BYU Edges Utah 24-21 Behind Strong Second Half Defense
BYU defeated Utah 24-21 in a defensive struggle that saw both teams score sparingly through three quarters. The Cougars held a 10-7 halftime advantage before both offenses found the end zone in the fourth quarter. Utah's Devon Dampier led the visiting offense with 244 passing yards, while Ryan Davis caught 66 yards of receiving. BYU's Bear Bachmeier rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown late in the contest.
The game's pivotal play came in the third quarter when Dampier connected with Dallen Bentley on a 52-yard completion that resulted in a fumble recovery by Tobias Merriweather, providing critical offensive momentum. Utah's Daniel Bray added a crucial fourth-quarter rushing touchdown from 49 yards out to pull the Utes within reach. However, Bachmeier's fourth-quarter rushing touchdown proved decisive as BYU held on for the victory.
The Cougars' defense made key stops throughout, securing the home win and covering the 4-point spread. The game finished under the 49.5-point over-under, with defensive plays dominating late in the matchup.
AI-generated recap · Aug 7, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Utah | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
 BYU | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Utah | BYU |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 20-36 | 13-24 |
| Pass Yards | 244 | 166 |
| Rush Yards | 226 | 202 |
| Total Yards | 470 | 368 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| 3rd Down | 5-12 | 3-12 |
| Penalties | 12-77 | 5-42 |
| Possession | 28:53 | 31:07 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
LJ Martin run for 7 yds to the BYU 32
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Parker Kingston for 12 yds to the BYU 44 for a 1ST down
LJ Martin run for 3 yds to the BYU 47
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to LJ Martin
Bear Bachmeier sacked by John Henry Daley for a loss of 5 yards to the BYU 42
Sam Vander Haar punt for 46 yds, fair catch by Mana Carvalho at the UTAH 12
Sam Vander Haar punt for 46 yds, fair catch by Mana Carvalho at the UTAH 6
PENALTY Utah False Start (Mokofisi,Michael) 3 yards from Utah06 to Utah03. NO PLAY.
Wayshawn Parker run for 3 yds to the UTAH 6
Wayshawn Parker run for 6 yds to the UTAH 12
Devon Dampier pass complete to Ryan Davis for 22 yds to the UTAH 34 for a 1ST down
Wayshawn Parker run for 1 yd to the UTAH 35
Devon Dampier pass complete to Ryan Davis for 8 yds to the UTAH 43
Devon Dampier run for 7 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Dallen Bentley
Daniel Bray run for 29 yds to the BYU 21 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier run for 2 yds to the BYU 19
Devon Dampier run for 5 yds to the BYU 14
Devon Dampier run for 2 yds to the BYU 12
Daniel Bray run for a loss of 1 yard to the BYU 13
Parker Kingston run for 4 yds to the BYU 17
LJ Martin run for 9 yds to the BYU 26 for a 1ST down
LJ Martin run for 1 yd to the BYU 27
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Preston Rex for 32 yds to the UTAH 41 for a 1ST down
Bear Bachmeier sacked by Jonah Lea'ea for a loss of 2 yards to the UTAH 43
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Carsen Ryan for 2 yds to the UTAH 45
Bear Bachmeier run for 13 yds to the UTAH 32
LJ Martin run for no gain to the UTAH 32
Utah Penalty, Intentional Grounding (-10 Yards) to the UTAH 22
Devon Dampier run for 12 yds to the UTAH 34
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Ryan Davis
Orion Phillips punt for 49 yds , Parker Kingston returns for 2 yds to the BYU 19
LJ Martin run for no gain to the BYU 19
Bear Bachmeier run for 14 yds to the BYU 33 for a 1ST down
LJ Martin run for 13 yds to the BYU 46 for a 1ST down
PENALTY Utah Delay Of Game (Johnson,Tao) 5 yards from BYU46 to Utah49. NO PLAY.
