Utah No. 17 fights for a 35-27 victory over BYU for a win following the rivalry

PROVO – Utah led the 93rd edition of the annual BYU rivalry game only at 3:02 am by the end of the quarter.

But that was all the lead the utes needed.

Jason Shelley completed 19 of his 28 passes for a total of 141 yards and a touchdown, and Armand Shyne added two more scores to help Utes win a 35-27 win on Saturday against BYU in front of 46,017 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Zach Wilson scored 164 yards on the pass and two touchdowns in the second half, and Matt Hadley added two touchdowns while BYU (6-6) built a three-touch lead. But the Utes (9-3) came back.

BYU beat the Utes 247 yards to 86 yards in the first half, taking a 20-0 lead over Hadley's dive in the last minute of the second quarter, including 137 yards for Wilson and two touchdowns in the air.

But in a series where 10 of the last 12 meetings have been scored or less, why expect anything else from the 2018 match?

The Utah defense has taken the Utes out of their funk. Julian Blackmon sent Wilson's errant pass to 27 yards for a touchdown of the Cougars' first game in the second half. Hadley managed to score 27-7, scoring an eight-yard pass and a 44-yard touchdown.

The final dive took place when BYU replaced his staff the fourth and first match, a setup that included Austin Kafentzis in the center and Corbin Kaufusi away before transferring to Hadley.

Still, Utah had life.

Samson Nacua caught Shelley in a 10-yard touchdown. Shyne led Utes to 27 – 21, with 10:53 to go.

The Utes beat BYU 112 yards to 76 yards to start the second half and left Shelley with 70 yards and the final 7:26 to give Utes a decisive touchdown.

Shelley scored Siose Mariner with a 37-yard pass and Shyne finished the 70-yard run with a 5-yard score to give the Utes a 28-27 lead with 3:02 remaining – their first lead of the game.

This story will be updated.