PROVO — There wasn’t an issue crossing the 50-yard line, but BYU’s offense couldn’t find enough in the Cougars’ loss Saturday night to rival Utah in Provo.

Utah walk-on kicker Matt Gay knocked down four field goals, and Utah’s defense picked off BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum three times en route to a seventh-straight win in front of 63,470 fans Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Tyler Huntley threw for 300 yards and ran for 89 yards and a touchdown to lead Utah, which held BYU (1-2) to 233 yards of offense.

Ula Toluta’u cashed in, running the ball four times in five plays capped by a 1-yard TD to pull the host Cougars within 10, 16-6 with 9:47 left in the third quarter. BYU then pulled within one possession, 19-13 on Tanner Mangum’s 7-yard TD heave to Trey Dye with 2:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.

But the Cougars could get no closer.

“We’re disappointed with the result of the game, and it’s hard to think about anything else,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “Congratulations to Utah on the win.”

Here are three quick thoughts on BYU’s seventh-straight loss to their rival from the Pac 12.

BYU’s defense was ready. The offense? Not so much

Through Utah’s six-game win streak against their rivals from the south, the Utes have forced a turnover on the opening drive of each game.

That wasn’t the case Saturday night.

BYU forced a punt from Mitch Wishnowski on back-to-back drives to start the game. The Utes did not punt until the third quarter in the season opening 37-16 win over North Dakota.

Utah’s offense did not find the end zone in the first half, settling for three field goals from former Utah Valley forward (and Orem High product) Matt Gay.

“It makes us feel a little better but not enough,” said linebacker Butch Pau’u, who had six tackles with five solo stops. “Our goal is to make sure that our defense does well enough. Our goal is that they don’t pass the 50.

“It was very loud today and we couldn’t get our calls to our defensive line. That is probably why they made a few plays.”

Even with the game seemingly out of range with 5:51 left, Matt Hadley stopped Zack Moss on fourth down as the Cougars trailed 19-6. The defense didn’t quit, forcing the Utes to take 13 of 19 points via Gay’s kicking leg.

“You don’t want to be frustrated with the offense because they would see that,” Hadley said. “We try to keep our heads up, help them keep their heads up and encourage them. Of course, we want them to put up more points. We can do a better job and hold (our opponent) to even less points so that our offense doesn’t have to march all 90 yards down the field with 1:15 left.

“We would like to see more points, but we’ve got to do a better job as well.”

BYU should have its featured back

Ula Toluta’u found the groove in the Cougar backfield Saturday night. As Ty Detmer’s offense has required a “by-committee” approach to the run game following the departure of all-time leading rusher Jamaal Williams, Toluta’u stepped up in his first major action of the season with a big game that briefly provided a spark of hope for the BYU offense.

Toluta’u ran for 22 yards on 4 carries, including the Cougars’ first touchdown against an FBS opponent with his 1-yard jaunt in the third quarter that pulled BYU within 16-6.

Moreso, the former East High standout, who originally signed with Wisconsin, finished with a team-high 25 yards on five carries with a touchdown. Kavika Fonua had 22 yards on eight carries.

“It definitely felt good to go out in the game today and to get some touches. It’s good to finally get running.”

This game is always weird

When the two biggest schools in Utah get together, weird things happen.

On Saturday night, we saw a 3-point game where the only points were scored by a former UVU soccer player, a reversed fumble call that nearly went for a touchdown and a muffed punt return for a touchdown called back upon further review.

And that was just the first quarter.

“We didn’t do a good job scoring touchdowns in the red zone. We didn’t do a good job on third down. We just don’t seem to be quite in sync offensively yet,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “I think it’s still a work in progress.”

Utah committed 11 penalties, stalled on deep drives into the end zone five times and suffered from three fumbles — and won by five more points than last season in Salt Lake City.

“It’s hard not to look at (the losing streak) and think that was a lot of my time here,” Hadley said. “It’s this season, but you can’t really think about the past.

“The past isn’t going to help us get more wins in the future. It’s just frustrating because it’s our rival and we lost a close game.”

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