From Deseret News archives:
BYU, Utah football: Best. Matchup. Ever.
(This time, we really mean it)
They dreamed of both teams being ranked in the top 10 and playing in a colossal winner-take-all for a Bowl Championship Series berth and a Mountain West Conference championship.
As it turned out, those dreams were dashed in October, when the Cougars fell to TCU.
Still, this week's annual grudge match is The Biggest BYU-Utah Game of All Time a Beehive State Super Bowl. This marks only the second time ever both teams are ranked going into the contest, let alone this highly ranked. And the two teams' combined record, 21-1, has never been better.
For No. 8 Utah (11-0), which has already secured at least a piece of the MWC title, there's a BCS berth on the line. For No. 16 BYU (10-1), which moved up to No. 14 Sunday in the latest BCS standings, there's a shot at a share of the conference championship and an opportunity to shake up the postseason landscape on a national scale.
Funny thing is, just a year ago, a Deseret News headline proclaimed last year's rivalry game as the biggest ever, as both teams were riding seven-game winning streaks and had a combined 16-5 record.
Here's a look at other big games in rivalry history, in chronological order:
1984
Combined records:16-4-1 (BYU 10-0, Utah 6-4-1)
National rankings: BYU No. 3, Utah unranked
Combined winning streaks: 24 (BYU 21, Utah 3)
What was at stake: The undefeated Cougars were looking to keep their national championship hopes alive.
Result: BYU 24, Utah 14. Two days after vanquishing the Utes, the Cougars jumped to the No. 1 spot in the polls for the first time. After a Holiday Bowl victory over Michigan, they claimed the national title.
1994
Combined records: 17-4 (BYU 9-2, Utah 8-2)
National rankings: BYU No. 20, Utah No. 21
Combined winning streaks: 2 (BYU 2, Utah 0)
Recent comments
Utah will probably beat BYU. That will put them in a BCS game, and at...
Overrated | Nov. 21, 2008 at 12:48 p.m.
re: die hard cougar fan | 8:38 a.m. Nov. 20, 2008
>>Byu
willwin....
SLC to NOLA | Nov. 21, 2008 at 11:18 a.m.
re: re:Best High School Game Ever | 5:43 a.m. Nov. 17, 2008...
Anonymous | Nov. 21, 2008 at 11:16 a.m.
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