By Ryan Hope
The BYU football team had many opportunities to pull off an unlikely victory against in-state rival Utah, but was unable to take advantage of crucial situations.
Utah''s offense controlled the ball 15 more minutes than BYU, and amassed 339 total yards to BYU''s 235, but it was BYU''s own mistakes that cost it the game, 13-6.
'I''m very disappointed because I felt like we would play better,' head coach Gary Crowton said. 'Offensively, we didn''t play good. We did some good things at times, but that''s been our problem all year, consistency on offense.'
BYU fumbled the ball twice inside Utah''s 10-yard line, ending potential scoring drives.
The first fumble came on a controversial play from the one-yard line in the second quarter.
Freshman quarterback Lance Pendleton kept the ball for what appeared to be a touchdown, but the ball came loose and was recovered by Utah in the end zone for a touchback.
'I thought his knee was on the ground, or it was a touchdown because they took it away from him in the end zone,' Crowton said. 'That was my complaint, but that was just one play in the game.'
The second fumble came early in the fourth quarter on a missed handoff from freshman quarterback Matt Berry to sophomore running back Marcus Whalen.
On the play prior to the fumble, Berry connected with sophomore receiver Rod Wilkerson on a 43-yard pass, taking the ball to Utah''s two-yard line.
Whalen didn''t receive the handoff cleanly, and lost the ball on the 10-yard line, which was recovered by Utah senior linebacker Brooks Bahr.
Berry injured his shoulder on the play trying to recover the ball, and did not return to the game.
The loss eliminated BYU (5-7) from a postseason bowl bid, and gave BYU its first losing season since 1973 when the team finished 5-6.
'I expected to be in a bowl, and I know these guys did too,' Crowton said. 'You''ve got to earn it, and we just fell short.'
BYU scored first, on sophomore kicker Matt Payne''s 30-yard field goal in the first quarter.
The field goal was made possible after Berry and Wilkerson connected on a 47-yard pass down the sideline.
Wilkerson was Berry''s favorite target down the field, recording three receptions for 97 yards. Wilkerson also dropped two passes, which could have gone for big gains.
Berry rebounded from last week''s woeful performance, completing 12 of 21 passes and no interceptions.
'On several plays I thought about running, but I found somebody,' Berry said.
Payne''s 48-yard field goal in the second quarter gave the Cougars a 6-0 lead, which held until halftime.
The second half went all Utah''s way.
Utah freshman kicker Bryan Borreson connected on his first field goal of the game from 31 yards out early in the third quarter to cut BYU''s lead in half.
On Utah''s next possession, two 15-yard BYU penalties aided the Utes on their way to a five-yard touchdown run by junior running back Brandon Warfield.
Freshman Lance Pendleton replaced Berry following his injury, and was intercepted by senior linebacker Sheldon Deckart on his first drive of the game.
The interception led to Borreson''s second field goal from 22 yards out giving the Utes a 13-6 lead.
Two late fourth quarter drives by the Cougars ended when they were unable to convert on fourth down.
'This is very difficult,' junior cornerback Jernaro Gilford said. 'I feel we should have won. I have to give Utah credit, but hopefully next year we can pull it off.'