Provo • At the beginning of the week, standing among a group of reporters on Utah’s practice field, Kyle Whittingham explained how he and his program were preparing for their rivalry week matchup.
“You treat it like every other week,” Whittingham said. “There’s a point where, if you make too big a deal of things, you keep diminishing your terms.
But on Saturday night, the Utes looked like they deviated from their usual game plan and identity.
In the red zone, Whittingham’s program was 2-for-4, failing to convert on fourth-down runs in both the first and third quarters. Had the Utes opted for — and made — field goals in both instances, the outcome of the game might have been different.
Instead, No. 23 Utah (5-2, 2-2 Big 12) was defeated by No. 15 BYU (7-0, 4-0) 24-21, its third-straight loss to its in-state rival.
So, did Whittingham regret not opting for a pair of field goals instead of going for it twice?
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes running back Daniel Bray (13) is tackled by BYU Cougars safety Tanner Wall (28) during the game between the BYU Cougars and the Utah Utes in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
“Well, analytics there said to go for it,” Whittingham said. “We were going to kick it initially [on the first one], and then we had a change of heart.”
He added: “We were one of the best red-zone teams in the country up until tonight. We just couldn’t quite find a way to get it in the end zone. You know, when you have almost 500 yards of offense and 21 points to show for it, that means that something’s not going well for you in the red zone. We weren’t very good on fourth down.”
The first fourth-down attempt came with nearly seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. Freshman running back Daniel Bray, who finished the contest with a team-high 121 rushing yards and one touchdown, ran the ball on a jet sweep, but was stuffed for a 1-yard loss.
Junior quarterback Devon Dampier scampered on the second attempt on a fourth-and-3 in the third quarter. His 2-yard gain wasn’t enough to move the chains.
After the game, Dampier blamed it on a lack of execution from him and the offense.
“That’s on us,” Utah’s quarterback said. “I think we’ve been great on third and fourth downs all season. Glad that coach would trust us in those situations. Sadly it didn’t go our way.”
Whittingham gave a straight answer when asked if he was adjusting to the rivalry’s intensity by going for it twice. “No,” he said bluntly.
Utah’s head coach didn’t put any blame on offensive coordinator Jason Beck’s playcalling either.
“Oh sure, I got no problem with the play calling on those,” Whittingham said.
Dampier, on the other hand, said the odds were in Utah’s favor on the two failed red zone trips.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) passes the ball during the game between the BYU Cougars and the Utah Utes in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
“Just the odds of football,” Utah’s quarterback said. “If you have a talented offense, it’s normally in your odds. So we took those chances.”
Utah out-gained the Cougars 470 to 368 on the night. Statistically, Dampier out-passed BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier 244 to 166.
So maybe it was just a case of BYU’s defense making plays when it mattered most.
Another uncharacteristic issue was the turnover margin. The Utes had two turnovers on the night — one interception thrown by Dampier in the fourth quarter and a muffed punt from returner Mana Caravalho in the second quarter.
BYU scored 10 points off of Utah’s pair of mistakes.
“I’m a risk taker,” Dampier said of his fourth-quarter interception. “It was third down. “I thought, give one of our receivers a chance to go get the ball but the [defensive back] made a better play.”
Whittingham said he talked to Caravalaho after the game, meanwhile, and the returner “thought it was coming deeper, and it wasn’t. It took a nosedive. All of a sudden, it just dipped and caught him by surprise and consequently mishandled it,” Whittingham said.
But other issues hampered Utah’s chance of beating the Cougars, too. Utah senior linebacker Lander Barton was ejected from the game in the second half for a targeting penalty.
“Everybody knows Lander is a big part of our defense, but it’s on me. … I’ve got to step up, and I’v got to bring the guys along. So that’s my fault,” defensive captain Logan Fano said.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes fans scream after a call during the game between the BYU Cougars and the Utah Utes in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
The Utes also had 12 penalties for 77 yards.
“We’ve been really good penalty-wise, except for two football games,” Whittingham said. “So there’s been a couple games where it seems to snowball on us. And tonight was one of those two games, and there were some really damaging penalties there.”
Dampier might’ve been struggling physically in the second half, too. The quarterback was seen limping on the sidelines late in the third quarter, testing his right ankle out by running up and down the field. That same ankle was heavily taped up, too.
The junior quarterback ran 15 times for 64 rushing yards in the loss. The Utes also opted to have freshman Byrd Ficklin rush three times for 16 yards in the second half.
“Yeah, I’m solid,” Dampier said of his health after the game.
Even with everything that went wrong, the Utes were still in striking distance, however.
But Utah left the game wanting a few plays and a few turnovers back. And it ended up being its demise.