#91 - 11/18/89 – Cougars rout Utes with 7 consecutive TDs to start the game: #21 BYU – 70, Utah - 31

        One of the most competitive rivalries in the NCAA has been between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. This rivalry extends to all sports, as evidenced by the Deseret First Duel - a trophy awarded by the Deseret First Credit Union (since 2008) to the school that compiles the most points in head-to-head matchups across 12 sports: football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming, women's gymnastics, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball, women's soccer, and women's volleyball. However, even in the scoring system devised by Deseret First, the football matchup has always been awarded more points than the other sports. Why? Because the quasi-annual BYU - Utah football game garners more attention throughout the state than any other athletic event. In recent years, Utah has won nine of the last ten matchups - though the scores have usually been closer than the record would seem to indicate. During the 1980’s, the inverse was true. Prior to their 1989 face-off, BYU had won nine of ten; but it was the 1988 loss (57-28) that really rankled the Cougars and their fans. Therefore, when the #21 BYU Cougars (8-2) hosted the Utah Utes (4-6) in their penultimate game of the season, the Cougars were hoping for a little revenge.

        On the Cougars’ first possession, sophomore quarterback Ty Detmer guided an 80-yard drive that culminated with an 18-yard TD pass to Matt Bellini, uncovered in the back of the end zone. On their next drive, Detmer cradled the ball and broke through a gap in the line. With several Ute defenders closing in on him from the right, he broke left. As he was being pulled down, he extended the ball over the line as he went down for a 7-yard TD rush. Drive #3 started at the Utah 35, following a Ute fumble. It ended with Fred Whittingham powering into the end zone for a 4-yard TD rush. On their fourth drive, the Cougars marched 61 yards, with Detmer connecting with Jeff Frandsen just short of the end zone. A Ute defender grabbed hold of Frandsen, but Jeff lunged into the end zone for a 9-yard TD reception. On the other side of the ball, the Cougar D dominated. After one quarter of play, it was BYU 28-0.

        The second quarter was more of the same. The Utes threatened to score to open the quarter, but their FG attempt was blocked, and recovered by the Cougars at the Ute 37. Drive Five was short and sweet. The Cougars scored on a 6-yard power rush by Whittingham. The Utes responded with a long drive to the Cougar 1-yard line. As the Ute QB tried to thrust his way into the end zone behind his line, the ball squirted out ant the Cougars recovered it at their own 6. Three plays later, they were at their 24. *Ty Detmer took the snap and settled into the pocket, looking for an open receiver. While his offensive linemen kept the Ute linemen occupied, Detmer went through his progressions. On his second or third time through his options, Detmer finally spotted TE Chris Smith just short of midfield. Although Smith was double-covered, Detmer fired it to him, away from the defenders. The nearest defender tried to tackle him, but Smith wriggled out of his grasp. Another defender dove for Smith’s legs, but Smith yanked his foot free and and headed upfield while a third defender stumbled over his fallen teammates. Smith’s 50-yard dash resulted in a 76-yard TD reception, and a 42-0 lead (#40). On their seventh drive, the Cougars scored a seventh 7-pointer. This time, Detmer connected with Matt Odle on a 12-yard TD pass. Down, but not yet out, the Utes fought back like all good rivals do. Driving 80 yards in five plays, they scored their first points on a 12-yard pass to Darrel Hicks. Then, with Detmer on the sidelines, the Ute defense forced the Cougars’ first punt of the day. At halftime the scoreboard read BYU - 49, Utah - 7.

The Utes got the ball to start the second half. They drove 64 yards and Wayne Lammle booted a 29-yard FG. The Cougars weren’t done yet, however. On their first drive of the half, Detmer engineered an 80-yard drive. Whittingham carried the rock in from the Utah 5 for his third TD of the day. Utah drove to the Cougar 6 before surrendering their third fumble of the day. The Cougars took a couple of plays to move the ball out to their 19-yard line. *Although at this stage of the game, the Cougars were focused on just running out the clock, someone forgot to tell Stacey Corley. Taking the handoff from backup QB, Sean Covey, Corley found a seam through the line, slipped out of a shoestring tackle and met another Ute head on at the 28. Spinning out of the grasp of that defender, he continued up the left side of the field with a teammate running interference. Just past the Ute 30, another Ute caught up with him, but Corley just shrugged out of his grasp, cut to the inside and breezed right past the extended arms of a fourth potential tackler, opening up a clear field to the end zone for an 81-yard TD run (#60).

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, most of the starters were on the bench, giving the backups a chance to play. The Utes, however, were still fighting. They engineered an 80-yard scoring drive, with Richmond and Hicks connecting on a 3-yard TD pass. A Cougar fumble at their own 27 led to another Ute score - a 27-yard TD pass from Richmond to Hicks on third-and-ten. A third straight scoring drive went for 60 yards, with Richmond passing to Dennis Smith for a 7-yard TD play. The Cougars had one last scoring drive remaining. After driving to the Ute 29, Peter Tuipulotu took the handoff, broke through the coverage and high-stepped into the endzone with the Coug’s tenth touchdown of the night. More importantly, Jason Chaffetz booted his team record 10th extra point in a game to finish the scoring at 70-31.

Chris Smith
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Jason Chaffetz
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Detmer, who led the Cougars on 8 TD drives, completed 18-of-22 passes, for 358 yards and 4 TD passes, running for another, to garner a 278.5 efficiency rating. He would end up leading the nation with a 175.6 QB rating. TE Chris Smith racked up 194 receiving yards, breaking 1,000 yards for the season. He would finish the regular season with 1,090 receiving yards (8th; an NCAA record for a TE that he himself would break the following year). In addition to his record 10 PATs in a game, Chaffetz also set a BYU record with 36 consecutive successful PATs. The Cougars would end up winning the WAC championship the next week against SDSU, and earn an invite to the Holiday Bowl.

BYU highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMEimonLCUs

 *BYU Tv's Top 100 plays in BYU Football TV history (updated 12/12/20 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYzgPw-bQ_c)