Your favorite Utah football moment/experience.

[Yergensen]

The only condition is you had to be there in person.  Mine is split between 1993 Utah/TDS 34-31 win on a 52? yard field goal at their place and Harold Lusk’s 100 yard pick six to seal the win at ranked Colorado State in 1994.

The first one is what I think was the play and turning point of the rivalry and started to change the trajectory of the two programs.  The second…man that 1994 team was really good.  That should have been our first undefeated season.

What are yours?

[BJA 13]

Oregon St, TCU 2008.   Improbable wins. 

 

 And BYU / Utah 2018 comeback.  (Because I was with my 9 year old son and he went from tears of sorry to tears of joy)

[Yergensen]

That TCU game was cold as hell and low scoring, but that last TD was pandemonium.

[AirForceUte]

All three of these for me as well. I was also at the 2012 byu game with the muss rushing the field 3 times. Classic

[utefansince79]

Not sure anything will EVER top being in Cougar Stadium in 1993.  I was one of the fortunate Ute fans to be there that day.

It’s tied at 31 (before they had OT) and Chris Yergensen has already missed a PAT and I believe may have missed one other field goal.   Utah had a late drive which stalled on fourth down and Chris is out there attempting a long field goal (I believe from 54 or 55) for the lead with under a minute.

All the Cougar fans around us are laughing and taunting the Utah fans and are boasting that after he misses (they are about 99% confident of that) the home team is going to storm back down the field to win and send us home again with yet another loss.   Chris makes it, the home fans are sitting in stunned and shocked silence, and the Utah fans and players are going crazy.   Ute had to play another few plays, but got out of Provo with our first win there in 22 years. 

That really did start to turn the rivalry back in the right direction.

 

[Red Dawn]

My #1 fan moment as well

[astUTE]

Oh, how I wish I had been at that game that day.  Had family committments for most of the day, but remember watching the end of the game on TV.  Almost never missed a rivalry game afterward, until we joined the PAC.  Now, frankly, I’d rather end the series as an annual game.

[Dallas]

Agree, TCU and OSU in 2008 were the most exciting comebacks I’ve been at, but I’d have to add sugar bowl and the walk down bourbon street afterwards.

[SkinyUte]

TCU 2008, no question.

Loudest crowd I’ve ever heard at any event in my life. It was utterly deafening when Freddie Brown scored.

[chinngiskhaan]

For me it was The Brett Ratliff BYU game. I went wearing my Ute gear sitting in the middle of the BYU season ticket holder section. Some guy insisted on switching seats with his daughter both because he wanted to talk crap, and because he wanted to protect his daughter from the evil Ute fan. By half time he was talking so much crap about the Utes. I kept my mouth shut the entire time, and just took it. When we won I went nuts and he made a beeline for the exit the second we scored.

IT WAS GLORIOUS! Nobody thought we were going to win that game because of Brian’s injury, but Brett pulled it off.

[cicampbe]

Utah in Eugene in 2015. So great to see all of the smug faces drop. Also, Utes beating no. 5 Stanford at home 2103.

[Toopup]

Not even a question…1976.  We were getting destroyed by BYU on a cold November day.  I believe Marc Wilson was throwing nearly every play and the Utes were putting up little resistance.  We lost by about 30.

Very few fans were in the stands.  My girlfriend and I were up high in the stands under a big red blanket trying to stay warm.  Forty-three years later I still have fond memories.  That was my best Utah football experience.

[ProudUte]

1978 comeback win against BYU 23-22.  Randy Gomez through a late TD on 4th and 19 to Henry for the win.

2009 Sugar Bowl.

[UteThunder]

’04 BYU – I’ve never had more confidence going into a rivalry game and then to have Utah deliver . . . awesome.

’07 UCLA – 44-6 drubbing of the #11 Bruins with our backup QB and after starting the year 0-2 . . . never saw that coming. 

’08 TCU, Oregon State, and BYU – Two dramatic come from behind thrillers and another drubbing of BYU.

’10 BYU – I thought we had squandered yet another one to them in the final moments only to have Burton save the day.

 

[GameForAnyFuss]

Easy…

Utah over Air Force, 1995. My first ever Utah game in person. That was the game where Utah scored something like 21 points over the final 90 seconds to win the game.

I had just moved out to Utah from California after high school, and that game was the day I moved into my dorm room. My first ever time living on my own, my first ever Utah football game, and what a game it was. But what made it really special is that my mom – a Utah alum – was with me (she had come out to SLC to help me move in). It was the only football game we ever went to together. I wish I’d appreciated how special that moment was in that moment, but really, do we ever?

For me, Utah sports is not about the results (though I admit that good results are the best), but about the great memories made with family and friends.

