Top 10 BYU-Utah games

Few words are needed to describe the classics. These are the Utah-BYU games that speak for themselves. There's Yergensen's kick and Staley's run; the shutout and the "clang." These are the games that fans remember, and not much needs to be said to evoke memories — both good and bad, pleasant and painful. But where do they rank against each other? The Deseret Morning News sports staff has voted on the top 10 games in the Utah-BYU rivalry. The criteria for judging these games are broad. The rivalry has given us tense games with frantic finishes, blowouts with minimal drama and games that have been downright ugly. But ultimately, for whatever reason, they're all memorable.

No. 10 — Turkey Day on national TV

NOV. 26, 1953 — UTAH 33, BYU 32: BYU had beaten Utah only once in the previous 28 meetings when the two rivals met on Thanksgiving Day in a nationally televised game at Ute Stadium. Utah was a five-touchdown favorite, but the 2-6-1 Cougars stayed close all day and would have won except for a couple of botched extra points. Behind Don Rydalch and Don Petersen, the Utes jumped to a 26-13 lead only to see the Cougars tie the game in the second half. The Redskins, as they were called then, went ahead 33-26, but the Cougars came back with a 32-yard pass to Phil Oyler with less than two minutes left. However, on the PAT try, the ball just rolled out from the center, and the holder was tackled trying to run, ending the Cougars' upset hopes.

No. 9 — The comeback

NOV. 18, 1978 — UTAH 23, BYU 22: The Utes were still smarting from the previous year's 38-8 loss to BYU when Marc Wilson was sent back in the game with less than two minutes left to set an NCAA passing record. After the game Ute coach Wayne Howard uttered his famous words about the "hatred between Utah and BYU" and also predicted the Utes would beat the Cougars in the next two years. It looked like another romp for the Holiday Bowl-bound Cougars, who jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead behind sophomore quarterback Jim McMahon. However, the Utes gradually clawed back behind quarterback Randy Gomez, who threw three touchdown passes in the second half. The third one, on fourth-and-15, went to Frank Henry with 2:56 left in the game, giving the Utes the one-point victory, their first over BYU since 1971.

No. 8 — The shutout