The biggest Holy War ever played came down to one last throw. Bear Bachmeier launched a desperation pass toward the end zone with 13 seconds left, Utah safety Nate Ritchie picked it off, and No. 3 Utah held on to beat BYU 28-20 at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday. It was Bachmeier’s fourth interception of the day, and it kept the Utes perfect at 9-0.
The game was one of the seven ranked matchups in our Saturday college football preview, the first Holy War with both teams ranked in the top 10. It played like a classic. Utah scored twice in the first five minutes, BYU answered with 20 straight points, and then the Utah defense pitched a second-half shutout and took the ball away three more times.
Dampier did a little of everything
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier accounted for all four of his team’s touchdowns. He threw for 177 yards and two scores, both to Braden Pegan, including a 46-yard strike that grabbed the lead back in the third quarter. He ran 20 times for 87 yards and two more touchdowns, starting with a 22-yard scoring run on Utah’s third snap of the game and ending with a 3-yard keeper with 12:03 left that set the final score.
He was not done there. Dampier also caught a 29-yard pass from Creed Whittemore on a trick play. Bleacher Report’s box score recap noted that Dampier is the first player in NCAA history to post a game with at least 150 passing yards, 25 receiving yards, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. On the day Utah needed its quarterback to be everything, he was.
BYU owned the second quarter
For a half, the Cougars looked like the better team. Down 14-0 before some fans had settled in, BYU scored 20 straight points, helped by Bachmeier’s 75-yard touchdown bomb to Legend Glasker, who finished with seven catches for 118 yards. BYU led 20-14 at halftime and outgained Utah 391 yards to 328 for the game.
Bachmeier threw for 272 yards, and BYU moved the ball well enough to win most Saturdays. The problem was where the drives ended. Utah’s defense stiffened every time the Cougars crossed midfield after halftime, and the takeaways started to pile up.
Four interceptions flipped the game
James Chenault Jr. and Lance Holtzclaw also intercepted Bachmeier, and the two biggest thefts came in the final five minutes, both in the end zone. With BYU driving to tie the game, Trey Reynolds intercepted Bachmeier at the Utah 2-yard line with 4:39 left. BYU got one more chance and reached the Utah 41, but Ritchie’s end zone interception with two seconds on the clock ended it.
The four interceptions matched Bachmeier’s total from BYU’s first eight games combined, according to USA Today. Three of them came in the second half. Utah forced the mistakes with pressure and tight coverage, and a BYU offense that scored 20 points before halftime never scored again.
A field storm, a possible fine and a 9-0 start
When the clock hit zero, Utah fans poured onto the field. The win was Utah’s first over BYU since 2019, snapping a three-game losing streak in the rivalry, and it moved the Utes to 9-0 for the first time since 2008. The celebration may come with a bill. USA Today reported that the Big 12 reviews field storming case by case, and the standard fine is $50,000 when the visiting team and officials do not get a safe path off the field. Utah’s fans did not wait for the Cougars to leave.
BYU fell to 7-2, and its path to the College Football Playoff narrowed sharply, even with a win over Notre Dame on its resume. Utah, now 6-0 in the Big 12, heads to Arizona next week with the conference race still running through Salt Lake City. Follow every score and shakeup in our Sports coverage.
Sources: USA Today game coverage and field storming report, November 7, 2026; Associated Press recap via NBC Sports; sportradar box score and play by play; BYU Daily Universe; On3; Bleacher Report.