For the first time since 2009, BYU beat Utah in what was another classic Holy War showdown between the Utes and the Cougars.

Utah was looking to win its 10th consecutive game in the series. No team, from either side had won 10 in a row.

Surprisingly, the Utes were dominated on both the offensive and defensive lines. For Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, that’s something he’s never seen before.

“Coming in, I would have bet my house that we would not lose the line of scrimmage battle,” said Whittingham. “I never have seen that coming where we didn’t control the line of scrimmage. That’s our M.O., that’s what we do best. But we surrendered nearly 250 yards rushing, couldn’t get a sack.”

While the Utes managed just yards of offense, running back Micah Bernard provided a bright spot as he ran for 146 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries. QB Charlie Brewer threw for 147 yards and a touchdown for the Utes, who trailed the entire game.

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Utah cut BYU’s lead to 23-17 on a 22-yard run from Bernard with 9:31 left in the game. However, the Cougars responded with a six-minute drive that ended in a 21-yard field goal from Jake Oldroyd, effectively ending the Utes’ comeback hopes.

“Just love the fight in our players,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “It was good to get this win.”

BYU forced a pair of Utah turnovers early in the first quarter. Charlie Brewer threw an interception that Chaz Ah You returned to the Utah 30 on the Utes’ first drive. Tavion Thomas fumbled the ball on Utah’s second drive, and it bounced to Isaiah Herron at the Utah 42. The Cougars did not do much with either takeaway, getting only a 37-yard field goal from Oldroyd out of two drives starting in Utah territory.

BYU QB Jaren Hall threw three touchdown passes and totaled 241 yards of offense to lead the Cougars to victory. Hall finished the night with 92 rushing yards and would have topped 100 if his 60-plus yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter didn’t get called back for stepping out of bounds.

With 16 of the last 20 games being decided by one possession, BYU’s victory Saturday night was it’s largest margin of victory over Utah since 1996 (37-17 win).

Here’s how fans, the media, players and coaches reacted after the game:

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