There were a handful of plays that, if any of them went right for us, we would have won the game. It seems like we're snakebit and make terrible mistakes in the Utah series that always end up costing the game. It's rarely a game where one team clearly outplays the other. It's usually a game determined by who makes the biggest mistake at the most critical time. These are the 3 plays that stand out to me that cost us the game. If any of them don't happen, the outcome is probably completely different:

1. The bad snap on the XP after the first TD. If we convert the XP, it's a 28-28 game that goes into overtime. We wouldn't be going for it on 4th down deep in our own territory and giving Utah good field position. They don't score their last TD as a result, and it's a game that goes into overtime.

2. The pick 6 thrown into double coverage. This was just a bad decision by Wilson. His first half was excellent. Things didn't go as well for him in the second half. If he throws the ball away or throws an incomplete pass to the receiver further downfield, Utah doesn't get a free touchdown. Again, we wouldn't be going for it on 4th down late in the 4th quarter, and Utah doesn't get their garbage time TD. We end up winning the game 27-21.

3. The bad punt that went 15 yards or so. At that point in the game our defense was playing well enough that Utah wasn't able to put together sustained drives. The bad punt gave them a short field that Utah took advantage of and scored a TD off of. The punt was as bad as a fumble or interception. It gave Utah momentum and a short field. If we have a decent punt at that point, Utah gets pinned in their own territory and eventually punts back to us on their drive. With a good punt there, we also win the game 27-21.

There are other candidates you could name. Things like BYU defenders randomly falling down in coverage on deep passes or blown assignments on outside contain on a couple of key first down runs. It's frustrating that it's a series where we can't buy a break. Other than the Jake Heaps fiasco game, they're not outplaying us. They don't have demonstrably better talent. They just seem to get all the breaks.

Also, I blame El Jefe. Ever since I've seen him post and sticky the "Give em hell Brigham" telegram each year, we've lost the game. It's his fault as well.