Once a regional grudge match with little at stake, BYU-Utah is now must-see TV for the country’s college football fans - Deseret News
By Google News Sports ·
One of the most memorable games in the century-old BYU-Utah football rivalry â at least for BYU fans â was played 20 years ago this month. After taking an early 14-0 lead, then falling behind 31-27 late in the fourth quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, the Cougars won 33-31 on a touchdown pass from John Beck to Jonny Harline with no time remaining on the clock. As the Bronco Mendenhall-led Cougars raced onto the field to celebrate the finish that became known, simply, as âBeck to Harline,â the pro-Utah crowd sat in stunned silence. That BYU didnât attempt to kick an extra point to make the final score 34-31 was somehow appropriate, because twice in the 1990s, the Utes had defeated the Cougars by that 34-31 score, prompting a series of television commercials featuring BYU coach LaVell Edwards and Ron McBride that added to the allure of the matchups. Speaking of television, that instant classic in 2006 was not televised nationally on a major broadcast network. Instead, it was broadcast regionally via CSTV (College Sports Television) and shared regionally on The Mtn. (MountainWest Sports Network). Television ratings for the game were not known because The Mtn. did not subscribe to Nielsen Media Research tracking. Flash-forward to Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at Rice-Eccles, when millions are expected to tune in to ABC for the first top-10 clash in rivalry history. What was once an in-state and regional obsession, a grudge match that was one of the best-kept secrets in the Beehive State, has become must-see TV nationally. The rivalry began capturing more of the nationâs attention when Utah went to the Pac-12 in 2011 and BYU went independent and signed a deal to get its home games televised by ESPN, but Saturdayâs game might never be matched in…
Originally published by Google News Sports
