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SALT LAKE CITY -- BYU led for most of the game but Utah came back late in the fourth quarter and blocked a last-second field goal attempt to defeat the Cougars 17-16 on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

After Utah took its only lead of the game with just over four minutes remaining, BYU freshman quarterback Jake Heaps engineered a long drive downfield, including a 22-yard pass to freshman tight end Devin Mahina on a third-and-nine.

The Cougars advanced as far as the Utah 22-yard line before wearing down the clock to four seconds remaining. Utah, however, blocked senior kicker Mitch Payne’s 42-yard attempt to secure the Ute victory.

Payne previously hit field goals of 43, 37 and 42 yards and added an extra point, scoring 10 of the Cougars’ 16 points.

Heaps finished 22-of-37 passing for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception for BYU (6-6, 5-3 MWC). The true freshman’s main target was senior wide receiver McKay Jacobson, who caught his first touchdown of the year and finished with seven receptions for a season- and game-high 92 yards.

BYU held its fourth-straight opponent scoreless in the first half as the Cougars scored two field goals for the 6-0 lead. Payne converted from 43 yards with 4:34 to go in the first quarter and again from 37 yards with just two seconds remaining before the half. The Cougar defense allowed Utah (9-2, 7-1) only 11 rushing yards on 12 carries in the half as Utah got nearly half of its first-half total of 124 yards on one 60-yard pass play.

The Cougars added the game’s first touchdown with 4:41 on the third-quarter clock when Heaps found Jacobson in the back right corner of the end zone. The 21-yard connection was Jacobson’s first of the season as he successfully kept his feet inbounds on the third-and-13 play. Payne’s point-after conversion gave BYU a 13-0 lead.

The BYU defense forced two turnovers over the first three quarters with linebackers Jameson Frazier and Shane Hunter both intercepting reserve quarterback Terrance Cain during his two third-quarter possessions. Hunter’s 46-yard return to the Utah 19 set up Jacobson’s touchdown grab three plays later.

The Cougar defense held Utah scoreless through three quarters and gave up just 89 yards rushing and 207 total yards for the game while forcing three turnovers. Senior safety Andrew Rich led the team with 10 tackles while Kyle Van Noy, Jameson Frazier and Shane Hunter had seven tackles apiece.

A BYU turnover helped Utah finally put points on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter. After the Cougars’ mishandled handoff exchange was recovered by Utah at the BYU 37-yard line, starting quarterback Jordan Wynn, who had returned to the game, found wide receiver DeVonte Christopher for the one-play strike. Cougar cornerback Brian Logan tipped the ball but Christopher was in the right place to catch it as he fell in the end zone.

The Cougars responded with a 15 play, 56-yard drive to increase their lead to 16-10 with 7:38 to go in the game. A key play on the drive showed off Heaps’ strong arm as he found Jacobson for a 28-yard gain on a third-and-six play to put the Cougars in scoring position. Three plays later, Payne hit another field goal from 42 yards, giving BYU a 16-10 lead with under eight minutes left in the game.

BYU forced a punt on the ensuing Utah drive, but a badly kicked punt grazed a Cougar player and was recovered by the Utes at the BYU 46. The Cougars again had a chance to put their offense on the field after senior defensive back Brandon Bradley intercepted a pass, but Bradley was stripped of the ball on his return. After the fumble call was upheld by the replay official, Utah scored three plays later on a 3-yard rush by Asiata, giving Utah its only and final lead of the game at 17-16.

BYU will now await a bowl invitation, its sixth straight, following the BCS selection show on Dec. 5.

