When Utah's defense smelled blood in the second half of its showdown with archrival BYU, the Utes pounced.

Though Utah was ultimately outgained 419 yards to 415 by BYU, the Utes came up with six turnovers, five of which came in the second half and all of which were committed by BYU quarterback Max Hall.

Those turnovers proved to be the difference, as the Utes scored all three of their second-half touchdowns on the heels of Hall turnovers to bust open a close game and win going away, 48-24, Saturday evening at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Hall's performance and how many of those six turnovers were solely his fault will undoubtedly be debated ad nauseam for months to come, but this much is clear: Whenever the junior QB presented the Utes with opportunities to force turnovers, Utah's defense responded.

"Our strategy the whole game was just to get to (Hall) as fast as we could, and get pressure on him and take him out of the game," said sophomore defensive end Paul Kruger. "He's a great player and does a lot of great things, so that was our whole focus — just getting to Max Hall, and I think we did that today."

The Utes most definitely did, and now a second BCS appearance in five years awaits them.

"Six turnovers was really the key — 6-0 in the turnover margin," said Ute coach Kyle Whittingham. "Rarely, if ever, do you lose a football game when you're plus-six ... Defense rose to the occasion."

Hall scored off an 11-yard scramble midway through the third quarter to pull the Cougars to within three points, 27-24, but the Utes forced Hall into committing five turnovers after that point.

Utah didn't get any points after Hall's first turnover of the second half but capitalized with three touchdowns on consecutive possessions to blow the Cougars away.

"We knew we were going to have to have some big plays. And we had to capitalize on those opportunities, and we did," said Kruger. "Guys made some huge plays and found themselves at the right spot at the right time. Good ball teams come up with those plays — we did that on offense and defense."

Inasmuch as the second-half turnovers ultimately won the game for Utah, the Utes' first turnover, which came near the end of the first half, helped set the stage for things to come.

Late in the first half, BYU trailed by just three points and was driving to potentially tie the game or take the lead.

However, safety Joe Dale was on hand to intercept Hall near the Utah 30-yard line, and the Utes scored three plays later to take a 27-17 lead — and all the momentum — into halftime.

"I think the pick by Joe, it was a huge play that turned the outcome of the game because we went into halftime with a ton of momentum," said quarterback Brian Johnson.

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E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com