This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
During the media-viewing segment of Tuesday's practice, Utah executed one kickoff after another. Nice of the Utes to re-enact the first quarter of the 2015 Las Vegas Bowl for the sake of my story.
In December, Utah's Andy Phillips launched the opening kickoff and booted the ball off the tee five more times in the first 10 minutes, 22 seconds of the game, as BYU kept giving Utah the ball and the Utes responded by scoring touchdowns (three by the offense, two by the defense). Just when seemingly everything had occurred in the rivalry over 80-plus years, the outsourced episode in Las Vegas immediately turned into a tragedy or comedy — or both — as Utah took a 35-0 lead, breaking a school record for points in a first quarter.
"What was going through my mind was, 'Are you kiddin' me?' " Ute coach Kyle Whittingham said this week, in one of a series of interviews reliving the sequence of events of nine months ago as the teams prepare for Saturday's game.
Five BYU possessions, five turnovers. Three Utah possessions, three touchdown drives totaling 65 yards — plus two interceptions returned for scores. The game's first 27 plays from scrimmage all were run in BYU's end of the field.
"It almost didn't feel real," said Utah defensive end Hunter Dimick.
"It's such a hyped-up game, there's so much emotion, so having the ability to go out there and make a couple plays and get the momentum on our side was pretty cool," said Kylie Fitts, another Ute defensive end. "The five turnovers happened so fast, and at a point, you almost get kind of, like, bored."
Ty Detmer, soon to be named BYU's offensive coordinator, was driving on I-10 from Austin, Texas, to Houston, where one of his daughters would cheer in a state high school championship game. He kept getting Utah-BYU updates from the back seat: 7-0 … 14-0 … 21-0 … 28-0 … 35-0.
Detmer, repeatedly: "You're lying. No way."
Daughter: "I'm serious."
Asked what the first quarter was like from his perspective, then-BYU receivers coach Guy Holliday replied, "Hell."
Holliday expressed pride in his former players' response, although he may have wished he could switched schools right then and there. He joined the Utes in early January. Holliday was not among the six assistants whom BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was taking to Virginia, as announced before the Las Vegas Bowl. Later that day, Kalani Sitake was named Mendenhall's successor.
BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum's parents and siblings often were asked to recount where they were during his game-winning TD passes vs. Nebraska and Boise State and other celebrated performances as a freshman. That's because they were equally devoted to watching his brother Madison, then an Idaho State receiver — whose team lost 80-8 to UNLV in September at Sam Boyd Stadium, the Las Vegas Bowl venue. The Bengals also trailed 35-0 after one quarter.
Initially frustrated by what he was witnessing from his brother's BYU team, Parker Mangum "started shaking my head and chuckling from the insane possibility that we gave up five turnovers in the span of seven minutes," he said. "It was like a really bad, unlucky dream that started to feel completely out of control."
Tanner Mangum had thrown seven interceptions among 390 passes in the regular season. Three of his first nine passes in Las Vegas were picked off. A fumble on BYU's first possession, caused by Fitts, was Mangum's fault; he could have tucked the ball and accepted a sack instead of trying to throw.
The three interceptions, however, could be attributed to the Utes' efforts — and some degree of misfortune. The first pass bounced off a receiver, the second was batted by Utah's Jason Fanaika and the third ball fluttered when Fanaika hit Mangum as he threw. Tevin Carter (twice) and Dominique Hatfield were appreciative recipients. They caught the pop-ups on the run and headed toward the end zone. Each got there once; Carter was stopped at the 1-yard line another time.
The flurry of turnovers reached an even more absurd level when running back Squally Canada, having just become eligible after the fall semester after transferring from Washington State, fumbled on his first carry for BYU.
Troy Williams, now Utah's quarterback, was watching the game at home in southern California. Sometime during the first half, "I kind of fell asleep," he said, "and then I woke up and they were coming back."
