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The University of Utah Athletics
Football Drops Heartbreaker to BYU
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Football
November 21, 1998
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Ryan Kaneshiro's 32-yard field goal attempt with five seconds left bounced off the right upright, and Brigham Young clinched the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division championship with a harrowing 26-24 win over archrival Utah.
BYU (9-3, 7-1 WAC) finished its regular season with seven straight wins and advanced to the WAC championship game in Las Vegas on Dec. 5 against Air Force. The Utes (7-4, 5-3 WAC) ended a heartbreaking season with four losses by a total of nine points.
Owen Pochman's 47-yard field goal with 2:59 left put BYU up 26-17, but Daniel Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. BYU's offense was forced to punt, and Utah quarterback Jonathan Crosswhite found Jones for a 43-yard reception to the BYU 24.
A celebration penalty pushed Utah back to the 39, but Crosswhite completed passes to Donny Utu and Jones to bring the ball to the BYU 17 with 22 seconds to play.
Utah ran the clock down to nine seconds and positioned the ball in the middle of the field, and the snap and hold were both perfect. But Kaneshiro's hooked kick smacked the upright head-on and bounced away as the Cougars rushed the field and drew two celebration penalties.
Earlier in the season, Utah's freshman walk-on kicker missed two short field goals and an extra point in overtime in a 21-20 Utah loss to San Diego State.
In the 80th meeting of this bitter rivalry, Pochman kicked three field goals and Kevin Feterik directed an efficient BYU offense, completing 20 of 28 passes for 221 yards. Ronney Jenkins had 128 rushing yards and a touchdown, but he was ineffective in the second half.
Crosswhite was 18-for-33 and threw two touchdown passes for the Utes, who were outgained 421-298 and struggled offensively until the fourth quarter. Mike Anderson put his WAC rushing lead in jeopardy with just 29 yards on 14 carries.
Utah had won four of the previous five meetings between the two teams, but Brigham Young has won the last two in Salt Lake City.
Utah linebacker Kautai Olevao delivered a bone-splintering hit midway through the second quarter on Jenkins, who fumbled on the play. The Utes converted the turnover to points when Anderson caught Crosswhite's 11-yard pass and tied the score at 10.
Pochman's second field goal of the first half with 20 seconds left gave BYU a 13-10 lead at halftime.
BYU made a 13-play, 92-yard drive to open the second half, converting three long third downs along the way. Jenkins' 10-yard reverse-field touchdown run gave the Cougars a 20-10 lead.
But Utah countered with its own 80-yard drive, capped by Jones' 8-yard touchdown catch with 20 seconds left in the quarter.
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
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