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The Holy War is a college football rivalry game played between the University of Utah Utes and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The term Holy War, rather than denoting a war between religions, refers to the intensity of the battle. It is as if the players on both sides of the ball are fighting for their lives, families, freedom, and religion. The name 'Holy War' is obviously derived from the fact that most areas of Provo and (to a lesser extent) Salt Lake City are predominantly LDS (Mormon).

Contents 1 The Rivalry 2 Utah's early dominance 3 The LaVell Edwards era 4 The modern rivalry 5 Historic dates in the rivalry 6 See also

The Holy War is one of America's oldest and most heated college football rivalries. In fact, the schools even differ on when the first game was played. Utah claims that the first game was played in 1896 (when Brigham Young University was known as Brigham Young Academy). BYU on the other hand claims that the rivalry dates back to 1922, the first year BYU began playing football. For historical purposes, 1922 is the date most used when referring to the start of the Holy War. The Utes lead the all time series 53-33-4.

In the last 20 meetings, the record stands at 10-10, with the longest winning streak on either side being 4 games long. BYU has won the last two matchups in 2006 and 2007.

1988: Utah 57 - BYU 28
1989: BYU 70 - Utah 31
1990: BYU 45 - Utah 22
1991: BYU 48 - Utah 17
1992: BYU 31 - Utah 22
1993: Utah 34 - BYU 31
1994: Utah 34 - BYU 31
1995: Utah 34 - BYU 17
1996: BYU 37 - Utah 17
1997: Utah 20 - BYU 14
1998: BYU 26 - Utah 24
1999: Utah 20 - BYU 17
2000: BYU 34 - Utah 27
2001: BYU 24 - Utah 21
2002: Utah 13 - BYU 6
2003: Utah 3 - BYU 0
2004: Utah 52 - BYU 21
2005: Utah 41 - BYU 34
2006: BYU 33 - Utah 31
2007: BYU 17 - Utah 10

Utah began its early dominance over BYU with a 49-0 victory on October 14th, 1922. BYU would not get a win in the series until 1942, when the Cougars shocked the Utes 12-7 at Utah. The rivalry then took a hiatus in 1943-1945 during World War II. When the rivalry continued in 1946, the Utes continued their domination over the Cougars, winning or tying the next 12 contests. The rivalry continued this trend into the 1970 season, where Utah had amassed a 37-5-4 (.848) record against BYU.

By 1972, things began to change at BYU. The Cougars had hired LaVell Edwards and in his first season, BYU beat Utah for the first time in 4 years. The rivalry rapidly shifted and BYU began its dominance against Utah. From 1972-1992, BYU went 19-2 (.905) against Utah.

By the mid-1990s, the Cougars' success leveled off from the years of the 1970s and '80s. Around this time, the Utes also improved significantly, and the rivalry became much more competitive.

The rivalry began to change in 1993, when the Utes won their first road game against BYU in 21 seasons. Much of this success could be attributed to Ron McBride, who had been hired as head coach of Utah in 1990. The 1994 season was McBride’s best, as he led the Utes to a 10-2 record and a top-10 finish in national rankings. The Utes and Cougars also staged one of the best matchups in the rivalry's history, meeting for the first time as top-25 ranked teams. The Utes won the game 34-31, which was coincidentally the same score of their meeting a year before. Utah ran its rivalry winning streak up to 3 games a year later, with a 34-17 win at BYU. The Utes and Cougars would trade wins and losses the next couple of years, before the 2000 season.

Entering the 2000 season, legendary head coach LaVell Edwards announced that he was retiring. His final game as Cougars head coach came against the Utes in Salt Lake City, where BYU won with an exciting last-minute drive that ended on a touchdown with little time remaining on the clock.

In 2001, BYU entered their game against Utah undefeated and looking to become the first team from outside the BCS to play in a BCS bowl game. A tight game ended with a comeback by BYU, and the Cougars won their second straight game against the Utes for the first time in nearly 10 years.

McBride, who had guided Utah to 6 bowl games and 3 bowl wins, entered the 2002 rivalry game on the hot seat. The Utes had struggled all season long and even with their victory against BYU, Utah finished with their second losing season in three years. The 5-6 finish sealed McBride’s fate and he was fired in 2002; Weber State University hired him in December 2004.

