the smackdown on the 8-2 Cougars, scoring double-digit points in each quarter but the first.
Quarterback Scott Mitchell connected on 21 of his 30 pass attempts for 384 yards and three touchdowns. The real hero for Utah was running back Eddie Johnson who had over 200 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns.
3. 2011 Week 3: 54-10
One of the best road wins in the rivalry for the Utes came back in 2011, Utah’s first season in the Pac-12 Conference.
They had won the last matchup, but were 2-3 in the last five games. The road win served as the second of nine straight for the Utes. Once again, a dominant rushing performance got it done.
Running back John White took 22 carries for 174 yards and three touchdowns. The tone was set early, as all of the first three BYU drives ended in a fumble. One of those was returned for the first Utah TD of the game.
2. Week 12 2004: 52-21
There’s no better way to close out an undefeated season than with a win over your biggest rival. That’s exactly what Utah did in 2004.
It was the fourth time in five games that the Utes had scored over 50 points, and it marked their third straight win over the Cougars.
In the game, five of Utah’s seven touchdowns came on the ground. Quarterback Alex Smith threw for one, and Bo Nagahi also had a fumble return touchdown.
1. Week 12 1993: 34-31
And at No. 1, Utah’s massive win over BYU in 1993. Heading into the matchup, the Cougars had won four straight and 19 of the last 21 matchups.
It took 17 points in the fourth quarter and a game-winning 55-yard Chris Yergensen field goal, but the Utes did it. Led by Ron McBride, that win served as a turning point in the all-time series. Since 1993, Utah is 19-9 against BYU.
And for any doubters left from that matchup, Utah did it again in 1994, winning 34-31.
