Era I • 1896–1898
Era Series: Tied 3–3 (6 Games)
The Brigham Young Academy Years & The Disputed Origin
Even the birth date of the rivalry is fiercely contested. According to the University of Utah record book, the series began on April 6, 1896, when Utah defeated Brigham Young Academy (BYA) 12–4 in Salt Lake City. Over three seasons from 1896 to 1898, Utah and BYA met six times, splitting those contests 3–3 (including a 22–0 BYA shutout in Provo in December 1897). When BYA disbanded football in 1900 and didn't field a varsity team as Brigham Young University until 1922, BYU's official record book chose to begin its count in 1922.
Era II • 1922–1971
Era Series: Utah Leads 38–5–4 (47 Games)
Fifty Years of Crimson Dominance & The 1942 Breakthrough
When BYU reinstated varsity football on October 14, 1922, Utah delivered a 49–0 shutout in Salt Lake City—still Utah's largest margin of victory in the series. Under legendary Hall of Fame coach Ike Armstrong (who went 18–1–3 against BYU from 1925 to 1949), Utah put together a 21-game unbeaten streak before Eddie Kimball's Cougars stunned the Utes 12–7 on October 10, 1942. Aside from a three-game BYU win streak behind quarterback Virgil Carter from 1965 to 1967, Utah dominated the Rocky Mountain, Skyline, and early WAC eras, holding an overwhelming 41–8–4 all-time advantage through 1971.
Era III • 1972–2000
Era Series: BYU Leads 22–7 (29 Games)
The LaVell Edwards Passing Revolution & Ron McBride's Counterpunch
Everything changed in 1972 when BYU promoted assistant coach LaVell Edwards. Installing a revolutionary West Coast passing attack, Edwards beat Utah 16–7 in his debut and went an astonishing 19–2 from 1972 to 1992. Along the way, Marc Wilson threw for an NCAA-record 571 yards in 1977, Jim McMahon pointed to the 56–6 scoreboard in 1980, Robbie Bosco led BYU past Utah en route to the 1984 National Championship, and Ty Detmer engineered a 70–31 shootout in 1989. You can explore detailed profiles of Edwards, McMahon, Young, and Detmer at CougarLegend.com and CougarHeroes.com.
In 1990, Utah hired fiery head coach Ron McBride, who turned the rivalry into a war of equals. Beginning with Chris Yergensen's 55-yard game-winning field goal in Provo in 1993 (34–31), seven of the final eight meetings of Edwards' career were decided by single digits, culminating in Brandon Doman's last-minute drive to give Edwards a 34–27 win in his 2000 finale.
Era IV • 2001–2010
Era Series: Utah Leads 6–4 (10 Games)
Mountain West Title Wars, BCS Busters & Beck-to-Harline
During the Mountain West Conference decade, the road to the conference trophy—and national BCS bowls—ran straight through November's rivalry clash. Urban Meyer arrived in Salt Lake City in 2003, dubbing BYU "The Team Down South," snapping BYU's NCAA-record 361-game scoring streak in a snowy 3–0 win in Provo, and routing BYU 52–21 in 2004 behind Alex Smith to become the original BCS Busters.
When Kyle Whittingham and Bronco Mendenhall took over their respective programs in 2005, they produced arguably the greatest coaching rivalry of the decade: 2005's 41–34 overtime shootout, 2006's walk-off "Beck to Harline" miracle (33–31), 2007's 4th-and-18 conversion from Hall to Collie (17–10), Utah's 2008 undefeated Sugar Bowl springboard (48–24), 2009's overtime walk-off to Andrew George (26–23), and Brandon Burton's blocked kick at the horn in 2010 (17–16).
Era V • 2011–2023
Era Series: Utah Leads 8–1 (9 Games)
The Realignment Divide: Pac-12 Membership vs. FBS Independence
In 2011, Utah joined the Pac-12 Conference while BYU charted a bold course as an FBS Independent (a scheduling and media-rights strategy analyzed in depth at FootballIndependents.com). Now played primarily in September as a non-conference showdown, Kyle Whittingham's Utes reeled off eight wins in this era—extending an overall 9-game winning streak from 2010 to 2019 that featured the triple-field-storm 2012 finish (24–21), the 2015 Las Vegas Bowl (35–28), the 2016 one-point goal-line stand (20–19), and a 20-point second-half comeback in 2018 (35–27). On September 11, 2021, Kalani Sitake and QB Jaren Hall finally shattered the 3,941-day streak with a 26–17 victory in Provo.
Era VI • 2024–Present
Era Series: BYU Leads 2–0 (Big 12 Era)
Reunited in the Big 12 & The Sitake vs. Scalley Chapter
Conference realignment brought the rivals back under the same league banner in 2024 as members of the expanded Big 12 Conference. In the inaugural Big 12 clash on November 9, 2024, No. 9 BYU silenced a record Rice-Eccles Stadium crowd of 54,383 with a late 65-yard drive and Will Ferrin's 44-yard field goal with 4 seconds left (22–21). On October 18, 2025, No. 15 BYU made it three straight over No. 23 Utah in Provo (24–21) behind freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier's fourth-quarter heroics. Following Kyle Whittingham's retirement in December 2025, longtime defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley now leads the Utes into the November 7, 2026 showdown in Salt Lake City.
