Rivalry Rewind: 2004 Edition of Utah-BYU
11/8/2024
Something special was brewing in Salt Lake City in the Fall of 2004.
The Utah Utes of the Mountain West Conference opened the season with a Big 12 win over Texas A&M, with a sellout crowd jammed into Rice-Eccles Stadium for the 41-21 victory. A week later, the Utes went down to Tucson and knocked off a Pac-10 foe in Arizona.
October 16, North Carolina was in town. Six-hundred-sixty-nine yards of offense and an Eric Weddle interception later, Utah was 3-0 against teams from the BCS conferences.
By the time mid-November rolled around, the 10-0 Utes and the phrase “BCS busters” started to be tossed around in the same sentences. One more test remained, and in this state, a big one: the annual rivalry game against BYU.
The 2004 edition of the Utah-BYU rivalry game kicked off early on the morning of Nov. 20, 2004, when ESPN's College GameDay made its first-ever visit to Salt Lake City. No. 5-ranked Utah was 10-0 entering the game and a perfect 6-0 in the Mountain West. A win over the Utes' in-state rival was expected to send the team to the Fiesta Bowl as the first ever "buster" of the BCS era.
The College GameDay hosts get set for Utah-BYU on Nov. 20, 2004, outside Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Fans arrived in droves, braving the cold to be part of the College GameDay festivities.
Fans eventually made their way into Rice-Eccles Stadium for the 5 p.m. kickoff against the Cougars. Quarterback and eventual No. 1 NFL Draft pick Alex Smith jogged onto the field, passed for 184 yards and a touchdown, also rushing for another score.
On a 4th-and-goal late in the first quarter, Steve Savoy (6) punched in a two-yard touchdown, capping off a 13-play drive for the Utes and giving the home squad a 7-0 lead after 15 minutes of play.
Before going onto an NFL playing career and returning home as Utah's running backs coach, Quinton Ganther (13) was the Utes' leading rusher in the 2004 matchup with BYU, taking 11 carries for 122 yards. Utah led at halftime, 21-14, with Ganther gearing up for an incredible second half (he had just 38 yards in at the break).
Midway through the third quarter, BYU took over near midfield looking to get back within one score of the Utes. After airing out a pass downfield, Eric Weddle (32, middle) came up with an interception that kept the Utah lead at 31-21.
On the very next play, Steve Savoy took an option from Smith and sprinted 92 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. David Carroll's extra point was good, and all of a sudden Utah had a 38-21 advantage.
Once the clock hit zeros and the win was sealed, fans rushed onto the field to celebrate a BCS-busting season for the Utes.
Not long after fans rushed the field at game's end, the goal posts came down--the Utes had become the first ever BCS Busters with a commanding 52-21 win over BYU.