Urban Meyer was hired to replace Ron McBride and in his first season the Utes won the Mountain West Conference and finished with their best record since the 1994 season at 10-2. Utah would go on to beat BYU for the second straight year with a 3-0 victory.

In 2004 Utah would have its best season ever, going 12-0 and becoming the first team from outside the BCS to play in a BCS bowl game. The Utes achieved this goal by beating BYU 52-21 of the rivalry. Urban Meyer then left Utah for the University of Florida and in a bit of a rivalry twist, the Utes named former BYU graduate and football player, and current defensive coordinator at Utah, Kyle Whittingham their head coach. The 2004 season also saw the resignation of BYU coach Gary Crowton, who was replaced by Bronco Mendenhall.

The 2005 season saw some striking parallels between the two programs. Both had replaced their former head coaches, struggled through parts of their seasons, and would finish the regular season with 6-5 records. When the two met in Provo in November 2005, BYU was looking for its first win against the Utes in three seasons. Utah was looking for a winning record and a shot at a bowl game. BYU entered as the favorite due to the fact that Utah would be playing without its starting quarterback and its best wide receiver, who had been injured in their previous game. The Utes were starting JC transfer Brett Ratliff who had taken just three snaps the week before. Ratliff surprised the Cougars by completing 17 of 32 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns, and rushing for 112 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. He was responsible for all five Utah touchdowns. The Utes went on to win in the first ever overtime game in the rivalry series.

When the two teams met again in November of 2006, this time in Salt Lake City, BYU jumped out to an early lead, then fell behind and trailed for much of the game, but finally won it 33-31 with an impressive last-minute drive, capped by a touchdown pass from John Beck to Jonny Harline with no time on the clock.

In 2007 the teams clashed on November 23, and was, for most of the game, a defensive game. The game's first 12 points were only field goals, BYU's Mitch Payne scoring 9 points. Utah then scored the first touchdown, taking the lead 10-9. In the 4th quarter, BYU came back with a massive run, scoring a touchdown, which sealed the fate of the rivalry for that year: BYU on top 17-10.

• 1922: Utah and BYU meet for the first time, with the Utes winning 49-0.
• 1942: BYU gets its first win over Utah, 12-7.
• 1963: The only college football game played that week. All others canceled or postponed due to death of John F. Kennedy.
• 1972: First-year BYU head coach LaVell Edwards records his first victory over Utah, 16-7.
• 1978: Utah gets its first victory against a LaVell Edwards-led BYU team, winning 23-22.
• 1984: With a 24-14 win over Utah, BYU continues its undefeated season en route to the 1984 national championship.
• 1988: Utah, led by Scott Mitchell, beats BYU for the first time in 9 seasons, 57-28.
• 1989: Ty Detmer and the Cougars jump to 49-0 halftime lead, winning 70-31 over Utah, playing without injured QB Scott Mitchell.
• 1993: Utah gets its first victory against BYU on the road in 21 years, winning 34-31.
• 1994: The Utes and Cougars meet for the first time ever as ranked teams. Utah wins 34-31.
• 1996: BYU defeats Utah 37-17 on their way to a 14-1 finish.
• 1998: Utah misses the game-winning field goal, losing 26-24 in the first rivalry game played at newly rebuilt Rice-Eccles Stadium.
• 2000: LaVell Edwards coaches in his final game, a come-from-behind victory against the Utes. BYU wins 34-27.
• 2001: With an undefeated season in jeopardy, under coach Gary Crowton the Cougars mount a fourth quarter comeback, beating the Utes 24-21.
• 2002: In what would be Ron McBride's final game as head coach of the Utes, Utah defeats BYU 13-6.
• 2003: Utah's 3-0 victory in a November blizzard in Urban Meyer's first year marks the first time in 28 years that BYU is shut out in a football game.
• 2004: The Utes win over BYU 52-21, wrapping up an 11-0 season.
• 2005: In the first overtime game of the series, backup QB Brett Ratliff leads Utes to breathtaking 41-34 victory.
• 2006: BYU wins in Salt Lake 33-31 with "miracle" post-regulation touchdown.
• 2007: BYU beats Utah with a late drive to win 17-10 and clinch the outright conference championship.

• The Utah-BYU Rivalry
• Beehive Boot