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PROVO — With five-straight losses to their rivals, no BYU football player has ever beaten Utah in the contentious matchup that will kick off Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Except for one.
Well, kind of.
BYU defensive end Harvey Langi was a part of one win in the series in 2011, when he featured at running back during a 54-10 Utah win. Langi even ran the ball four times for 33 yards against BYU, one of seven games he played during Utah’s inaugural season in the Pac-12.
After serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tampa, Florida, the former Bingham High standout transferred to BYU, and he’s suffered defeat in the once again-annual rivalry series with last year’s Las Vegas Bowl loss.
“Of course, we’re all excited for the in-state rivalry game,” Langi said after practice Monday. “But it’s also in my mind Week 2, and it’s too early to start puffing my chest. In my mind, work will always show what we can do.”
Langi’s decision three years ago to switch from red to blue has had consequences. A former Bingham High standout, he left high school as one of the most explosive offensive players in the state.
The move to Provo also required a move to linebacker. This fall, he made a switch to defensive end in new coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki’s 4-3 defense.
And he also got married in the spring, so he hasn’t regretted the move.
“It’s been a long journey,” Langi said. “Everyone has their own journey.
“Once you get to your senior year, you can’t look back and change time. We’re all in our positions because of the choices we decided to take. For me, all my decisions have been good decisions and the best decisions for me so far.”
Another key figure in the BYU football program also has recent winning experience in the rivalry series: head coach Kalani Sitake. He spent 10 years as the Utes’ defensive coordinator, forming a strong friendship with former BYU linebacker Kyle Whittingham in the process.
But going back to Rice-Eccles Stadium won’t be as weird as one might imagine.
“It was more weird for me coming to BYU when I was at Utah,” Sitake said. “I played so many games in the BYU home locker room.
“It’s a great place to play a football game. The opportunity we have to go into that stadium and be around such great passionate fans, it’s an exciting time. We’re looking forward to going there. It’s going to be fun.”
It’s not all unicorns and rainbows, though.
“This is what it’s all about. These are the situations you cannot replicate,” BYU quarterback Taysom Hill said. “I love playing in hostile environments, and it doesn’t get any more hostile than this.”
BYU has lost five-straight games in the series that the Cougars once dominated, and have gone 3-7 since Kyle Whittingham took over on the Hill.
But there’s no hatred or animosity from Sitake’s view. He still plays golf with Whittingham every summer. The two will still shake hands and hug it out before and after the game.
But make no mistake: for 60 minutes Saturday evening, he wants to win.
“Anyone who knows me knows I will approach every game with the will to win,” Sitake said. “But I won’t stomp over people. I’ll speak the truth; they (Utah) were great to me and my family for 10 years.
“Respecting our opponents is important to me. That’s what the game of football is about.”