Scoring Summary (Final)

BYU (6-6,5-3) vs. Utah (9-2,7-1)

Date: Nov 27, 2010 Site: Salt Lake City, UTAH Stadium: Rice-Eccles

Attendance: 45272

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score

----------------- -- -- -- -- -----

BYU................. 3 3 7 3 - 16

Utah................ 0 0 0 17 - 17

Scoring Summary:

1st 04:34 BY - PAYNE, Mitch 43 yd field goal, 10-45 3:48, BY 3 - UU 0

2nd 00:02 BY - PAYNE, Mitch 37 yd field goal, 7-21 2:21, BY 6 - UU 0

3rd 04:51 BY - JACOBSON, McKay 21 yd pass from HEAPS, Jake (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 3-19 0:51, BY 13 - UU 0

4th 14:56 UU - PHILLIPS, Joe 40 yd field goal, 12-39 4:48, BY 13 - UU 3

13:46 UU - CHRISTOPHER, De 37 yd pass from WYNN, Jordan (PHILLIPS, Joe kick), 1-37 0:08, BY 13 - UU 10

07:38 BY - PAYNE, Mitch 42 yd field goal, 15-56 6:02, BY 16 - UU 10

04:24 UU - ASIATA, Matt 3 yd run (PHILLIPS, Joe kick), 3-38 1:21, BY 16 - UU 17

BYU UU

FIRST DOWNS................... 19 14

RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 37-65 28-89

PASSING YDS (NET)............. 228 207

Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 37-22-1 37-15-3

TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 74-293 65-296

Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0

Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-7 2-2

Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-47 5-77

Interception Returns-Yards.... 3-80 1-0

Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-41.0 6-35.5

Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-3 1-0

Penalties-Yards............... 2-20 3-40

Possession Time............... 32:32 27:28

Third-Down Conversions........ 6 of 15 4 of 15

Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 1 1 of 1

Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-3 1-1

Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-9 2-27

RUSHING: BYU-KARIYA, Bryan 14-36; QUEZADA, Joshua 12-30; DI LUIGI, JJ

7-14; HEAPS, Jake 4-minus 15. Utah-WIDE, Eddie 18-73; ASIATA, Matt 8-23; WYNN,

Jordan 2-minus 7.

PASSING: BYU-HEAPS, Jake 22-37-1-228. Utah-WYNN, Jordan 13-30-1-199;

CAIN, Terrance 2-7-2-8.

RECEIVING: BYU-JACOBSON, McKay 7-92; KARIYA, Bryan 4-29; HOFFMAN, Cody

3-22; MAHINA, Devin 2-32; MENDENHALL, Zed 2-12; ASHWORTH, Luke 2-12; HOLT,

Austin 1-17; DI LUIGI, JJ 1-12. Utah-BROOKS, Jereme 3-72; SMITHSON, Shaky 3-35;

ROGERS, Dallin 2-38; MATTHEWS, Luke 2-10; WIDE, Eddie 2-5; CHRISTOPHER, De 1-37;

ASIATA, Matt 1-6; ASIATA, Shawn 1-4.

INTERCEPTIONS: BYU-HUNTER, Shane 1-46; FRAZIER, Jameso 1-25; BRADLEY,

Brando 1-9. Utah-BLECHEN, Brian 1-0.

FUMBLES: BYU-BRADLEY, Brando 1-1; HEAPS, Jake 1-1; TEAM 1-1. Utah-ROGERS,

Dallin 1-0.

SACKS (UA-A): BYU-PUTNAM, Matt 1-0. Utah-WALKER, Chaz 1-0; BLECHEN, Brian

1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): BYU-RICH, Andrew 4-6; VAN NOY, Kyle 5-2; FRAZIER, Jameso

3-4; HUNTER, Shane 3-4; WAGNER, Jadon 2-3; OGLETREE, Brand 0-5; BRADLEY, Brando

3-1; LOGAN, Brian 2-2; UALE, Travis 1-3; MENDENHALL, Zek 0-4; MANUMALEUNA, Ea

0-3; PUTNAM, Matt 1-1; SO'OTO, Vic 0-2; BRYSON, Thomas 0-2; HOFFMAN, Cody 1-0;

HORNUNG, Reed 0-1; HESS, Connell 0-1; MARSHALL, Matt 0-1; FOOTE, David 0-1;

