A more accurate assessment of the situation would be that Utah *owns* BYU... except for the LaVell era.
This year, BYU and Utah will play one another for the 100th time. As of this moment, the series is 61 Utah- 34 BYU- and 4 ties.
LaVell's record vs Utah was 22-7. If you subtract LaVell's years, the record is 54-12-4. That is a 13-3-1 ratio!
Without LaVell, BYU would currently be the 3rd most relevant football program in the state- at best. No national championship. No Heisman. No HOF quarterbacks. No nothing.
Thank Heaven for LaVell Edwards.