BYU vs. Utah Prediction Thread

The Rivalry Game is upon us. The Brigham Young Cougars look to snap a three-game losing streak to in-state rival the University of Utah as the former MWC foes battle in Provo. Members of the Loyal Cougars staff share their thoughts on how the game will go. Can the Cougars exorcise the Ute demon? Share you prediction in the comments!

Charles Kano: No one can be certain in a hotly contested game between bitter rivals. The team that can establish the run early and win the intermediate passing game late, gets the W. BYU’s running game beats Utah’s tight end group. Game will go down to the wire with BYU defense sealing the deal. BYU 34 Utah 27

Evan Hall: The decorous outer layers of narrative slowly peel back, and peel back, and peel back, and there is only a field, and a scoreboard, and the haunting memory, lingering unwelcome in Kyle Whittingham’s sleepless mind of chunks of errant grass, and the crisp blue and white of the back of a jersey, and the pumping soles of sharp cleats. Always the cleats. BYU 24, Utah 21

Jake Welch: BYU’s offense morphs back into a stuttering mess as they encounter a defense that can actually tackle. Jamaal Williams gets his 30+ carries and 100+ yards but the lack of an air attack slows their roll. The BYU defense holds strong but two crucial Taysom Hill interceptions and a special teams blunder (blocked punt most likely) give the Utes a short field to get easy scores.  Utah 20 BYU 10.

Steve Pierce: I have no earthly idea who will win this game, but I can’t shake the feeling that Utah somehow holds the upper hand. Maybe it’s because we’ve lost three times in a row and 54-10 still stings. However, I could be persuaded otherwise if Cody Hoffman is healthy and back to his old awesome self… Utah 24, BYU 21

Brett Hein: We can choose to be humble as a fanbase or be humbled by force. UTAH 25 BYU 20

Geoff Johnston: Anae’s Go Fast, Go Hard offense solidifies itself as a worthy counterpart of Bronco’s Zion Curtain defense. BYU wins handily and #GFGH + #ZionCurtain begin a new era of BYU dominance over Utah continuing through the end of the decade. BYU 44 Utah 21

Ryan Teeples: BYU should move the ball. Utah probably struggles to do so consistently. BYU will be methodical, Utah could score on big plays. Per the usual, this game likely comes down to turnovers and special teams.  BYU 24 Utah 21

Sean Walker: In a stunning turn of events, Suspender Ute gets the start at quarterback as Kyle Whittingham trolls all of Provo. Then Travis Wilson enters in the second half, and — like Johnny Football against the indomitable Rice Owls — skewers the weakened BYU defense for a come-from-behind win. UTAH 28, BYU 21

Presten Norton: Utah stacks the box only to find out Taysom has been sand bagging for 2 games and breaks out the cannon for 250 passing yards. Lasike will also dump truck 1-2 Utes on a TD run to ice it. BYU 31 –  Utah 20

Aaron Taylor: Kyle’s annoyed and Hoffman’s hassled that the Utes have won the last three contests. Look for them to go out their senior year as victors. BYU 33 Utah 17

BYU wins: 6/10, average score 32-21
Utah wins: 4/10, average score 24-18

2 Comments

1. 

   Sanpete

   September 21, 2013 at 2:35 pm

   My optimistic (as ever) prediction: BYU 40-24.
2. 

   Sanpete

   September 21, 2013 at 11:53 pm

   Well, the defense did its part. Good to see the passing game improve, but it didn’t improve enough.