The blocked field goal heard around the world
On a cold day in Salt Lake City, the “Holy War” was resurrected again. November 27, 2010 was the date when the Brigham Young Cougars took on the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium in front of 45,272 screaming Utes fans. This heated rivalry goes back to the turn of the century as BYU and Utah have played each other since 1896. As of 2011, Utah holds the edge in this series with 55 wins, 34 losses, and four ties. The close proximity of both campuses (45 minutes away from each other) also fuels the competitiveness between both schools.
Utah came into this game with a stellar record (10-1 overall, 7-1 conference) and was ranked #20 in the polls. Utes Head Coach Kyle Whittingham had his troops prepared or so he thought. Cougars Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall always circled this game on the calendar to get his boys ready to play. With the frenzied fans behind the Utes, they looked to hold court on home turf as kickoff drew close. Much like other storied rivalries as Michigan-Ohio State and Florida-Florida State, the electricity in the air was thick.
As the game progressed, the defensive play of the Cougars was stellar. Going into halftime, the Cougars were up 6-0 and extended the lead going into the fourth quarter leading 13-0. The Utes engineered a wild comeback heavily relying on costly errors by BYU. A Utah field goal cut the lead to 13-3 and BYU fumbled on their next series which the Utes cashed … in for seven more points. BYU put three more points on the board to extend the perilous lead to 16-10. The costliest error occurred when BYU forced the Utes to punt, and the ball struck BYU player B.J. Peterson and the Utes recovered.
The football Gods were not on the side of BYU as they intercepted a Utah pass during the next series and fumbled it back to the Utes during the return. Replays showed that BYU’s Brandon Bradley’s knee was down before the ball was fumbled but officials allowed the call to stand after further review. With under five minutes to play, the Utes made good on scored to bring them ahead 17-16. BYU made one last drive with under a minute to play and set up for a 42 yard field goal. With four seconds left on the clock, BYU kicker Mitch Payne drilled the kick. Junior Utes cornerback Brandon Burton cut through the side of the D and put a paw up and deflected the kick and the Cougar’s hopes in the process as time expired.
Fans stormed the field in a frenzy as the Utes celebrated their stunning win. Coach Whittingham even got an accidental elbow to the head for his troubles due to exuberant players celebrating on the sidelines. The Utes dodged a huge bullet with the field goal block and the Cougars came within a kick to derail the Utes bowl game aspirations.