What was at stake: The Cougars were in contention for a BCS bid and looking to earn their first outright MWC championship in then-coach Gary Crowton's inaugural season.
Result: BYU 24, Utah 21. The Cougars were snubbed again by the BCS bowls. They went 1-2 in their final three games, including a loss in the Liberty Bowl. Utah beat USC in the Las Vegas Bowl.
2004
Combined records: 15-5 (Utah 10-0, BYU 5-5)
National rankings: Utah No. 5, BYU unranked
Combined winning streaks: 14 (Utah 14, BYU 0)
What was at stake: ESPN's College Game Day was on hand for this one.
The Utes needed one more win to earn a BCS berth and become the first non-BCS school to accomplish that feat. The Cougars needed a victory to become bowl-eligible and avoid a third straight losing season.
Result: Utah 52, BYU 21. The Utes received a bid to the Fiesta Bowl, which they won handily. In the coming weeks, then-Utah coach Urban Meyer took the job at Florida, and Crowton resigned, opening the door for the two teams' defensive coordinators to take over — Kyle Whittingham at Utah and Bronco Mendenhall at BYU.
The BIG game
No. 16 BYU at No. 8 Utah
Saturday, 4 p.m.; Rice-Eccles Stadium
TV: The mtn.; Radio: 700 AM, 1160 AM, 102.7 FM
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com
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— About comments
Jeff Call has been a sportswriter for the Deseret News since 1997. He is the BYU beat writer and has been covering Cougar sports since 1993, when he served as sports editor at the Daily Universe. Call has written several more ..
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I can't stand the Yewts! A win Sat will make our season. It's like bowl week for BYU. Go Cougs!
How can Utah be ranked in the top 10 when they have not beaten any top 10 teams this year? Utah hasn't EVER beaten a team ranked in the top 15 in the final season ending polls, or who has finished in the top 2 in their conference. Same with BYU.
More..
For the last 11 months Ute fans have whined on these boards about how the reason they lost last year was because they had "so many injuries".
This year, going into the "Best Matchup Ever," the Cougs are full of injuries. Pitta, Unga, and More..