The Holy War is the name given to the American college football rivalry game played annually by the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and the University of Utah Utes. It is part of the larger BYU–Utah sports rivalry. In this context, the term "Holy War" refers to the fact that BYU is owned and administered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the U of U is a secular, public university with a substantial LDS student population. The current president and head football coach at the U of U are also LDS Church members.
The Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and the University of Utah (Utah) Utes have a longstanding intercollegiate rivalry. The annual college football game is frequently referred to as the Holy War. In the 1890s, when BYU was still known as Brigham Young Academy (BYA), the two schools started competing athletically. The schools have met continually since 1909 in men's basketball, and met once a year in football from 1922 to 2013, with the exception of 1943–45 when BYU did not field a team due to World War II. Both schools formerly competed in the Mountain West Conference, but both teams left the MWC in 2011—Utah joined the Pac-12 Conference and BYU became a football independent while joining the West Coast Conference for other sports.
The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one national championship in 1984.
The 2007 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. BYU clinched its second consecutive Mountain West Conference (MWC) championship title outright after defeating Utah on November 24. It was BYU's second consecutive, undefeated season in the MWC, its fourth MWC championship since the league began in 1999, and its 23rd conference title. At the beginning of the season the Cougars had won an MWC record 16 straight league games dating back to 2005 and were on a ten-game overall winning streak, the longest winning streak in the country at the time. The Cougars began the season with the second longest winning streak in the country at 11 wins until their loss to UCLA in the second regular season game. The Cougars ended this season ranked 14th in the nation, highest of all schools from non-AQ conferences. This finish was the highest back-to-back rankings in the AP Poll since the Cougars won the national championship in 1984.
The 2008 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
The Utah State Aggies are a college football team that competes in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, representing Utah State University. The Utah State college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium since 1968. They have won thirteen conference championships in four different conferences during their history, most recently in 2021.
The 2010 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium and were members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play and were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they defeated UTEP 52–24.
The 2011 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by third-year head coach Gary Andersen and played their home games at Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium. They are members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–2 in WAC play to finish in a tie for second place.
The 1999 Motor City Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association bowl game in which the #11 Marshall Thundering Herd of the MAC defeated the BYU Cougars of the Mountain West Conference 21–3. It was played on December 27, 1999, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.
The 2012 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the second year BYU competed as an independent. They finished the season 8–5. They were invited to the Poinsettia Bowl where they defeated San Diego State.
The 2012 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by fourth-year head coach Gary Andersen and played their home games at Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium. This was the Aggies' final season as members of the Western Athletic Conference, winning the final WAC football title outright. They joined the Mountain West Conference on July 1, 2013 for the 2013 season.
The 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 15, 2012 at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho in the United States. The sixteenth edition of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl began at 2:30 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Toledo Rockets from the Mid-American Conference against the Western Athletic Conference champion Utah State Aggies, and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Rockets accepted their invitation after earning a 9–2 record in the regular season, while the Aggies accepted theirs after earning a 10–2 record. Utah State won the game 41–15.
Matthew Scribner Wells is an American football coach and former quarterback who currently serves as an offensive analyst at Oklahoma. Wells previously served as the offensive coordinator and then head coach at Utah State University, where he was named Mountain West conference coach of the year in 2013 and again in 2018. He was named head coach of Texas Tech on November 29, 2018, and led the team until his firing midway through the 2021 season.
The 2013 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the third year BYU competed as an independent. They finished the season 8–5. They were invited to the Fight Hunger Bowl where they lost to Washington, 31–16.
The 2013 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by new head coach Matt Wells and played their home games at Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium. This was the Aggies first season as members of the Mountain West Conference in the Mountain Division.
The 2017 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by fifth-year head coach Matt Wells and played their home games at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. They competed as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 4–4 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the Arizona Bowl where they lost to New Mexico State.
The 2018 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season marked the Wildcats's 119th season. They played their home games at the Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona and competed members of the South Division in the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Kevin Sumlin. The Wildcats finished the season 5–7 and did not qualify for a bowl game. They went 4–5 in Pac-12 play, tying USC for third place in the South Division.
The 1922 BYU Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Brigham Young University (BYU) as a member of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) during the 1922 college football season. It was the first team to represent BYU in intercollegiate football. The Cougars compiled an overall record of 1–5 record with an identical mark in conference play, finished eighth in the RMC, suffered shutouts in four of six games, and were outscored by a total of 184 to 10.
The 2019 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by head coach Gary Andersen in his fifth overall season, although first season after taking over as the program's head coach for the second time. The team played their home games at Maverik Stadium, and competed as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference.
The 1996 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Aggies were led by head coach John L. Smith in his second year in charge. The Aggies played their home games at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah. Utah State finished with a 6–5 record and a share of the Big West conference championship, but was not selected to a bowl game.
