In Utah, there’s beating your opponent, and then there’s beating that opponent.
After all, it’s called the Holy War for a reason.
When BYU and Utah meet, state pride, school loyalty and a year of bragging rights are on the line.
More than a century of hard hits and dramatic finishes have made this in-state showdown one of college football’s most personal rivalries.
So much so, we ranked it 22nd among the 25 rivalries that define college football.
This season’s highly anticipated matchup between No. 7 BYU (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) and No. 3 Utah (8-0, 5-0) on Saturday, Nov. 7, (noon ET/ABC) at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City has a 10 a.m. local kickoff, with the early start adding another layer to a rivalry game that will have major implications in the conference race.
Just how heated in this rivalry: The programs first met in the 1890s, or in 1922, depending on which side you believe.
Regardless, they’ve built a rivalry shaped by geography, school pride and cultural differences.
BYU, a private university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Utah, a public institution, have long represented distinct identities within the same state.
That contrast adds another layer to the matchup, but the real fuel has always been competition.
Nobody wants to lose to their neighbors.
In a rivalry this fierce, even the history is disputed: Utah counts six meetings from the 1890s that BYU excludes, giving the Utes a 62-37-4 lead in their official records, compared with BYU’s 59-34-4 tally.
Of course, the numbers only tell part of the story. The rest has played out on the field.
Over the decades, both sides have given their fans plenty to celebrate — and just as much to complain about.
A season to remember
One of Utah’s biggest statements came in 2004. Under coach Urban Meyer and led by quarterback Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Utes rolled into their rivalry game against BYU undefeated and with a historic season within reach.
They took care of business with a 52-21 win and finished the regular season 11-0 before routing Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.
Then a member of the Mountain West, Utah was the first team from a non-automatic-qualifying conference to earn a bid to a Bowl Championship Series game, turning an already memorable season into a landmark moment for the program with the 35-7 win over Pitt.
A comeback for the ages
BYU fans have their own unforgettable rivalry memory.
In 2006, the Cougars trailed Utah 31-10 before mounting one of the most memorable comebacks in the rivalry’s history.
BYU scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, capping the rally with John Beck’s touchdown pass to Jonny Harline as time expired for a stunning 33-31 victory.
It was the kind of finish that becomes rivalry folklore — and the kind of loss the opposing fan base doesn’t forget.
Rivals reunited at last
In the ever-changing world of college football, conference realignment put the rivalry on pause at times.
Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, while BYU went independent in football. Scheduling became more complicated, and the teams missed each other in 2014, 2020, 2022 and 2023.
For a rivalry built on local bragging rights, those gaps only made the anticipation grow.
The matchup got a major boost when BYU joined the Big 12 in 2023 and Utah followed in 2024, putting the programs back in the same conference.
The renewed rivalry has delivered another reason for fans to circle the date on their calendars.
Utah won nine in a row in the series from 2010-19, with BYU winning three straight since then.
Coaches change, rosters turn over and conference affiliations shift, but one thing never changes: Neither team wants to lose the Holy War.
For BYU and Utah fans, this isn’t just another game on the schedule.
It’s a chance to claim bragging rights, silence the rival’s crowd and create a memory that will be talked about long after the final whistle.
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Mike Garbett is a content specialist working with McClatchy’s Content Innovation Lab.