BYU Football: 3 keys to victory in 2019 Holy War showdown vs. Utah

1. Stop Utah from controlling the clock with ground game

BYU did a great job of controlling the clock last year against Utah, enjoying nearly 10 more minutes of possession than their rivals. Of course, that wasn’t enough to pull through and end the losing streak against the Utes, but when you break down the game into thirds it worked quite well for the first two-thirds of the contest.

Through the first 40 minutes of last year’s game, Utah had only 32 rushing yards. On Utah’s final four scoring drives that turned a 27-7 advantage into a 35-27 Utah victory, though, the Utes found their legs and churned out 123 yards as a team. That was a critical turnaround that facilitated the Utes comeback.

This year, Moss is back after recovering from a knee injury and ready to break the career rushing record at the school. While there is plenty of talent behind him, one player that won’t spell Moss in the backfield is Armand Shyne, one of the heroes of last year’s Holy War victory for Utah, who entered the transfer portal in March and went to Texas Tech.

Forcing the Utes to beat them through the air will play right to BYU’s strengths. A strong secondary led by standout cornerback Dayan Ghanwoloku and former Utah recruit Austin Lee will play a major role in this contest on Thursday night.