The first time the BYU Cougars and Utah Utes faced off in a game, it wasn’t on the gridiron. It was on the baseball field. The year was 1895, and the game ended in a scoreless tie, but it also finished with a benches-clearing brawl. It was an apt beginning to a rivalry that would later be known as the Holy War.
The bad blood in this rivalry hasn’t subsided over the years. The first meeting on the football field came in 1896, just a year after that baseball game. These teams played in the same conference from 1922 until 2010 when Utah joined the PAC-12, and BYU went Independent. In 2022, this figures to be a close affair based on college football odds, where Utah is +250 to repeat as PAC-12 champions, and BYU’s win total is set at 8.5.
Here’s a look at some of the greatest moments in the Holy War’s long history:
All-time record:'According to Utah, the Utes lead 62-35-4; According to BYU, the Utes lead 59-32-4