LJ Martin run for 6 yds to the UTAH 43 for a 1ST down
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Chase Roberts for 26 yds to the UTAH 17 for a 1ST down
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Chase Roberts for 17 yds for a TD (Will Ferrin KICK)
Devon Dampier run for 4 yds to the UTAH 29
Devon Dampier pass complete to Semi Taulanga for 10 yds to the UTAH 39 for a 1ST down
Wayshawn Parker run for 9 yds to the UTAH 48
Devon Dampier pass complete to Ryan Davis for 11 yds to the BYU 41 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier run for 8 yds to the BYU 33
Wayshawn Parker run for 2 yds to the BYU 31 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier pass complete to Semi Taulanga for 7 yds to the BYU 38
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Lander Barton
Devon Dampier run for 10 yds to the BYU 28
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Tobias Merriweather
LJ Martin run for 5 yds to the BYU 33
LJ Martin run for 2 yds to the BYU 35
Bear Bachmeier run for a loss of 5 yards to the BYU 30
Sam Vander Haar punt for 45 yds, fair catch by Mana Carvalho at the UTAH 25
Sam Vander Haar punt for 45 yds, fair catch by Mana Carvalho at the UTAH 15
Daniel Bray run for 12 yds to the UTAH 27 for a 1ST down
Daniel Bray run for a loss of 3 yards to the UTAH 24
Devon Dampier pass complete to Lander Barton for 17 yds to the UTAH 41 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier run for 1 yd to the UTAH 42
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Larry Simmons
Devon Dampier pass complete to Larry Simmons for 24 yds to the BYU 34 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier run for 26 yds to the BYU 8 for a 1ST down
PENALTY Utah False Start 5 yards from BYU08 to BYU13. NO PLAY.
NaQuari Rogers run for 2 yds to the BYU 11
Devon Dampier pass complete to Ryan Davis for 11 yds for a TD (Dillon Curtis KICK)
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Chase Roberts
LJ Martin run for 1 yd to the BYU 26
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Cody Hagen
Sam Vander Haar punt for 34 yds , Mana Carvalho returns for no gain to the UTAH 40 Mana Carvalho fumbled, recovered by BYU Talan Alfrey
LJ Martin run for 5 yds to the UTAH 35
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Parker Kingston for 13 yds to the UTAH 22 for a 1ST down
Parker Kingston pass incomplete to Carsen Ryan
Bear Bachmeier run for 8 yds to the UTAH 14
LJ Martin run for 1 yd to the UTAH 13
Bear Bachmeier run for 2 yds to the UTAH 11 for a 1ST down
LJ Martin run for 2 yds to the UTAH 9
LJ Martin run for 2 yds to the UTAH 7
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete
Will Ferrin 26 yd FG GOOD
Daniel Bray run for 15 yds to the UTAH 40 for a 1ST down
End of 2nd Quarter
(15:00) Ferrin,Will kickoff 48 yards to the Utah17 Damuni,Levani return 9 yards to the Utah26 (Alfrey,Talan; Doe,Kevin) PENALTY Utah Holding 10 yards from BYU35 to BYU45. NO PLAY.
Wayshawn Parker run for 2 yds to the UTAH 27
Devon Dampier pass incomplete
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Dallen Bentley
Orion Phillips punt for 32 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the BYU 41
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Parker Kingston
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to LJ Martin for 3 yds to the BYU 38
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Chase Roberts
Sam Vander Haar punt for 50 yds , Mana Carvalho returns for 16 yds to the UTAH 28
Devon Dampier sacked by Max Alford for a loss of 5 yards to the UTAH 23
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Larry Simmons
Devon Dampier pass complete to Dallen Bentley for 52 yds Dallen Bentley fumbled, recovered by UTAH Tobias Merriweather for a 1ST down
Daniel Bray run for 2 yds to the BYU 23
Daniel Bray run for 8 yds to the BYU 15 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier run for 2 yds to the BYU 13
Devon Dampier pass complete to Wayshawn Parker for a loss of 1 yard to the BYU 14
Devon Dampier pass complete to Dallen Bentley for 6 yds to the BYU 8
Devon Dampier run for 2 yds to the BYU 6
LJ Martin run for 14 yds to the BYU 20 for a 1ST down
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Parker Kingston for 8 yds to the BYU 28
LJ Martin run for 6 yds to the BYU 34 for a 1ST down
Bear Bachmeier run for 6 yds to the BYU 40
Preston Rex run for 2 yds to the BYU 42
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to LJ Martin for 8 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
(05:02) Shotgun Martin,LJ rush right for 1 yard loss to the BYU49 (Davis,Elijah) PENALTY BYU Holding (Gentry,Andrew) 10 yards from BYU50 to BYU40. NO PLAY.
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Chase Roberts
(04:40) Shotgun Bachmeier,Bear pass intercepted by Bennee,Jackson at BYU50 Bennee,Jackson return 9 yards to the BYU41, End Of Play PENALTY Utah Holding (Johnson,Tao) 10 yards from BYU40 to BYU50. NO PLAY.
