Utah holds off BYU, 35-28, to win Las Vegas Bowl
The most anticipated game in the 24-year history of the Las Vegas Bowl ended just about as soon as it began.
Or so it appeared.
Utah forced turnovers on Brigham Young's first five drives, turning them all into touchdowns, two on interceptions returns.
But the Cougars didn't stop playing even though they were down 35 points in the first quarter, and they nearly pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in college football history.
In the end, though, they couldn't make up for the damage done in the first 10 minutes, and No. 20 Utah held on to win 35-28 before an announced crowd of 42,213, the second-largest in Las Vegas Bowl history.
The Utes (10-3) won despite gaining just 197 yards. BYU (9-4) nearly doubled that total with 386.
Utes coach Kyle Whittingham, though, knows how to win bowls, improving his record to 9-1. His winning percentage of 90 is the highest in college football history for those with at least seven victories, surpassing former UNLV and Southern California coach John Robinson's 8-1 record (88.9 percent).
"Our team works hard in bowl preparation," Whittingham said. "We don't take it lightly. Our guys get after it, they run and condition. There are a lot of teams that take a few weeks off and go out and practice four or five days for an hour and call it good. That's not our M.O. These guys deserved to win this game, and they earned it."
On the other side, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall failed to notch his 100th career victory, and he won't be able to do it with his Cougars. He and six BYU assistants are headed to Virginia, and Oregon State defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake will take over the Cougars.
Utah had its own takeover of the Cougars in the first quarter, going up 35-0 lead and scoring all five touchdowns on or after turnovers.
— Utah defensive end Kylie Fitts sacked and stripped BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, and linebacker Gionni Paul recovered for the Utes. That led to a 25-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by Joe Williams 4:01 into the game.
— Safety Tevin Carter, the game's Most Valuable Player, returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown 17 seconds later.
— Another Carter interception set up another 1-yard TD by Williams with 9:01 left in the quarter.
— Cornerback Dominique Hatfield's 46-yard interception return for a touchdown came with 7:29 to go.
— Lowell Lotulelei forced a fumble that fellow defensive tackle Stevie Tu'ikolovatu recovered to set up quarterback Travis Wilson's 20-yard TD run with 4:38 left on the clock.
"We made those plays," Whittingham said. "Those plays weren't gift-wrapped. It's our defense flying around. We had great pressure on the quarterback."
BYU then had to respond, and respond quickly.
"There's certainly nothing else that can happen," Mendenhall said. "When it goes to seven and then to 14, then to 21, 28, 35, at some point, that's got to be enough. I think there was finally a set point of are we going to play clean and execute and consistently? We thought if we did, it would be an evenly matched game, and that's how it played out."
BYU scored once in the second quarter and again in the third. Then the Cougars closed to within 35-21 with 10:33 left in the game, and suddenly it was a contest. Mangum's 4-yard scoring run with 3:23 left got the Cougars to within a touchdown.
Utah then had the pressure to pick up at least one first down, and Williams converted a third-and-1 with a 3-yard run option pitch to the left.
"Based off running it the two previous times, the outside linebacker would take Travis and I'd get the ball," Williams said.
Williams ran for another first down two plays after that to seal the victory.
Williams was just about Utah's only offense, gaining 91 yards on 25 carries. Wilson completed 9 of 16 passes for only 71 yards.
Mangum bounced back from the horrid start to complete 25 of 56 passes for 315 yards, but he couldn't overcome the three early interceptions.
Utah won the first quarter and BYU the next three, which would've been important if it was a tennis match.
Not in football.
"In the final analysis, we had enough in the tank to get the win," Whittingham said. "That's the only thing that matters."
— Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him: @markanderson65
