Utah Tops BYU 28-20 as Dampier Shines and Bachmeier Throws Four Picks
Devon Dampier had a hand in all four Utah touchdowns, and the Utes intercepted Bear Bachmeier four times as Utah beat BYU 28-20 on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in the first Holy War matching two top-10 teams. Ranked third in the College Football Playoff rankings, Utah improved to 9-0 and took a firm grip on the race for the Big 12 title game. Trailing 20-14 at halftime, the Utes shut out BYU in the second half and snapped a three-game losing streak against their rival.
A fast start, then 20 straight BYU points
The game opened exactly the way Utah hoped. On the first drive, a long catch by Noah Bennee moved the ball into BYU territory, and Dampier finished it with a 22-yard run. On the next possession, the quarterback found Braden Pegan for a 46-yard touchdown pass. Utah led 14-0 in the first quarter, and Rice-Eccles Stadium already sensed a rout.
BYU flipped the momentum anyway. Matthias Dunn cut into the lead with two field goals, then Bachmeier found Legend Glasker for a 75-yard touchdown that pulled the Cougars within a point. Soon after, Pegan lost a fumble near midfield, and LJ Martin, back after several weeks out with an ankle injury, scored on a 4-yard run. With 20 straight points, BYU had taken a 20-14 lead.
The end of the first half summed up a back-and-forth game. Dampier lost the ball in his own territory just before the break, giving BYU a chance to stretch its lead. Instead, Bachmeier forced a throw that cornerback James Chenault Jr. intercepted. The Cougars went to the locker room up by six without having put the game away. It was the kind of swing that would shape the rest of the game.
Four interceptions that changed everything
Before this trip, Bachmeier had thrown just four interceptions all season. He matched that total on Saturday. The second came on BYU's first possession of the second half and set the tone for a half in which the Cougars did not score a single point.
Utah, meanwhile, took control in the third quarter by taking a risk. Facing fourth down near midfield, the Utes ran a trick play: receiver Creed Whittemore threw to Dampier, who hauled it in for a 29-yard gain. A few minutes later, Dampier found Pegan in the corner of the end zone for the receiver's second touchdown of the day, putting Utah back in front 21-20. Early in the fourth quarter, Dampier added a 3-yard run, his fourth touchdown, to make it 28-20.
BYU had its chance to tie it. Down eight, the Cougars put together a long drive to the edge of the Utah goal line before linebacker Trey Reynolds picked off a Bachmeier pass. BYU got the ball back one last time, but its quarterback's desperation heave into the end zone was intercepted by Nate Ritchie with two seconds left.
The contrast between the two halves tells the story. After scoring 20 points before the break, BYU was shut out, and three of Bachmeier's four interceptions came in the second half, two of them near the Utah end zone. For a team that had leaned on its defense to win games this season, the turnovers outweighed everything else.
Dampier, everywhere at once
If Utah is still unbeaten, it owes that first to its quarterback. Dampier threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 87 yards and two more scores, and added that 29-yard catch on fourth down. His only mistake, the fumble before halftime, did not cost Utah, and he threw no interceptions, unlike his counterpart.
The quarterback duel had been billed as the main event. Dampier came in with 1,876 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, Bachmeier with 1,750 yards, 12 touchdowns and only four interceptions. On Saturday, ball security made the difference: BYU's quarterback doubled his season interception total in a single game.
Braden Pegan had a mixed day. He caught both of Utah's touchdown passes, but he also lost a fumble in the second quarter, a mistake that helped BYU take the lead. Even on a winning day, Utah gave the ball away more than it would like.
For Morgan Scalley, the win carries special weight. A former Utah safety, he succeeded Kyle Whittingham, who left for Michigan at the end of the 2025 season, and is in his first season as head coach. Across the field, former BYU player Kalani Sitake worked alongside him on Utah's staff for years, when Sitake was defensive coordinator and Scalley coached the safeties. Before the game, both men called for a rivalry with less of the hostility they see too often between the two fan bases.
The win also ended a streak. BYU had won the previous three Holy War games, including a 24-21 win in Provo last season, and Utah had not beaten its rival since 2019. It was also the first time the two teams met with both ranked in the top 10.
Utah in control of the Big 12
In the standings, the win carries a lot of weight. Utah is 9-0 (6-0 Big 12), its best start since 2008, and extended its winning streak to 15 games, dating to the end of the 2025 season. The Utes remain the only team unbeaten in conference play and hold a clear edge in the race for the Big 12 title game, with a first College Football Playoff berth in sight.
For BYU, the loss makes things far harder. The Cougars, who beat Notre Dame three weeks ago, fell to 7-2 (4-2 Big 12) and have lost two of their last three games after a loss at UCF. Their path to the conference title game now depends partly on other teams' results, and they can no longer afford a slip.
Utah will not have long to celebrate. The Utes visit Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 14, facing a Wildcats team that beat TCU in the final seconds on Friday and is still in the Big 12 race. Having shown it can win even when its offense sputters, Utah heads to Tucson with first place in the conference to defend.