LJ Martin run for 3 yds to the UTAH 47
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Chase Roberts
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Chase Roberts
Sam Vander Haar punt for 37 yds
Wayshawn Parker run for no gain to the UTAH 10
Devon Dampier pass complete to JJ Buchanan for 12 yds to the UTAH 22 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier pass incomplete
Wayshawn Parker run for no gain to the UTAH 22
(01:46) No Huddle-Shotgun Dampier,Devon pass incomplete short left to Buchanan,JJ thrown to Utah30 broken up by Johnson,Evan PENALTY BYU Pass Interference (Johnson,Evan) 8 yards from Utah22 to Utah30, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Ryan Davis
Daniel Bray run for 6 yds to the UTAH 36
Daniel Bray run for 4 yds to the UTAH 40 for a 1ST down
PENALTY Utah Delay Of Game (Dampier,Devon) 5 yards from Utah40 to Utah35. NO PLAY.
Byrd Ficklin run for 16 yds to the BYU 49 for a 1ST down
Daniel Bray run for 49 yds for a TD (Dillon Curtis KICK)
Dillon Curtis kickoff for 65 yds , Cody Hagen return for 19 yds to the BYU 19
Bear Bachmeier run for 9 yds to the BYU 28
LJ Martin run for 4 yds to the BYU 32 for a 1ST down
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Parker Kingston for 17 yds to the BYU 49 for a 1ST down
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Carsen Ryan for 26 yds to the UTAH 25 for a 1ST down
Parker Kingston run for 12 yds for a TD (Will Ferrin KICK)
Byrd Ficklin run for 3 yds to the UTAH 28
Devon Dampier pass complete to Dallen Bentley for 11 yds to the UTAH 39 for a 1ST down
Byrd Ficklin run for a loss of 3 yards to the UTAH 36
Devon Dampier pass intercepted Tanner Wall return for no gain to the BYU 36
LJ Martin run for 15 yds to the UTAH 49 for a 1ST down
LJ Martin run for 4 yds to the UTAH 45
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Carsen Ryan for 2 yds to the UTAH 43
Bear Bachmeier pass complete to Carsen Ryan for 10 yds to the UTAH 33 for a 1ST down
PENALTY BYU False Start (Kingston,Parker) 5 yards from Utah33 to Utah38. NO PLAY.
LJ Martin run for 17 yds to the UTAH 21 for a 1ST down
LJ Martin run for 3 yds to the UTAH 18
LJ Martin run for a loss of 4 yards to the UTAH 22
Bear Bachmeier run for 22 yds for a TD (Will Ferrin KICK)
Devon Dampier pass complete to Ryan Davis for 5 yds to the UTAH 30
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to JJ Buchanan
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Dallen Bentley
Devon Dampier pass complete to Tobias Merriweather for 5 yds to the UTAH 35 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Tobias Merriweather
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Tobias Merriweather
Devon Dampier pass incomplete to Ryan Davis
PENALTY Utah Illegal Substitution 5 yards from Utah35 to Utah30. NO PLAY.
Devon Dampier sacked by Jack Kelly for a loss of 2 yards to the UTAH 28
LJ Martin run for no gain to the UTAH 28
LJ Martin run for 3 yds to the UTAH 25
Bear Bachmeier run for 2 yds to the UTAH 23
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Chase Roberts
Bear Bachmeier pass incomplete to Chase Roberts
Devon Dampier pass complete to JJ Buchanan for 31 yds to the BYU 46 for a 1ST down
Devon Dampier pass complete to Dallen Bentley for 16 yds to the BYU 30 for a 1ST down
(02:00) No Huddle-Shotgun Dampier,Devon pass incomplete deep right to Merriweather,Tobias thrown to BYU00 PENALTY BYU Pass Interference (Beasley,Tayvion) 15 yards from BYU30 to BYU15, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Devon Dampier pass complete to Ryan Davis for 5 yds to the BYU 10
Devon Dampier pass complete to Ryan Davis for 4 yds to the BYU 6
(01:28) No Huddle-Shotgun Dampier,Devon pass incomplete short right to Merriweather,Tobias thrown to BYU00 PENALTY BYU Pass Interference (Johnson,Evan) 4 yards from BYU06 to BYU02, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Devon Dampier pass complete to Larry Simmons for 2 yds for a TD (Dillon Curtis KICK)
(00:37) Kneel down by BYU at Utah43 for loss of 1 yard.
PENALTY Utah Delay Of Game 5 yards from Utah43 to Utah38. NO PLAY.
(00:14) Kneel down by BYU at Utah39 for loss of 1 yard.