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It's a final from Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah beats BYU 24-21. Here are a few thoughts after tonight's game...
-BYU had a horrible first series. The Cougars' first offensive possession consisted of a bad snap, fumble, and two false starts. Not the beginning that BYU wanted.
-Utah started the game very composed. While BYU looked better in the second quarter, they never got into a rhythm.
-The BYU defense couldn't get off the field on third and long. The Cougars' inability to tackle was a major issue.
-Despite all of the miscues, BYU survived the first half and gave themselves a chance to correct the mistakes of the first two quarters. Unfortunately, the Cougars couldn't get things going offensively.
-Riley Nelson did not look right tonight. He finished the evening with 206 yards and two touchdowns. Nelson also threw an interception.
-The Cougars shot themselves in the foot with too many false start penalties. BYU put themselves in numerous second/third and long situations that they couldn't come back from.
-The game changed in the third quarter. BYU was driving and in field goal range, when a bad snap was picked up by Utah and returned for a touchdown. After another bad series, BYU punted; only to see Utah throw a touchdown on their first play of the series.
-Sometimes you can make mistakes and it doesn't ultimately hurt you. That isn't the case when BYU faces Utah. Once again, BYU made crucial errors and Utah was in position to take advantage of them.
-As mistake-prone as BYU was tonight, they still had the ball with a chance to tie the game with a 51 yard field goal as time expired.