[RedRocks]

2003 Oregon – Such a thrilling win.  You could say that it was the start of great things to come.

[EagleMountainUte]

2008 TCU and Oregon st. I couldn’t talk for two weeks normally after the TCU game.

I also will never forget 2010 TCU. Humbling for sure.

[ironman1315]

USC last year. First game with my boy. He loved it.

[UrbanLiar]

Hard to beat the best 9 minutes of Utah football, the first quarter of the Sugar Bowl. Nothing better! Not just 1 play, but a continual symphony of kicking the SEC’s ass. Pure perfection, and I’ll take a win over a shocked Saban as the cherry on top.

[Heike]

I haven’t been to many of the more recent great times in Utah football, but in 1972 I was there to see in person Utah’s greatest comeback victory. Down 0 – 27 to Arizona early in the 4th Quarter, Brownie Van Galder hit Steve Odom on two bombs to bring Utah to within 13. With time getting short and Arizona driving, Steve Marshall scored on a long pick 6. After holding Arizona on their next drive, Utah’s offense moved the ball down to the Arizona one yard line. With less than 10 seconds to go and no time outs, Van Galder rolled to his right, and finding no open receivers, hurdled over two defenders into the end zone. Utah 28 Arizona 27

[homer]

I listened to billy marcroft call that comeback. Incredible!

[Tony (admin)]

#1 Sugar Bowl

#2 Busting the BCS

#3 57-28 over the zoo with Scott Mitchell at qb

[Ol’ Lefty]

My daughter went with me to the ’08 OSU game on her 7th birthday. She loved and fed off the energy in the North end zone and when everyone would stand she would get up as fast as she could to jump and scream! I can still hear her scratchy little voice after the game all these years later! Go Utes!!

[astUTE]

2005 Utah vs BYU – the Ratliff game…  I’ve been to many memorable games at home, away, bowls, etc., but this will always remain my favorite; because i sincerly beleived we had no chance.

I bought the tickets early in the year.  I had originally intended to take my wife, but unexpectedly had extended family in town for the thanksgiving weekend, including my brother in law who has Utah State Undergrad, and BYU Educational Doctorate degrees.  My wife, requested that I take the bro-in-law, while she visited with family.  

I went, expecting to lose, as Bryan Johnson had been injured late in the previousl game against UNM, and we are starting a completely unknown QB.  I actually tried to get out of the game and find someone else to take my place, but no luck.

On the Ute bus, my brother in law (who later worked for the UofU for many years) let me know he was an Aggie first, a Ute second, and a BYU fan if all else failed.  I mentioned that we were very likely to lose, and he said,

“yeah, I know, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed anyway”.

Of course, we won in one of the most memorable rivalry games of my lifetime, and I went home with a huge smile on my face, a happy brother in law, and a reminder that the game is never over before it’s played – no matter what it looks like a week out.

GO UTES!

 

[norm]

Mine will always be the Rice Bowl, 57-28 in 1988.  Scott Mitchell and Eddie Johnson were my heroes.  I had never seen Utah beat BYU in my life.  There were like two Utah fans in my entire grade in Elementary School at the time, and my dad gave our tickets to a BYU fan family on the condition that they took me along.  

Despite there being plenty of more dramatic and important games since, I don’t think I’ll ever experience a game that satisfying.  In fact, only this year do I finally feel like we finally got them back since we matched their nine win streak from the 80s.

[UTE98]

Hmmm, since I didn’t grow up a Utah fan in Boise, ID, and no I don’t like the Broncos (now). And having spent just a few short years in Utah as a Utah fan… I don’t have as many in-person experiences to draw from.

2008 – Michigan, was at the game when that wonderful year started. (The big house does suck though, unless your butt is less than 10 inches wide, luckily I had three small girls to allow for a bit of room).

2010 – Notre Dame, sure we lost but as far as college game day experiences, it was by far the best. I’m not a huge Notre Dame fan, my brother is, but they have some great traditions, great atmosphere, and were very welcoming. I laughed when I heard one of their fans say, “I didn’t know Utah travelled so well.”

2007 – Louisville, this was the first time I met Ludwig’s brother, met him at another game as well. He would always give my kids swag. Brian Johnson was unflappable in this game. Really played well, and it’s always nice to defeat a team on their home field. This was also the first time I met Jeff Dart (JDart) whom I always try to get together with when Utah plays in Colorado.

2015 – Cal, what a great game, was really tense the whole entire game and then :27 left, Boobie Hobbs breaks up a Goff pass around the 20 yard line for the win.

2012 – Colorado, Utah lost to them the previous year, and it was not looking good when Marques Mosley returned a kickoff 100 yards, and Colorado fans thought they had it in the bag. Well they did for :13 of game time. Reggie Dunn responded with a KO return for a TD. I was relishing in their tears. 

Worst games, well that’s another story, one involved a doink, the only year I had season tickets, and man was it hot in Carolina and no that wasn’t a roughing the passer. 

[Author]

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