Devon Dampier passed for 177 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 87 yards with two more scores as undefeated No. 3 Utah outlasted No. 9 BYU 28-20 on Saturday afternoon in a titanic Big 12 Conference showdown in Salt Lake City.
The Utes (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) roared out of the gate in the latest edition of the Holy War by scoring two touchdowns early in the game before BYU rallied with 20 consecutive points to carry a six-point lead to halftime.
Utah regained the lead late in the third quarter and added to the margin early in the fourth.
Trailing 28-20, the Cougars (7-2, 4-2) drove to the Utes’ 2-yard line before quarterback Bear Bachmeier was intercepted for the third time in the game, this one by Trey Reynolds with 4:39 to play.
BYU had a final possession, taking over at its own 48-yard line with 54 seconds left and no timeouts. Bachmeier’s eventual Hail Mary pass was picked off in the end zone with 2 seconds left.
Bachmeier finished 21-of-35 passing for 272 yards and a touchdown with four inteceptions for BYU, while Legend Glasker had seven receptions for 118 yards and a TD.
The Utes wasted little time getting on the scoreboard with Dampier scampering 22 yards for a touchdown on the game’s third offensive snap. Utah delivered another quick strike on its ensuing possession as Dampier hit Braden Pegan on a 46-yard TD that moved its advantage to 14-0 just four and a half minutes into the game.
BYU responded with a 31-yard field goal by Matthias Dunn with 6:04 remaining in the first quarter. Dunn added a 38-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter to cut the Cougars’ deficit to 14-6.
After a Utah punt, Bachmeier threw deep for Glasker for a 75-yard TD that brought BYU to within 14-13. The Cougars then received a 4-yard scoring run by LJ Martin to take a 20-14 lead halfway through the second quarter.
Dampier and Pegan hooked up for their second touchdown of the game, this one a 14-yard toss that put the Utes back on top at 21-20 with 1:36 to play in the third quarter.
Dampier then capped a 68-yard, seven-play drive for Utah with a 3-yard TD run with 12:03 to play that lifted the lead to eight points.