ANSAH, Ezekiel 0-1; JORGENSEN, Aust 0-1. Utah-MARTINEZ, Matt 7-10; WALKER, Chaz

5-9; TAPLIN-ROSS, Ju 6-2; BLECHEN, Brian 3-4; SILIGA, Sealver 1-6; CHAPMAN,

Lamar 3-1; MANIS, Chad 0-4; BURTON, Brandon 2-1; KRUGER, Dave 0-3; COX,

Christian 1-1; VAKAPUNA, Tauni 1-1; HONEYCUTT, Mike 0-2; BURTON, Beau 0-2;

SHELBY, Derrick 0-2; LOTULELEI, Star 0-2; ANDERSEN, Boo 0-2; MOEAI, Kendrick

1-0; CAIN, Terrance 1-0; CULLEN, John 1-0; A'ASA, Neli 1-0; SPIKES, Victor 0-1;

BIRD, Greg 0-1; TUI'ONE, Junior 0-1; BLACK, Conroy 0-1.

Game 12: BYU Cougars vs. Utah Utes

BYU will play Utah at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, Nov. 27 in the annual Deseret First Duel. The game will be broadcast live from Rice-Eccles Stadium on The Mtn., CBS College Sports and KSL Radio 1160 AM and 102.7 FM.

BYU (6-5, 5-2 MWC) at Utah (9-2, 6-1)

Nov. 27, 2010

1:30 p.m. MT

Rice-Eccles Stadium

Salt Lake City, Utah

BYU-UTAH DESERET DUEL SERIES

The Deseret Duel rivalry between BYU and Utah is one of the fiercest and, lately, one of closest matchups in the country. Only two games in the last 13 years have been decided by more than a touchdown, with the other two contests coming in BCS seasons for Utah. BYU has won three of the last four meetings including a 33-31 win in Salt Lake City, the Cougars’ only win in Rice-Eccles since 2000.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

- After playing in the same conference for over 89 years, BYU and Utah will play their final game as conference foes. Since joining the Mountain West Conference, the Cougars and Utes have won the most conference games of any MWC team, coming out on top in 64 and 62 games, respectively.

- In the last 13 matchups between BYU and Utah only two have been decided by more than seven points, including two overtime games. In that time Utah has won seven games and BYU has won six.

- This game will be the 47th-straight time these two teams have faced each other in the month of November. Next year, Utah will travel to play BYU in Provo on September 17, only the second time in the 86-year history of the rivalry that the game will be played in that month.

- Bronco Mendenhall is 16-3 all-time in the month of November in his almost six full seasons as the head coach at BYU and is currently on a seven-game win streak during the month dating back to the Cougars’ loss to Utah in 2008.

MOST WINS IN MWC HISTORY

With its victory over New Mexico, BYU has a 64-25 record in MWC play since the inception of the league in 1999—guaranteeing BYU the most conference wins over that 12-year span. BYU’s next opponent, Utah, follows with a 62-27 MWC record.

THE OFFENSE IS ALIVE

After holding New Mexico to seven points, BYU has held its last three opponents to 10 points or less the last three games, the longest such streak since 1984. The Cougars held Colorado State to 10 points and UNLV to seven points the previous two games, matching the streak 17 years ago when BYU held New Mexico, UTEP and San Diego State to zero, nine and three points, respectively.

ON THE GROUND

With 258 yards rushing against New Mexico, BYU has had four-straight games with over 200 yards rushing and six such games this season—the most 200-yard rushing games since 2001 (also six) when BYU had Doak Walker winner Luke Staley. Five of BYU’s six wins this year have been 200-yard rushing games.

FAST START

BYU has scored at least 14 points in the first quarter in each of the last four games, the first time the Cougars have done so in four-straight games in program history. BYU has scored 14 in the first quarter six times this season overall, the most since 1983. BYU also scored 14 in the first quarter six times in 1981 and 1980 and did so a record seven times in 1977. BYU has outscored its opponents 101-44 in the first quarter on the year.

RECORD-SETTING SEASON

Senior kicker Mitch Payne set a new MWC record for most kicking points in a career last week against New Mexico. Payne passed his brother and former BYU kicker Matt for first all-time, now at 314 career points after kicking two field goals and four PATs against the Lobos.

For the complete BYU vs. Utah game notes, see the attached PDF file.