PROVO, Utah – BYU's late comeback bid fell short in a 19-13 loss to No. 23 Utah Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"I'm disappointed with the result of the game," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. "There are a lot of things we need to work on. Congratulations to Utah. I thought they played a great game, especially defensively."
Freshman Ula Tolutau and junior Trey Dye scored their first collegiate touchdowns for the Cougars. Freshman tight end Matt Bushman led BYU with six receptions for 50 yards. Junior quarterback Tanner Mangum completed 21 of 39 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown, with three interceptions.
The Cougar defense allowed Utah to convert on just 3 of 14 third-down attempts. Fred Warner and Corbin Kaufusi forced fumbles, and Fred Warner and Troy Warner had fumble recoveries.
BYU got the ball with a chance to win the game down by six points and 1:34 left in the game, but turned the ball over on downs before the Utes ran the clock out.
Utah opened the scoring with a 21-yard field goal. The Utes returned an interception to the BYU 9-yard line before settling for a 3-0 lead nine minutes into the first quarter.
With 9:36 left in the first half, Rhett Almond missed a 28-yard Cougar field goal to the left.
Primed by a 48-yard pass play, Utah made its second field goal, this time from 25 yards out, to lead 6-0 with 6:02 on the second quarter clock.
The Utes hit their third field goal as the first half clock ran out for a 9-0 lead heading into the break.
Following another Utah interception, the Utes scored the game's first touchdown early in the third quarter. Quarterback Tyler Huntley ran five yards to cross the goal line and put Utah up 16-0.
Tolutau gave BYU a touchdown with 9:47 on the third quarter clock. After Fred Warner recovered a fumble on the Utah 22-yard line, Tolutau had four rushes for 22 yards on the drive. The Cougars failed on a two-point conversion attempt to trail 16-6.
The Utes' fourth field goal, a 38-yarder, came with 2:35 left in the third quarter and put Utah up 19-6.
Mangum led BYU on an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. He found Dye in the endzone for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 2:38 on the clock to cut the Cougar deficit to 19-13.
BYU was able to get the ball back with over two minutes to play but failed to get a first down to extend the game.
BYU stays at home to host Wisconsin next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MDT. That game will be televised on either ABC or ESPN, with radio broadcasts on BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143) and KSL Radio (1160 AM/102.7 FM).
BYU stays at home to host Wisconsin next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MDT. That game will be televised on either ABC or ESPN, with radio broadcasts on BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143) and KSL Radio (1160 AM/102.7 FM).