LAS VEGAS — BYU shot itself in the foot, reloaded, shot itself again, and then tried to come back from a 35-0 deficit midway through the first quarter en route to a 35-28 loss to No. 22 Utah in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars (9-4) gave up 35-unanswered points as the Utes (10-3) stretched their Vegas Bowl-record scoring spree to 59-0 dating back to last year, thanks in large part to three interceptions by quarterback Tanner Mangum that included a pair of pick-sixes.
After the nightmare start in Bronco Mendenhall's final game at BYU, the Cougars rolled off three-straight touchdowns to pull within two scores with five minutes left in the game before falling for the fifth-straight time to the rival Utes.