Yet, Utah certainly won the final 40 seconds of the first half.

With the first half winding down, BYU had already climbed out of a 14-point hole and were threatening, at the least to walk into the half time locker room tied.

That is, until Cougar quarterback threw the first of his five interceptions with 36 seconds to play.

Utah needed only 21 seconds - a penalty and three plays - to drive 44 yards for a crushing touchdown. When Utah receiver Davis Reed pulled down quarterback Brian Johnson's rainbow in the end zone, the Utes owned a 27-17 lead.

It was at minimum a 10-point swing.

"We came out and pushed it down their throats," Utah receiver Brent Casteel said.

Ultimately, BYU, which had been playing from behind the entire game, couldn't make up the difference.

"It was a huge momentum swing," said Johnson, who also completed a pass to Freddie Brown on the drive. "It was a big pick."

The thank you for stopping BYU's drive goes in part to Joe Dale, who picked off Hall to halt what had been turning into a scoring drive. Dale finished the game with two interceptions, maybe none bigger than his play to stop the Cougars.

"It was a huge play that turned the game," Johnson said.

Hall, who threw the errant pass also contributed to the Utah drive by picking up an unsportsmanlike penalty that moved the ball 15 yards to the Cougars' 44 yard line.

Utah wasn't to play scared with what turned out to be a golden opportunity.

"No doubt, we weren't going to sit on it," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "You're going to have to show me a better quarterback than Brian Johnson in the 2-minute offense.

"It was a huge, huge momentum swing."