What BYU players remember most about streak-busting 2021 win over Utah

Mention BYU’s 26-17 win over Utah the last time the rivalry game was played, on Sept. 11, 2021, and one of the first memories that Cougars who played in the Week 2 affair is that it snapped the Utes’ nine-game winning streak in the series.
The second memorable event, to them, was how BYU students stormed the field to celebrate the breakthrough over the No. 18-ranked Utes.
“We already had that (field storming) planned coming into the game,” tight end Keanu Hill said Wednesday.
Noted BYU defensive lineman Blake Mangelson, who didn’t play much but was on the field for the last play and could see the students lining up to burst onto the playing surface at LaVell Edwards Stadium: “I do remember there was so much pressure on us to win, knowing the game wouldn’t be played as much after that. The monkey was off our backs.”
And just in the nick of time.
“My biggest memory is the excitement on the sidelines from my coaches and my other teammates and then having the field stormed and all that,” Mangelson said. “I think that is the one thing I remember the most about it.”
The tables have been turned for this year’s rivalry game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday (8:15 p.m., ESPN) as No. 9 BYU enters as the favorite and Utah the team looking to right a disappointing season.
“This is probably their Super Bowl,” said BYU receiver Chase Roberts, when asked if he expects a field-storming if Utah wins. “They don’t have a lot to lose. They are going to go out and play their best and do what they do. They are a good team. We just gotta do what we do, and we should take care of business. It will be a fun game. Yeah, we will see what happens.”
Roberts was on BYU’s roster in 2021, but didn’t play because he was planning on redshirting.
“It was such an exciting game. I am just excited to get back on the field with them and be able to play a great team where we can fight, battle,” he said. “We know they are going to give it their all and we are going to do the same.”
Right tackle Brayden Keim said he “cheered really hard from the bench” in the 2021 game, but still had a good time watching current pros Tyler Allgeier, Puka Nacua and Jaren Hall do their thing. Allgeier ran for 102 yards, Hall passed for 149 and ran for 92, and Nacua caught four passes for 37 yards.
Neil Pau’u, former Ute Samson Nacua and Gunner Romney caught touchdown passes.
“I remember the O line had a great game. They were rolling the (Utah) D line off the ball and Tyler Allgeier was running hard,” Keim said. “As an O lineman, that is what I remember, is the play of the O line that year.”
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said he would have “bet my house” that Utah would control the line of scrimmage, but it didn’t happen. Micah Bernard, who is Utah’s leading rusher this year, ran for 146 yards and a touchdown in Provo.
Keim, who grew up in Sandy “among a lot of Utah fans” and graduated from Alta High, was also asked if he thinks Utah fans will storm the field if the Utes spring an upset and derail BYU’s perfect season.
“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did,” he said. “It is a big rivalry game, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Other offensive players on BYU’s roster in 2024 who were on the roster in 2021 include receiver Kody Epps, running backs Hinckley Ropati and Mason Fakahua, offensive lineman Connor Pay and tight end Ethan Erickson.
Pay and Epps, starters when the season began, are injured and not expected to play Saturday.
Along with Mangelson, other defensive players from 2021 who are still around are defensive end Tyler Batty, defensive tackle John Nelson and defensive backs Jakob Robinson, Micah Harper, Talan Allfrey, Ethan Slade and Tanner Wall.
Batty had three tackles, Robinson had two tackles and a pass breakup, and Nelson had a tackle.
“I remember just how explosive and how energized our side of the ball was. I feel like we had a lot of juice, having Samson, Puka,” Hill said. “Those guys really bring a lot of juice. I feel like if we can come in with that much juice and that much energy, I think we will be fine.”
Batty said “there was a lot of motivation” in 2021 to play well and “end our drought against Utah,” and he expects the same kind of enthusiasm and energy from both teams Saturday, as the stakes are considerably higher than they were for a nonconference game in 2021.
“The other day we were talking about (the 2021 game) and everyone who had played in that game raised their hand,” Batty said. “It was surprisingly few. It has been fun getting the younger guys and guys who haven’t played in it up to speed.”
The kickoff time (8:15 p.m.) is the same as it was in 2021, but it will be about 30 degrees colder in Salt Lake City, as the Utes and Cougars return to playing in November as opposed to September.
“I expect it to be a hostile environment. We expect it to be loud. They have a great team. They have great fans. So we are expecting it to be an intense, loud, fun game,” Batty said.
What does BYU coach Kalani Sitake remember about the big win in 2021, which moved his record against his former boss, Kyle Whittingham, to 1-4.
“When I got the job, that is all the fans wanted to talk to me about, is just winning that game,” Sitake said. “I felt a lot of relief for them (when BYU won).”
Sitake reminded fans on both sides to appreciate that the rivalry game is back after a three-year absence, the longest span between games since the 1940s due to World War II.
“This is a really cool thing for all those here that are local,” Sitake said. “… So now that we are here, I think we have to take advantage of it. But let’s do it differently. Let’s do it so it can be even more fun.”
With or without a field storming.