Utah Picks Off Bear Bachmeier Four Times, No. 3 Utes Hold Off BYU 28-20 in Holy War to Stay Unbeaten

Utah forced four interceptions, the last two inside its own 5-yard line and in its own end zone, and No. 3 Utah held on to beat BYU 28-20 on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Devon Dampier accounted for four touchdowns, and the Utes stayed perfect in the most important Holy War in years.

Utah (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) scored the first 14 points and the last 14, and in between it watched BYU (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) score 20 straight. Dampier threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns to Braden Pegan and ran for 87 yards and two more scores. BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw for 272 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown to Legend Glasker, but was intercepted four times, twice in the final minutes with a chance to tie.

The win ended BYU's three-game winning streak in the rivalry and gave Utah its first victory over the Cougars since 2019. When the final pass fell into Nate Richie's hands, Utah fans poured onto the field.

Utah's fast start

Utah needed only 75 seconds to score. A 47-yard catch by Noah Bennee set up a 22-yard Dampier touchdown run at 13:45 of the first quarter. On the next possession, Dampier found Pegan for a 46-yard touchdown at 10:31, and Utah led 14-0 before BYU had found any rhythm.

BYU's offense moved the ball but kept getting in its own way. The Cougars were flagged five times for 30 yards in the first quarter alone. A delay of game penalty wiped out a fourth-and-inches conversion near the goal line on the Cougars' first long drive, and Matthias Dunn kicked a 31-yard field goal at 6:04 of the first quarter. Dunn added a 38-yarder on the first play of the second quarter to make it 14-6.

Twenty straight for BYU

Then BYU flipped the game with one throw. After a quick Utah punt, the Cougars needed a single snap: Bachmeier lofted a deep ball to Glasker, who ran under it for a 75-yard touchdown at 13:17 of the second quarter. It was Glasker's fifth catch of 50 yards or more this season, and it cut Utah's lead to 14-13.

Utah's next drive ended with a lost fumble. Cannon DeVries knocked the ball loose from Pegan and Therrian Alexander III recovered at the Utah 49. Eight plays later, LJ Martin, back after missing four games with an injury, scored from 4 yards out at 7:35, and BYU led 20-14.

BYU's defense kept the pressure on. The Cougars held Utah to 35 yards over its last 23 plays of the first half, and Cade Uluave and Bodie Schoonover each recorded a sack. Late in the half, Schoonover stripped Dampier on a short run and Nusi Taumoepeau recovered at the Utah 20, giving BYU a chance to take a two-score lead into the locker room.

The interceptions that turned it

That chance ended on the first of four interceptions. James Chenault Jr. bobbled a Bachmeier pass, secured it at the Utah 15 and returned it to the 30, and the teams went to halftime with BYU ahead 20-14.

Lance Holtzclaw picked off Bachmeier on BYU's first drive of the third quarter, and Utah went for it with some creativity. Facing fourth and short near midfield, receiver Creed Whittemore threw a 29-yard pass back to Dampier on a trick play. The drive stalled inside the BYU 15, though, and Dillon Curtis missed a 29-yard field goal wide right.

Utah did not miss on its next chance. Dampier led a nine-play, 53-yard drive late in the third quarter and finished it with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Pegan in the corner of the end zone. Curtis made the extra point, and Utah led 21-20.

A 30-yard Dampier run and a late-hit penalty on BYU moved Utah inside the Cougars' 25 to close the third quarter. Early in the fourth, Dampier kept the ball on third and goal and scored from 3 yards out, and Utah led 28-20.

Two chances to tie, two interceptions

BYU's answer was its best drive of the second half. The Cougars went 65 yards in 13 plays and burned more than seven minutes, reaching the Utah 2 with a chance to tie with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. On a play-action throw near the goal line, linebacker Trey Reynolds rose and intercepted Bachmeier.

Utah ran clock and punted with just under a minute left. BYU took over near midfield with no timeouts, and on the final play of the game Bachmeier threw toward the end zone. The pass was underthrown, and Richie came down with it to end the game.

Four different Utes, four interceptions

The four interceptions came from four different defenders: Chenault, Holtzclaw, Reynolds and Richie. None was returned for a score, and only one led to points, but two of them came at the end of BYU drives that reached the Utah red zone or the end zone. On a day when Utah's offense lost two fumbles and missed a short field goal, its defense took the ball away whenever the game was on the line.

BYU's penalties made the Utes' job easier. An illegal formation call erased a 25-yard completion, and two straight false starts late in the second quarter pushed the Cougars into a punt when they had a chance to add to their lead. Utah, meanwhile, played the cleaner game and was flagged just four times all afternoon in front of a red-clad home crowd for the Utes' Red Out.

By the numbers

BYU outgained Utah 391 to 328 and had the ball for more than 31 minutes, but the Cougars committed four turnovers to Utah's two and were flagged 11 times for 80 yards. Utah was penalized four times for 19 yards.

Bachmeier completed 21 of 35 passes for 272 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions and added 59 rushing yards on eight carries. Glasker finished with seven catches for 118 yards, the receiver's first 100-yard game since Sept. 19 at Colorado State, tight end Walker Lyons caught seven passes for 97 yards, and Martin ran seven times for 19 yards and the touchdown.

Dampier completed 14 of 26 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns without an interception and ran 20 times for 87 yards and two scores. Pegan caught five passes for 86 yards and both touchdowns, though one of Utah's two lost fumbles was also Pegan's. Wayshawn Parker added 36 yards on 14 carries, and Whittemore's trick-play throw left the receiver a perfect 1 for 1 for 29 yards.

What it means

Utah has now won every game in its first season under Morgan Scalley, and Saturday's win may have been the most important of them. The Utes are two games clear of BYU in the Big 12 standings and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, with Texas Tech at 4-1 the closest team behind them. The win follows Utah's 49-25 rout at Cincinnati last week and a 21-13 win over Houston two weeks ago, both games in which the defense decided the outcome. Utah plays at Arizona on Nov. 14, against a Wildcats team that edged TCU 29-28 on Friday night.

For BYU and coach Kalani Sitake, the loss is the second in three weeks. The Cougars fell to UCF in double overtime on Oct. 24 and then needed a late 95-yard drive to beat Arizona State last week. Now the Cougars need help to get back to the Big 12 title game. BYU hosts Baylor in Provo on Nov. 14, then plays at Kansas and closes at home against Cincinnati.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Utah Athletics (file photo).

Photos: BYU Photo.