Maybe that's what happened to the Utes, understandably, with BYU also deserving credit for not crumbling. "I'm insanely proud of Tanner and my fellow band of brothers for fighting to the bitter end," said Parker Mangum, a former BYU receiver.
"At 35-0, I sat back on the bleacher and caught myself thinking, 'Well, just sit here quietly and this will eventually end and we can sneak out of here,' " Michael Mangum said. Yet he realized that as the father of the BYU quarterback, "If I sit and sulk, what kind of example would I be?"
So he stood and cheered during a comeback that didn't occur immediately. Utah had four possessions with a 35-0 lead, but the offense couldn't add to it. The Utes already are promising to not squander any such advantage Saturday. If they're way ahead again, "We're just gonna go for 72 points or whatever in the second quarter," Joe Williams told The Tribune's Kyle Goon.
BYU's next four possessions ended with a missed field goal and three punts, but the Cougars made it 35-7 with a touchdown drive just before halftime. Mangum passed for 315 yards in the game, and with 3:23 remaining, his 4-yard touchdown run pulled BYU within 35-28.
"We might actually pull this off," Michael Mangum was thinking, but that run would be the last time his son touched the ball — and who knows when his next meaningful opportunity will come, with Taysom Hill now re-established as BYU's quarterback. Joe Williams' 3-yard run with an option pitch on a third-and-1 play enabled the Utes to run out the clock.
So Utah will take a five-game winning streak vs. BYU into Saturday's game, without having scored in the last 49 minutes of rivalry competition.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
A quarter of BYU-Utah history
The first 27 plays from scrimmage of the 2015 Las Vegas Bowl
BYU
1-10, BYU 25 • Algernon Brown run for minus-4 yards.
2-14, BYU 21 • Tanner Mangum pass incomplete.
3-14, BYU 25 • Mangum run for 4 yards; fumble forced by Kylie Pitts, recovered by Gionni Paul.
Utah
1-10, BYU 25 • Joe Williams run for 11 yards.
1-10, BYU 14 • Williams run for 4 yards.
2-6, BYU 10 • Travis Wilson run for 3 yards.
3-3, BYU 7 • Williams run for 2 yards.
4-1, BYU 5 • Williams run for 4 yards.
1-G, BYU 1 • Williams run for 1 yard, touchdown.
BYU
1-10, BYU 21 • Mangum pass intercepted by Tevin Carter, returned 28 yards for a touchdown.
BYU
1-10, BYU 18 • Mangum pass to Nick Kurtz for 11 yards.
1-10, BYU 29 • BYU penalty, Tejan Koroma unsportsmanlike conduct.
1-10, BYU 15 • Mangum pass to Mitchell Juergens, 11 yards.
1-10, BYU 26 • Francis Bernard run for 9 yards.
2-1, BYU 35 • Trey Dye run for minus-3 yards.
3-4, BYU 32 • Mangum pass intercepted by Carter, returned 33 yards to BYU 1.
Utah
1-G, BYU 1 • Williams run for 1 yard, touchdown.
BYU
1-10, BYU 28 • Mangum pass incomplete.
2-10, BYU 28 • Mangum pass to Juergens for 9 yards.
3-1, BYU 37 • Utah penalty, offside.
1-10, BYU 42 • Mangum pass incomplete.
2-10, BYU 42 • Mangum pass intercepted by Dominique Hatfield, returned 46 yards for touchdown.
BYU
1-10, BYU 28 • Mangum pass to Nick Kurtz for 10 yards.
1-10, BYU 38 • Squally Canada run for 1 yard, fumble, recovered by Stevie Tu'ikolovatu.
Utah
1-10, BYU 39 • Wilson run for 4 yards.
2-6, BYU 35 • Wilson pass to Kendal Thompson for 8 yards.
1-10, BYU 27 • Wilson run for minus-4 yards.
2-14, BYU 31 • Williams run for 11 yards.
3-3, BYU 20 • Wilson run for 20 yards, touchdown.